10 Largest Travel Acquisitions of 2018
Photo Credit: AccorHotels CEO continued the chain's acquisition spree in 2018, as Accor and hospitality in generally dominated travel deals this year. AccorHotels / Fabrice Malard
Skift Take
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.
One big takeaway about the 10 largest travel acquisitions of 2018 is that the majority were hospitality-related, and one sector, online travel agencies, that has historically been among the most active, was a no-show.
Within the hospitality sector, it wasn't just about companies they bought, but also assets or brands that they sold.
So while Minor International acquired NH Hotel Group for $3.1 billion, Wyndham Worldwide bought La Quinta Holdings for $2.68 billion, LVMH announced a $2.6 billion deal to snap up Belmond, and AccorHotels acquired Movenpick Hotels for $565 million, there were also two big asset sales.
In a complex deal that was the largest in travel in 2018, AccorHotels in two phases ceded control of its property unit, AccorInvest Group, to sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms for $5.65 billion. And Wyndham Worldwide off-loaded its European vacation rental division to Platinum Equity for $1.38 billion.
Seven of the largest 10 deals involved European
