Articles tagged “mergers and acquisitions”

Asset light, something with history and heritage, fewer than 200 hotels ... IHG CEO Keith Barr has quite a specific wish list. It doesn't sound like we'll have to wait too long until we find out the identity of the luxury hotel brand in question.

NH Hotels has been on a corporate rollercoaster ride over the past couple of years with HNA Group’s minority shareholding being the principle catalyst. Things have quieted down recently but harmony likely depends on the identity of the new investor.

For the hotel industry, shopping for new brands and other companies to buy up is always in season.

Choice CEO Pat Pacious has demonstrated he's not one for a sleepy start as he settles into his new role as CEO. He's hit the ground running with the rollout of a new booking system and an acquisition that will help the company play ball in a competitive midscale and extended stay landscape.

Under previous CEO Richard Solomons, IHG had looked to fill "white space" in its portfolio and it looks like this plan is continuing under his successor. Despite having a well-established luxury brand, the area is something of a weak spot for the company, with no true high-end offering. It sounds like IHG is well on the way to rectifying this.

The direct booking wars are the true infinity war, at least in hospitality. In other words, don't expect a truce anytime soon.

American Express Global Business Travel is making a shrewd, and expensive, move to become the world's biggest travel management company by a wide margin. More consolidation is almost certain to hit corporate travel as a result.

Hogg Robinson Group has gone through a significant amount of restructuring in recent years. The board obviously thinks now is the right time to cash in.

HNA Group's decision to at least consider selling its stake in NH Hotels shouldn't come as a surprise. It will be interesting to see whether one of the big hotel companies emerges as a potential buyer.

Wyndham CEO Geoff Ballotti wasn't kidding when he told us he had big plans for 2018 at last year's Skift Global Forum.