The buzz around homeaway.com and its boss Brian Sharples may have put other illustrious panellists at the Travolution Summit in the shadows but it gave good insight into the opportunities of the holiday-home market.
Some facts and figures - it's a $60-$100 billion industry and between the US and Europe there are 4 million homes available for rent out of a rental potential of 16 million. So, we're only touching the sides.
In Europe there is no dominant or significant brand and the market is seriously fragmented although HomeAway's master plan is to be the leading platform in each market.
The irony there is that for users there is no concept of brand - it's all about the richness of the information provided.
The opportunities lie in a number of directions - for HomeAway to continue in the same vein adding more and more properties. The company is about to launch in Brazil and Australia.
An online booking service is planned although there are hurdles such as owners wanting to talk to the person they rent to and holidaymakers also tend to have a lot of questions.
For other travel suppliers there is opportunity in providing ancillary services - flights, car-hire, insurance, tours and experiences...
And for homeowners, the opportunity is to have your house lived in for the 50 weeks of the year you are not there.
So, why such a buzz around HomeAway - clearly the size and opportunities of the market but perhaps more significantly the amount of money - $405 million - the company has raised so far including $250 million in its latest round.
And, finally the amount of money the company is turning over - Sharples mentioned $4 billion in bookings that went through the site in the past six months.
Compelling stuff!
And, one final word on the question of an exit plan - Sharples said that the plan had been to 'run it hard for five years' and then take it public.
Now, however he is viewing as much more of a long-term opportunity so is not going to even consider an exit for at least two to three years.
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