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Dennis Schaal, Skift
These were the 10 biggest deals in travel in 2018. Were they the smartest decisions? We'll know in a few years. Hospitality-related acquisitions dominated our list; the online travel agencies made some big investments, but were absent as big buyers.
1 year ago
Dennis Schaal, Skift
Don't you just love those proverbial tuck-in acquisitions? Booking Holdings didn't break the bank for either HotelsCombined ($140 million) or FareHarbor ($250 million). Sometimes making smaller bets is a much smarter strategy than gargantuan deals, but only time will tell.
2 years ago
Tom Lowry, Skift
This is the oral history of Priceline's two deals, the acquisitions of Active Hotels and Bookings B.V., that created Booking.com, and continue to shape the course of online travel and the competitive landscape today. The twin transactions were among the greatest Internet deals of all time, and their lessons are relevant to startups and dealmakers in any industry.
2 years ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
Catering is a key growth area for AccorHotels and this deal complements a number of others it has done in the sector.
2 years ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
Wow. Not many people will have seen this coming, including, it seems, Norwegian. Adding another brand to IAG's growing portfolio might make strategic sense but it will come at a significant cost.
2 years ago
Daniel Meesak, Jing Travel
Just two years ago, insurance company Anbang surprised the world with its bid to buy Starwood. Now it and other Chinese companies that went on global shopping sprees are stuck with an impossible bill — and a government that doesn't approve of the purchases.
2 years ago
Prudence Ho, Bloomberg
HNA Group has always been something of a complicated beast and it looks like this has scared off potential investors worried about the lack of clarity surrounding the Swiss airline catering IPO.
2 years ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
Medium-sized hotel companies know they need scale to compete. With NH Hotels open to consolidation and Barcelo still keen on doing deals, it doesn’t look like we’ve heard the end of this story.
2 years ago
Patrick Whyte, Skift
It sounds like the potential buyers didn't accept the company's new strategy — or the buyers weren't willing to pay enough. Regardless, while it's certainly a risk, eDreams Odigeo is doing the right thing in diversifying its business and improving price transparency.
2 years ago
Brooke Sutherland, Bloomberg
Conventional wisdom in the last few years had Chinese investors from Anbang to HNA poised to scoop up and consolidate U.S. travel companies, meaning Google, Booking, Expedia and TripAdvisor weren't the only games in town. That prospect has faded, if not disappeared, although strategic buyers in China may still make some noise.
2 years ago
Deanna Ting, Skift
Sorry, Airbnb. Those who follow the vacation rental business closely had a hunch that the business would be gobbled up by private equity and they were right.
2 years ago
Ben Scent, Bloomberg
We all knew this wouldn't last. But Hilton and NH will come out of this period based on their strengths prior to the HNA investment.
2 years ago
