Amadeus Loses Premier Inn Tech Deal But Sees Growth Elsewhere
Skift Take
A few months ago, activist investor Elliott Management took Amadeus rival Travelport private. Elliott also happens to be the largest shareholder of Whitbread, the parent company of Premier Inn. That hotel chain has now dropped its contract with Amadeus for software services. Coincidence?
In November 2017, Amadeus touted its win of a significant contract with Premier Inn. But on Thursday the travel technology giant said the hotel chain had changed its mind.
Premier Inn had tapped Amadeus to provide it with a central reservation system and a property management system. Those systems are the two most critical technology needs for any hotel chain. But Premier Inn, a UK-headquartered chain with about 765 properties, has halted the implementation.
"Stopping the project is in no way related to Amadeus technology," said Amadeus President and CEO Luis Maroto, during an earnings call Thursday.
Maroto blamed the project loss on a desire by Premier Inn's parent company Whitbread to focus its resources
