Europe's largest hotel group just paid £117 million for Onefinestay's luxury home rental platform

Onefinestay - the London startup that lets people stay in expensive, serviced houses in cities around the world - has been acquired by France's AccorHotels for £117 million.

The upmarket Airbnb-style platform, founded in 2009, currently operates in London, New York, Paris, Rome, and Los Angeles.

AccorHotels said it will invest an additional £50 million in Onefinestay to help the startup scale its platform to over 40 new cities during the next five years.

Founded by Greg Marsh, Demetrios Zoppos, Tim Davey, Evan Frank, Onefinestay enables luxury home owners to let out their properties for short periods while the home is unoccupied.

The company raised $40 million (£25.4 million) from Intel Capital, Hyatt Hotels, and several other investors last June, doubling the total raised by the company to $80 million (£50.8 million).

Properties on onefinestay cost upwards of £400 per night to stay in, with some of them worth more than £20 million. Guests that stay in Onefinestay's properties are treated to a range of hotel-like benefits, including welcome on arrival and access to a team on call 24/7.

For homeowners, Onefinestay aims to provide "peace of mind, convenience, and flexibility," according to the press release. Onefinestay handles marketing, distribution, insurance, guest screenings, cleaning, management, and maintenance.

Following the acquisition, Onefinestay will remain an independent business, meaning guests will still have to visit Onefinestay's website to book a stay.

Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of AccorHotels, the largest hotel group in Europe, said in a statement:

Onefinestay has successfully captured a sweet spot: a combination of needs that neither traditional hotels nor new actors of the sharing economy can meet. With the acquisition of this exceptional brand, unique operating model and outstanding management team, AccorHotels is developing as the worldwide leader of the Serviced Homes market. Today, together with our recent investments, we are accelerating the transformation of our business model to capture the value creation linked to the rise of private rentals and also strengthening our presence in the luxury market with a complementary offer.

There are currently 2,600 properties listed on the Onefinestay platform with an estimated value of £4 billion. By comparison, AccorHotels has approximately 3,900 hotels in 92 countries.

Greg Marsh, cofounder and CEO of Onefinestay said in a statement that the deal is a "tremendous invitation" for Onefinestay to "write the next chapter."

Marsh continued: "We share their deeply held conviction about the scale of the home rental opportunity, and greatly value their expertise, their practical and financial support as we plan the launch of more than 40 new markets over the next five years. With AccorHotels' help, onefinestay will become a globally recognized byword for exceptional experiences, extraordinary service, and handmade hospitality."