Ruralidays
Ruralidays is a privately held online vacation rental marketplace, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Málaga, Spain, that connects leisure travelers with over 2,800 curated rural accommodations across all eight provinces of Andalusia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersMálaga, Spain
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Ruralidays does
Ruralidays, operated by HISPANIA SHORT RENTALS S.L., is a privately held online vacation rental marketplace founded in 2009 and headquartered in Málaga, Spain. The platform specializes exclusively in rural accommodations (casas rurales, villas, chalets, cortijos, fincas, and apartments) across all eight provinces of Andalusia — Málaga, Sevilla, Granada, Cádiz, Almería, Córdoba, Jaén, and Huelva — with more than 2,800 verified listings. Travelers search, filter, and book properties through a self-serve web platform that supports nine languages (Spanish, English, German, Dutch, French, plus regional variants) and seventeen currencies, with payment processing secured via SSL 128-bit encryption and a Banco Sabadell TPV integration; ancillary payment options include Visa, Mastercard, PayPal (with a 'Pay in 3 interest-free installments' option), Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
The core technology is a standard two-sided marketplace architecture comprising a traveler-facing booking engine, a property owner self-serve portal for listing management and availability calendars, a multi-language content/blog layer that drives organic SEO traffic, and third-party review integrations (Trustpilot, Google, Facebook, Ekomi) for trust signaling. Property verification and curation are performed manually by the Ruralidays team prior to listing. The platform runs on responsive web only — there is no native mobile app and no public API — and automated decision-making is referenced in the privacy policy for personalization, though no proprietary AI/ML models are disclosed.
The business model is a marketplace take rate: Ruralidays charges property owners a commission on confirmed bookings, with travelers paying a 20-40% deposit (typically 30%) at reservation and the balance plus a refundable security deposit (fianza) to the owner upon arrival. The customer base is bifurcated — international and domestic leisure travelers (long-tail SMB/consumer) book accommodations, while rural property owners (SMB/individual hosts) supply inventory. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via ruralidays.com, supplemented by SEO, content marketing, social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), trust certifications (Thuiswinkel, Trust Ecommerce, eTrusted), and a Málaga CF sports sponsorship. No external funding, M&A activity, or institutional investors are disclosed.
Ruralidays firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ruralidays
- Legal name
- HISPANIA SHORT RENTALS S.L.
- Website
- https://ruralidays.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Ruralidays is a privately held online vacation rental marketplace, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Málaga, Spain, that connects leisure travelers with over 2,800 curated rural accommodations across all eight provinces of Andalusia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ruralidays industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Travel Agency / Vacation Rental Marketplace
- NAICS
- Traveler Accommodation (7211), Other Traveler Accommodation (72119), Accommodation (721)
- SIC
- Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Local/Regional Vacation Rental Marketplaces (Geo-Focused Platforms) (THAMALAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Rural & Countryside Homes (THAMAAAI), Professional/Managed Inventory Vacation Rental Marketplaces (THAMALAB), Direct Booking Platforms & Booking Engines for Hosts/Managers (THAMALAE)
Keywords
Where Ruralidays is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Málaga
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Ruralidays business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- Vacation Rental Marketplace Commission: Ruralidays acts as an online marketplace for rural vacation rentals in Andalusia, charging property owners a commission for listing and booking their properties. The platform connects property owners with travelers and facilitates the booking transaction, earning revenue through transaction fees. Properties are listed across 8 provinces of Andalusia including Malaga, Granada, Cadiz, Seville, Cordoba, Jaen, Almeria, and Huelva.
- Security Deposit Management: A security deposit (fianza) is collected from travelers, calculated based on the characteristics of the accommodation and the property owner. The deposit is returned upon departure after the owner reviews the property.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Dynamic pricing based on travel dates, guest count, season, and property type |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Booking deposit (anticipo) required at time of reservation |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Security deposit (fianza) refundable upon checkout inspection |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Promotional discount codes for advance bookings |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ruralidays product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ruralidays operates an online marketplace where travelers search, compare, and book rural vacation accommodations (casas rurales, villas, cortijos, fincas, chalets, apartments) across the eight provinces of Andalusia, Spain. The platform curates more than 2,800 verified properties, supports instant booking with a deposit (typically 30%) and balance on arrival, and processes payments through encrypted TPV with Banco Sabadell.
Product overview
Ruralidays operates as a vacation rental marketplace platform for rural accommodations in Andalusia, Spain. The core product is the Ruralidays.com website and booking platform, which connects travelers seeking rural vacation rentals with property owners offering casas rurales, villas, chalets, cortijos, fincas, and apartments. The platform includes a search engine for filtering properties by location, dates, and amenities, an owner portal for listing management, and a travel blog with destination content. The company offers over 2,800 rural properties across Andalusia's eight provinces. Additional features include secure payment processing, customer review integrations, and virtual chat support.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ruralidays.com Vacation Rental Marketplace Online marketplace where travelers search, filter, and instantly book 2,800+ verified rural houses, villas, cortijos, fincas, and apartments across the eight provinces of Andalusia. Includes availability calendars, per-night/per-week/per-season pricing calculators, free cancellation options, and secure deposit-based booking.
- Ruralidays Owner Portal Self-service portal for rural property owners to advertise their accommodations, manage availability calendars, process bookings, and handle guest communications on the Ruralidays platform. Listing is free; Ruralidays earns commission on completed bookings.
