Denmark’s oldest vacation rental company is celebrating its anniversary: The OYO subsidiary DanCenter is 65 and has big plans for the future

March 4, 2022

For the last 65 years DanCenter, Denmark’s oldest vacation rental company, has been bringing private house owners and vacation-hungry visitors together. The company has big plans for the future in this anniversary year and is launching a series of activities also aimed at attracting house owners.

Vacation homes have been popular in Denmark for many years. Demand for them arrived as early as 1957, particularly with German visitors, at a time when what is now one of the largest vacation rental companies was launched as Dansk Centralt Kontor for Sommerhusudlejning. Today, the company is called DanCenter and can celebrate its last 65 years as one of the country’s leading vacation home providers.

“I am incredibly proud that as the oldest vacation rental company in Denmark and the first in Europe, DanCenter paved the way for vacation home rentals as we know them today“, said Kim Holmsted, CEO of DanCenter and chairman of Feriehusudlejernes Brancheforening. “Over the past 65 years we have established a comprehensive network of local branches throughout northern Europe and brought house owners and guests together in a completely unique way – with a far-reaching business model that we can quietly be proud of.“

DanCenter was originally run by Kurt Holmsted, Kim Holmsted’s father, who as the company’s owner/director helped to build the company. Even now, there is high demand in Denmark particularly from German guests. In 2022, according to DanCenter’s latest statistics, they accounted for 52 per cent of vacation bookings.

As part of the anniversary celebrations DanCenter is planning a number of activities – including a new TV spot for Denmark, the home market. The activities also aim to attract more house owners. Capacity limits are a constant challenge for the industry, including for DanCenter. Last year, the company recorded an eight per cent increase in weekly bookings compared with 2020, the previous record year.

“Even if much has changed over the last 65 years, the challenges for us and the entire industry remain the same. We still have to attract more vacation home owners. It is not just house owners who benefit from providing their homes. It is also very important for Denmark as a whole. The country profits from greater tourism turnover and higher employment in its vacation home regions”, Kim Holmsted added.

The anniversary marks a milestone in the company’s growth, which over the years has made DanCenter one of Denmark’s leading vacation rental providers. Nevertheless, Kim Holmsted still has big plans for the future.

“My goal is for us become the world’s largest provider of vacation homes over the next five years. We will achieve that by strengthening our partnership with our Indian owners OYO, which will lead to DanCenter becoming more integrated with our sister company Belvilla, a leading company on the market in southern Europe.“