Travelport Buys Deem, Plans Full Integration on Travelport Plus

Travelport has acquired corporate travel management platform Deem, with plans to make it a “fully integrated corporate tool” with the Travelport platform, the company announced.

Deem continues to operate as a separate entity following the acquisition, which officially closed on Thursday, but Travelport will “take advantage of technological synergy” with Deem, Travelport CEO Greg Webb told BTN. Deem will be “fully integrated into Travelport Plus” within the next four months, including New Distribution Capability content, which Deem previously had accessed via a third-party connection. Travelport has no current plans to change any branding around Deem or its products, including its Etta booking tool, he said.

“[Deem] is universally recognized for providing a modern consumer experience, and it goes right in line with what we’ve been talking about with Travelport Plus,” Webb said. “We’re very excited to make them a part of the Travelport portfolio, and the synergies will play out well for us.”

Deem previously was acquired by Enterprise Holdings in 2019. Financial details of the acquisition by Travelport were not disclosed.

The acquisition brings a corporate booking tool back in-house for Travelport, having sunset its Traversa booking tool nearly a decade ago. Its competitors, Sabre and Amadeus, have their respective GetThere and Cytric booking platforms. Webb said Travelport will continue to support other booking platforms, but “we’ll certainly be aggressive in the marketplace, because there will be some real modern capabilities that are on both Deem and Travelport Plus.”

In a statement, Deem president David Grace said being a part of Travelport “will enable a strong future of global growth for Deem and help accelerate the delivery of travel management solutions in a rapidly evolving industry.”

Michael B. Baker www.businesstravelnews.com