At the end of 2007, Euro Relais and Belvilla took the first step towards jointly strengthening their position in the international rental market for holiday accommodations. Under the new holding name of @Leisure, effective 1 December 2008, the organisation aims to strengthen its collaboration and activities in the national and international holiday home market. Under the group name of @Leisure, the organisation is targeting the B-to-B market. For consumer marketing, @Leisure will continue using the brand names of Belvilla, Euro Relais, Housing International and CityTrips-europe.

The intensive collaboration between the organisations enables the group to operate more efficiently and effectively. With more than 15,000 holiday accommodations in 17 countries, @Leisure aims to further consolidate its position among the top ten providers of holiday accommodations in Europe. @Leisure is one of the largest players in the European market for holiday homes and market leader in the Benelux and has a total staff of around 120 employees working in offices in Heerhugowaard, Eindhoven, Cologne, Innsbruck and Ibiza.

Successful response to trends and developments

In 2007, 450,000 holidaymakers of 40 different nationalities booked a holiday home through one of our brands and a gross turnover of €57.8 million was achieved. This stable organisation continues to grow, even in these turbulent times. The credit crisis has even presented advantages for the holiday accommodation market. The success of @Leisure is due in part to the fact that @Leisure has responded successfully to the current situation and trends with its consumer brands.

Innovative online @Leisure

The name @Leisure clearly reflects our business focus, with ‘Leisure’ referring to the market itself and ‘at Leisure’ referring to what we offer our customers, thereby underscoring the service-oriented approach.  The websites for the consumer brands are progressive in terms of online features, emphasised by the ‘at’ symbol in @Leisure.

Background information on the @Leisure brands

Belvilla was established in 1987 and is primarily active in the Netherlands, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. It is the market leader in the Netherlands in the online rental of holiday homes through its website at www.belvilla.nl. The organisation offers accommodations in both winter and summer holiday destinations in seventeen European countries.

Euro Relais has been the home of holiday homes since 1980 and offers holidays in unique, high-quality holiday homes throughout Europe. The portfolio of Euro Relais holiday homes (www.eurorelais.nl) ranges from castles to country cottages, farms to windmills, mansions to chalets, not to mention cave dwellings, circus wagons and pigeon coops. The company is active in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Housing International is the market leader in the rental of unique villas, including fincas and country homes, on the Spanish island of Ibiza. The organisation excels in offering the highest level of service. Housing International targets the Dutch, English and German markets.

The theme website www.CityTrips-europe.nl developed by Euro Relais provides detailed information on various European cities and also offers self-catering city accommodations. The portfolio varies from traditional homes and attractive apartments in historic buildings to Bed & Breakfasts and even boats and houseboats. The website is available in both Dutch and English.

About the @Leisure Group

The @Leisure Group is one of the biggest players in the European market for accommodation rentals, including holiday homes, holiday parks and hotels. The @Leisure Group engages in a variety of online activities that include acting as a 'tour operator', reseller (aggregator) and online marketplace (enabler). The @Leisure Group serves as a tour operator in the holiday home rental sector through its consumer brands Belvilla, Ardennes Relais, Jules Villas and CityTrips-europe. The holding company manages the rental of around 20,000 holiday homes in 20 European countries. As an aggregator, the @Leisure Group offers an even wider selection of accommodations to several tour operators under the Euro Relais and Casamundo brands. It also operates advertising models as an enabler. A staff of around 160 individuals works in the offices in Heerhugowaard, Eindhoven, Hamburg, Cologne, Kitzbühel and Ibiza. In 2009, 700,000 holidaymakers of more than 50 different nationalities booked their holiday with one of these brands. A booking turnover of more than €105 million was achieved that year.

Note to editors (not for publication):

For more information and/or high resolution images, please contact:

Public Relations, Ellen Oude Grotebevelsborg, by phone at +31 (0)40-216 36 12 or e-mail to Ellen.OudeGrotebevelsborg@leisure-group.eu.

Belgium: Glenaki, Kristien Basting or Birgit Defoort by phone at +31 (0)50-614200 or by e-mail to birgit@glenaki.com or kristien@glenaki.com.