Travelport Worldwide Ltd has acquired Mobile Travel Technologies Ltd, a private company based in Dublin.
MTT provides a mobile travel platform and product set that allows airlines, hotels, corporate travel management companies and travel agencies to engage with their customers through tailored mobile services including apps, mobile web and intelligent mobile messaging. MTT’s mobile apps and services are then delivered, under the customer brand, to smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, including the Apple Watch.
Clients include easyJet, Singapore Airlines, Saudia, BCD Travel, Capita Travel and Events, and the LATAM Airlines Group.
MTT works with its clients to create mobile applications and intelligent mobile services that deliver a customer-centric experience. With its mobile travel platform and product set, it can enable travel companies to quickly launch high-end mobile services in a cost-effective manner. Services include mobile search, booking and check-in as well as MTT Engage, which provides real-time, personalised messages and offers to the traveller, and MTT Concierge Live, which delivers a ‘day of travel experience’ via a traveller’s mobile device including live, contextual travel updates and airport guidance.
Numerous recent industry research studies into the mobile commerce sector indicate that the sector is positioned for further rapid growth. In 2014, mobile commerce accounted for around one third of all e-commerce transactions globally (source: Criteo); air ticket transactions are predicted to grow from just under 200 million in 2014 to over 540 million by 2018, with transaction value increasing from US$52 billion to US$145 billion for the same period (source: Juniper). Similarly, in the USA alone, the transaction value of hotel bookings made using mobile devices is expected to grow from US$2.7 billion in 2014 to US$5.4 billion in 2016, reflecting a growth rate of more than 100% in just two years (source: Juniper).
Gordon Wilson, Travelport’s President and Chief Executive, said: “It is a natural extension of Travelport’s strategy of redefining travel commerce to have acquired what we believe to be the largest and most successful company focused on delivering sophisticated mobile services and apps to the travel industry. Adding MTT as an expanded capability to our existing travel commerce platform extends our reach further, and at the higher value-add end of the service spectrum for our airline, hotel, travel management company and travel agency clients.
“At the same time, MTT will benefit from the network effect of Travelport in terms of infrastructure, our relationships with additional prospective clients and access to our industry leading content. We will run MTT as a wholly owned subsidiary of Travelport, retaining existing Chief Executive Gerry Samuels, along with his senior team, so that they can maintain their singular focus on the mobile sector and the deep-seated customer relationships they build.”
Gerry Samuels, Chief Executive, MTT, added: “Becoming part of the Travelport family will enable MTT to accelerate what we are already doing in the travel industry – bringing cutting edge mobile innovations to airlines and travel intermediaries so that they can better serve the end traveller with innovative and personalised mobile services that transform the travel experience.
“MTT has experienced very significant growth as the market and demand for mobile travel has expanded and there is enormous potential to grow further. Now, with the support of a global industry leader such as Travelport, we will be even better placed to capitalise and expand into the considerable opportunities we see ahead of us.”
Travelport’s acquisition of MTT follows other recent investments it has made as part of its ongoing strategy to redefine travel commerce, with a particular emphasis on the fast-growing digital economy. These investments include Travel IT, a next generation German tour operator distribution system; Hotelzon, a hotel distribution company focused on enabling independent hotels to take part in the online corporate travel economy; and Locomote, an Australia-based corporate travel applications development company. Travelport has also invested in, and expanded, eNett, a pioneering B2B electronic payments company that now operates in 47 countries around the world and continues to grow rapidly.
Travelport has also invested organically to enable low-cost and network carriers to display and sell their full range of products and offers through its Travel Commerce Platform on a unique and fully integrated basis, and to offer an industry-leading portfolio of individual hotel properties (650,000) that are fully bookable in real time.
