Travelport has acquired Hotelzon for an undisclosed sum.
Hotelzon, a B2B hotel distribution technology provider, was previously owned by self-employed entrepreneur Esa Karppinen.
Travelport said the move would support its drive to make booking independent hotels easier for business travellers as it continues to expand its offering beyond just air bookings.
"With only 30% to 50% of corporate hotel buying going through TMCs and many bookings still being booked direct by business travellers themselves, the Hotelzon acquisition is designed to provide both corporations and Travelport-connected travel agencies with a best-in-class booking tool with extensive independent hotel content," it said.
"The Hotelzon solution also works well when a hotel booking is not an ‘add on’ to an air booking. This is particularly the case for travel within Continental Europe, where many business trips actually take place in the traveller’s home country or to bordering countries, and trains and cars are often the preferred method of transport rather than flights."
The Hotelzon brand will be retained and incumbent CEO, Jani Kaskinen, will continue in the role, reporting into Niklas Andréen who heads up Travelport’s global hospitality, car & advertising business.
