Hotelbeds has announced the acquisition of the HolidayTaxis Group. The deal is subject to the completion of the standard necessary regulatory processes. The acquisition will further complement the existing portfolio of content offered by Hotelbeds and reinforces the company’s commitment to growth in the rapidly expanding ancillary distribution space.
The HolidayTaxis Group, which operates as HolidayTaxis, is headquartered in the UK and was founded in 2002. It operates 21,000 transfer routes, spanning 150 countries.
The news follows Hotelbeds’ recent decision to rename its ancillary product line as ‘Beyond the Bed’. The business unit already has a successful track record in the sourcing and distribution of transfers, activities, tickets, theme parks, car hire, travel insurance and specialist tours, making HolidayTaxis a strategic fit.
The HolidayTaxis brand will remain separate and independent from Hotelbeds, but will form part of the Beyond the Bed business unit and Ian Coyle, Chief Executive, HolidayTaxis, will report to Javier Arévalo, Director, Beyond the Bed.
Joan Vilà, Executive Chairman, Hotelbeds, said: “We look forward to working with Ian and all his colleagues in helping our travel partners everywhere to drive incremental sales and boost profit margins.
“In recent years our ancillaries business has grown substantially as the strength of our technology platform and global distribution network has positioned us effectively to take full advantage of the increasing demand for in-destination activities worldwide.
“We already offer a wide range of revenue enhancing products to our partners, including transfers, tours, activities, car hire, theme park tickets, and more – but the addition of HolidayTaxis significantly strengthens our portfolio, underlining our commitment to provide greater choice to our travel trade partners.”
Ian Coyle added: “We are enormously excited to be joining Hotelbeds as it continues to push the boundaries of travel distribution. This is a unique opportunity that was unmissable, allowing us to share additional ancillary revenue generating solutions with the 60,000 travel selling partners that Hotelbeds works with globally – many of whom are very hard to reach otherwise. I am convinced that our supplier and distribution partners, across our respective businesses, will benefit from the strengths of something very special that is about to happen.”
