LONDON, UK – 15 December, 2011 – TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced the appointment of Dermot Halpin as president of vacation rentals, effective immediately. In this newly-created role, Halpin will oversee and grow TripAdvisor’s vacation rentals operation, reporting directly into Stephen Kaufer, co-founder and CEO of TripAdvisor.
“Dermot is a significant addition to the senior TripAdvisor team and we’re delighted to have him on board. This hire further demonstrates our commitment to vacation rentals as an important accommodation option for travellers,” commented Stephen Kaufer. “He brings impressive experience to the table and has the credentials to lead our vacation rentals business and drive it to the next level.”
Halpin’s considerable experience spans both the online and travel sectors and includes seven years at Expedia where he served as president of the company’s EMEA division, which enjoyed extensive growth under his leadership. In this role Halpin was responsible for the Expedia, Hotels.com and Expedia Affiliate Networks businesses.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead TripAdvisor’s vacation rentals business,” commented Halpin. “TripAdvisor is establishing itself as a leading and truly global player in this market, so it’s a very exciting time to be joining the company. TripAdvisor has already formed some significant inventory partnerships and I look forward to expanding the vacation rental business even further.”
As of November 2011, TripAdvisor exceeded 200,000 vacation rental property listings following the announcement of several partnership deals, including Interhome, Stayz Toprural and AKENA Technologies (which operates MediaVacances.com). TripAdvisor also lists properties from Holiday Lettings and FlipKey.
For more information on TripAdvisor’s vacation rentals, see here: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/VacationRentals
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For more information, please contact Laurel Greatrix / lgreatrix@tripadvisor.com / 0777 801 3639