Quantifiable outcome
- Average customer satisfaction rating of 9/10, with top marks for cleanliness and friendliness
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ruralidays
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Ruralidays technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature5 records
Ruralidays partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- TrustpilotminorRuralidays displays Trustpilot ratings on its homepage showing a 4.6/5 rating from 591 reviews, serving as a third-party review verification signal for potential customers.
- Google ReviewsminorRuralidays displays Google star ratings on its homepage as a review verification mechanism for customers.
- EkomiminorRuralidays displays Ekomi ratings showing 4.8/5 from 1,439 reviews on its homepage, serving as an independent customer satisfaction verification platform.
- Thuiswinkel WaarborgminorThuiswinkel certification displayed on the security page, indicating compliance with European consumer protection standards for e-commerce transactions.
- Trusted Shops / Trust EcommerceminorTrust Ecommerce certification displayed on the security page as a consumer protection and trust badge for online transactions.
- eTrusted / Ekomi TrustbadgeminorEkomi trustbadge displayed on the security page as a trust signal for customers booking through the platform.
- VisaminorVisa payment option available for processing bookings on the platform.
- MastercardminorMastercard payment option available for processing bookings on the platform.
- Apple PayminorApple Pay payment option available for processing bookings on the platform.
- Google PayminorGoogle Pay payment option available for processing bookings on the platform.
- PayPalminorPayPal payment option available for processing bookings on the platform. Ruralidays also offers 'Paga en 3 plazos - Sin Intereses' (Pay in 3 interest-free installments).
- Málaga CFminorRuralidays partnered with Málaga CF as part of their 'Jugamos de Local' initiative, promoting Andalusia as a destination. The collaboration was featured in a Málaga CF news article highlighting Ruralidays' 2,500+ properties across the region.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Ruralidays competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Airbnb: Global short-stay marketplace offering rural and vacation rentals across Spain including Andalusia. Comparable because it shares the same two-sided booking model, takes a host commission, and competes for the same traveler and host audiences.
- Booking.com: World's largest OTA with a deep vacation rental and alternative accommodation inventory in Andalusia. Comparable due to overlapping supply, commission-based monetization, and direct competition for Andalusian rural bookings.
Emerging players
- Homestay.com: Accommodation marketplace blending hosted and self-catered stays with a rural/cultural traveler angle. Comparable in that it targets experiential and rural-leaning travelers through a curated booking platform.
Regional players
- Toprural: Long-standing Spanish/European rural accommodation portal historically focused on casas rurales. Comparable as a regional specialist in rural short-stay lodging in Spain with similar booking model.
- Club Rural: Spanish-language online travel agency specializing in rural tourism ('casas rurales') across Spain. Direct competitor in the rural accommodation niche with overlapping supply curation and traveler base.
- Spain-Holiday: Spain-focused vacation rental marketplace offering holiday homes across Spanish regions. Comparable as a country-specialist competing with Ruralidays for Spain-bound travelers seeking self-catered rural and coastal stays.
Direct peers
- Wimdu: European vacation rental marketplace offering apartments and rural homes across southern Europe. Comparable two-sided model and European traveler base, with overlapping rural inventory in Spain.
- Holidu: European vacation rental search and booking platform active in Spain with a comparable commission-based marketplace model. Direct competitor for rural Andalusian supply and demand, particularly from German and Northern European travelers.
- Vrbo: Expedia-owned vacation rental marketplace focused on whole-home short-term rentals. Closely comparable product offering (rural villas, houses, country homes) and similar target traveler (families and groups seeking private rural stays).
- Niumba (Tripadvisor): Tripadvisor-owned vacation rental brand focused on Spain. Comparable because it sells Spanish rural and coastal holiday rentals to international travelers with a commission model, directly overlapping Ruralidays' Andalusia inventory.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Ruralidays social profiles
Digital presenceRuralidays compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Ruralidays financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ruralidays leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Ruralidays funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Ruralidays M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Ruralidays
What does Ruralidays do?
Ruralidays operates an online marketplace where travelers search, compare, and book rural vacation accommodations (casas rurales, villas, cortijos, fincas, chalets, apartments) across the eight provinces of Andalusia, Spain. The platform curates more than 2,800 verified properties, supports instant booking with a deposit (typically 30%) and balance on arrival, and processes payments through encrypted TPV with Banco Sabadell.
Is Ruralidays a public or private company?
Ruralidays is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ruralidays founded?
Ruralidays was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Ruralidays based?
Ruralidays is headquartered in Málaga, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does Ruralidays make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Vacation Rental Marketplace Commission is the primary driver. The others are security Deposit Management.
Who are Ruralidays's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Airbnb and Booking.com. Homestay.com is listed as an emerging player. Regional players are Toprural, Club Rural and Spain-Holiday. Direct peers are Wimdu, Holidu, Vrbo and Niumba (Tripadvisor).
Does Ruralidays have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ruralidays.
What industry is Ruralidays in?
Ruralidays's product category is Online Travel Agency / Vacation Rental Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAMALAL, Local/Regional Vacation Rental Marketplaces (Geo-Focused Platforms), with a secondary code of THAMAAAI, Rural & Countryside Homes. Its NAICS code is 7211 and its SIC code is 7000.