Regiondo May Be for Sale After Rezdy-Checkfront Merger

Rezdy and Checkfront have merged and now Regiondo may be for sale, a potential sign of consolidation in the market for reservation technology software for the distribution of tours and experiences.

“I know there is a process under way for their sale at the moment,” Rezdy CEO Chris Atkin told Skift when asked about a potential deal with Regiondo. “I don’t know if there has been a conclusion, so I can imagine that might be behind any rumors. It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment whether we’re involved in that conversation or not.”  

Regiondo declined to comment for this article prior to publication.

The Rezdy and Checkfront merger, completed in June and reported this week, was funded through a recent undisclosed private equity raise. The raise reported as $100 million by Australian media, where Rezdy is headquartered, was incorrect, said Atkin, who declined to clarify.

There are an estimated 200 companies specializing in tours and activities reservation tech, with a handful of companies at the top of the chain, such as Booking.com’s Fareharbor and Tripadvisor’s Bokun. 

Tours and activities operators use these tech platforms to take direct online bookings and connect with distribution online marketplaces like GetYourGuide, Bookings and Viator. Operators can better manage bookings, payments, confirmations, pricing and inventory so they can list across more than one online travel marketplace.

Skift Research’s State of Travel 2023 notes that the Tours and Activities sector has an estimated 71% of sales taking place offline.

While no integration plans have been disclosed for Checkfront and Rezdy, Atkin said the companies would continue to operate as usual while building on each company’s strengths. 

Atkin, who has been with the company since 2016, pointed to a combined workforce of 200 employees, enabling it to better serve its customers across different markets and time zones. He noted Rezdy has 40% of its customers in Australia and New Zealand, while Checkfront, based in Canada, has about 40% of its customers in North America.

Regiondo, owned by German media conglomerate ProSiebenSat.1 Group, operates in the European market.

Atkin noted that leveraging Rezdy’s booking management systems for distribution and Checkfront’s reporting capabilities would create an enhanced product.

“Rezdy provides a really broad range of distribution channels for someone to sell their products through very easily within the software. That’s not something that Checkfront focused on,” said Atkin.

“It’s a natural match for them to add the benefit of Rezdy’s distribution onto something they were missing beforehand. Similarly, there are strengths around the Checkfront booking software reporting that can be added into the Rezdy system to effectively raise all boats in terms of getting the best of both worlds to our customers.” 

He said both companies would focus on advancements in technology, including AI and large language models, to refine their systems and offerings, noting it was already being used to help their customers categorize products, match with resellers, and for better product content descriptions.

“We’re a technology business. Whether we’re standalone or Rezdy and Checkfront, any technology business that is not looking to harness the step-change developments within technology is going to be missing a trick and making themselves vulnerable,” said Atkin.