Beyond the financial investment, HomeAway’s CEO Brian Sharples told us the partnership was also attractive because of Google’s deep resources and its management style.  “[Google Ventures] facilitates access to different parts of the company that have engineering or talent resources that may be helpful. For example, Google has a lot of technology that could help us make search more faster and more relevant. There’s a lot of interesting things we can learn,” he says.

Given Homeaway’s trajectory, Google may get its own cash out very soon.

As we previously reported, the company is potentially eying a 2011 IPO. After its last major round of funding (a $250 million round led by Technology Crossover Ventures in late 2008) the startup was valued at approximately $1.4 billion.

That number is expected to be larger now, given the ongoing growth in revenues and its large portfolio of sites. Although Sharples could not comment on a possible IPO date, he says it is a “likely outcome at some point.” According to Sharples, revenues grew roughly 35-40% last year and growth remains robust in 2010, “we’re having another good year,” he says.

The company has made more than a dozen acquisitions under its belt with two recent additions in October alone— vacation rental software firms Escapia and Instant Software.

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Authors: Evelyn Rusli

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