Accorhotels acquires hotel booking platform Gekko

AccorHotels will deliver other hotel brands to travel agencies with the acquisition of Gekko, a business travel hotel reservation platform. This transaction is in line with the strategy aimed at strengthening AccorHotels’ leadership across the entire customer experience by enhancing the range of services offered to business travelers, the group’s key customer segment. Gekko offers search and reservation solutions to potential guests and is connected to more than 500,000 hotels worldwide, ranging from budget to luxury. Its turnkey management tools allow business travelers to manage their online payments, offering them the option of tracking and optimizing their costs. Gekko serves more than 300 corporate customers and 14,000 travel agencies through its different booking sites: HCorpo which handles key accounts; Teldar Travel which offers leisure travel agencies; Teldar Travel Biz (SME-focused travel agencies), Miles Attack; (loyalty program) and Infinite Hotel (wholesaler serving independent French hotels). Gekko was founded in 2010 by Olivier Delouis and Stéphane de Laforcade. It operates in France, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. The transaction, which values Gekko at €100m, will have an accretive effect on AccorHotels’ financial performance from 2018. Stephane de Laforcade and Olivier Delouis will remain at the head of Gekko and will continue to run the group independently. Thibault Viort, chief disruption and growth officer, said, “AccorHotels’ extensive global footprint, together with Gekko’s technological leadership, today paves the way for the creation of a global leader in B2B hotel distribution. Since business travelers represent a key segment in the group’s business, our capacity to respond to the specific requirements of this segment across the entire value chain is a factor that really sets us apart.” Stéphane de Laforcade and Olivier Delouis, co-founders and executives of Gekko, said: “Teaming up with AccorHotels during such an important time for our company creates new opportunities for growth.” The transaction is subject to approval of competition authorities and has already been approved by AccorHotels’ employee representative bodies.