Travel Tripper and Pegasus, two leading hospitality technology providers, today announced that they are joining forces to deliver greater value and innovation to hotel groups worldwide. The combination is backed by a substantial investment from Accel-KKR, a leading technology-focused private equity firm.
The merger brings together two companies known for their industry-leading reservations, distribution, business intelligence, and e-commerce platforms that empower hotel groups large and small to directly own end-customer relationships and maximize bottom-line ROI.
"We could not be more excited about the technology, customers and employees that Pegasus brings to the combined entity," said Gautam Lulla, CEO of Travel Tripper. "The Pegasus brand is recognized globally and is one of the most respected in hotel technology. It has decades of experience delivering enterprise technology and customer support to regional and large hotel chains in support of their efforts to drive high-value corporate travelers to their properties. This combined with Travel Tripper's innovation in the leisure sector has the potential to be transformational for the industry."
Commenting on the transaction, Sean Lenahan, CEO of Pegasus, stated, "Today's transaction sends a powerful message to hoteliers that our teams and new ownership intend to set the market standard for driving innovation and enhanced customer service. Travel Tripper's intuitive user experience and software design simplifies the customer journey and its e-commerce solutions uniquely drive direct business with leisure customers for casinos, resorts and independent hotels. Together, our teams will deploy the best of our combined capabilities to deliver compelling holistic solutions that drive significant value for hoteliers."
"We look forward to working with Gautam, Sean, and their teams to help create a disruptive new market leader," said David Cusimano, a Principal at Accel-KKR. "The industry has been dominated by a small number of large players, which has created a lack of choice in the market. The combination of Travel Tripper and Pegasus creates a formidable challenger to the other competitors in the hospitality technology space and provides another strong option for hotels looking for innovative technology solutions combined with the great customer service both companies are known for."
Industry expert George Roukas, partner at boutique consulting firm Hudson Crossing, LLC, commented on the impact of the merger on the hospitality space as a whole. "This transaction is another example of distribution industry players joining forces to help hotels improve their businesses. The future of hospitality technology will belong to the larger and more efficient hospitality ecosystems—size matters," Roukas said. "Under Gautam Lulla's leadership, Travel Tripper has shown an ability to build and deliver, and I expect Pegasus customers will be very excited to hear this news."
Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Pegasus. Cypress LLP and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner served as legal advisors to Pegasus.
Cooley LLP served as legal advisor to TravelTripper and Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal advisor to Accel-KKR.
About Travel Tripper
Travel Tripper is a hotel tech provider and strategic digital partner helping hotels worldwide to optimize their direct booking channel and maximize overall revenue. Known in the industry for its constant innovation and exceptional expertise, Travel Tripper provides a comprehensive suite of solutions that empowers hotels from search to stay, including CRS and booking engine, website design and development, and e-commerce and digital marketing management. For more information, visit www.traveltripper.com.
About Pegasus
Pegasus is a leading global technology provider empowering independent hotels, hotel groups and large chains to grow their reservations businesses in a digital world. The company provides a comprehensive offering of cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions and services designed to help hoteliers connect with their guests, increase profitability and maximize productivity. Pegasus combines its highly scalable and reliable reservations platform with representation and demand services, uniquely enabling hoteliers to sell to guests worldwide across all touch points. To learn more, visit www.pegasus.io.
About Accel-KKR
Accel-KKR is a technology-focused investment firm with over $5 billion in capital commitments. The firm focuses on software and IT-enabled businesses well-positioned for top line and bottom-line growth. At the core of Accel-KKR's investment strategy is a commitment to developing strong partnerships with the management teams of its portfolio companies and a focus on building value through significant resources available through the Accel-KKR network. Accel-KKR focuses on middle-market companies and provides a broad range of capital solutions including buyout capital, minority-growth investments, and credit alternatives. Accel-KKR also invests across a wide range of transaction types including private company recapitalizations, divisional carve-outs and going-private transactions. Accel-KKR is headquartered in Menlo Park with additional offices in Atlanta and London.
