Concur, which operates a spend management solution and the Concur Cliqbook Travel corporate self-booking tool, closed on a $287.5 million convertible senior note offering April 6 and intends to use net proceeds of $279 million “for general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions and strategic transactions.”
Days after announcing a public offering to beef up its acquisition kitty, Ctrip, the Chinese online travel company, revealed plans to invest in two hotel-management outfits.
Priceline is putting itself into position to get into acquisition mode, and in China, Ctrip is doing likewise.
Priceline says some of the proceeds from its just-announced $500 million convertible-note offering may be used for corporate acquisitons, leading Susquehanna Financial Group to speculate that Priceline engineered the move because it may have felt it needed to match Expedia’s $1 billion warchest for future acquisitions.
Big Data – we’re all talking about it, wondering how it will make its presence felt across the travel industry, who is best positioned to capitalise on it?
RFID, augmented reality, smart search, technology beyond social media and check-ins – more disruption is on its way in the travel industry.
Metasearch, voice search, agency search, supplier search – how consumers find and book travel products has never been more complicated.
Payment experts from Wright Express, Expedia and HotelTonight showcase and discuss how single-use virtual accounts can help drive efficiencies in the payment and settlement process in travel.