Qantas, Expedia and Others Eye This Australian Luxury Online Travel Agency: Here's Why
Skift Take
Luxury Escapes, which is expanding next into the U.S. and China, is drawing not just more affluent travelers but potential investors, with Qantas Airways being tipped to be making an offer
Since its launch six years ago, Australia’s Luxury Escapes has defied the notion that well-heeled clients will not buy holidays off the shelves online because these customers require a high level of personalization and personal touch.
In the time, however, it has built a database of more than 3.2 million travelers, according to its CEO Cameron Holland. Half of its customers are repeaters, with some having done more than 10 trips with the company.
The Melbourne-based company’s revenue is around $239 million (A$350 million) this year, from serving more than 500,000 travelers with 260,000 trips sold, Holland told Skift in an interview. This generates more than two million room nights for hotel partners.
All this is also generating interest from suitors to acquire the fast-growing company, with Qantas Airways, Webjet and Expedia Group among those speculated to be interested.
Australia's Financial Review recently reported that Qantas had tapped investment bank Citi for due diligence and financing towards making an offer for a full or partial
