M&A advisory for online travel companies
Online travel M&A has rebuilt steadily since the post-pandemic recovery, with consolidation around major OTAs, metasearch and tours and activities platforms. Strategic buyers and PE platforms have been most active in supply-side aggregators, vertical OTAs and software serving travel suppliers - areas where the strategic logic is the supplier relationship rather than the consumer brand.
The acquirer set is concentrated at the top. Booking Holdings, Expedia Group, Airbnb, Trip.com and the metasearch incumbents run active corp dev programmes against vertical OTAs, supply-side platforms and travel software. Hospitality groups expanding into adjacencies sit alongside them, and PE platforms - Silver Lake (with positions across travel), Permira, Providence, KKR through portfolio holdings and the sponsors behind tours and activities and vacation rental consolidators - back the larger sponsor transactions. Flow has direct access across the strategic corp dev teams and the PE platforms.
Flow team has relevant sector experience and has worked with online travel companies across OTAs and booking platforms, tours and activities marketplaces, business travel platforms, vacation rental operators and travel software providers.
"Online travel" KPIs M&A buyers look at
Key metrics strategics and PE buyers look at when analayzing online travel M&A targets
Gross bookings
Net revenue
Take rate
Bookings per user
Repeat booking rate
Cancellation rate
Average booking value
CAC payback
Organic traffic share
Supply concentration
Payment processing cost
Contribution margin / booking
Online travel valuations in May 2026
Public online travel comps trade at 1.7x EV/Revenue. Median revenue multiple across online travel M&A deals was 1.4x in the last 12 months.
1.7x
Median EV/Revenue as of May 2026 for public online travel companies
4.7x
Booking Holdings is the highest valued public online travel company based on EV/Revenue (excluding outliers)
1.4x
Median EV/Revenue across online travel M&A deals in the last 12 months
17x
Median EV/Revenue across online travel VC rounds in the last 12 months
Key recent online travel M&A deals
$6.3B acquisition of Amex GBT by Long Lake was the largest online travel M&A transaction completed in the last year.
See all online travel M&A deals| Logo | HQ | Description | Buyer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May-26 | Amex GBT |  | Global Business Travel Group Inc operates as a business-to-business travel platform. It is engaged in providing software and services to manage travel, expenses, and meetings and events for companies of all sizes. The company is engaged in building the marketplace in B2B travel to deliver unrivaled choice, value, and experiences. It also provides business travel solutions, simplified travel management, and business consulting services. Further, The company generates revenue in two ways that involves fees and other revenues relating to processing and servicing travel transactions received from clients and travel suppliers and revenues for the provision of products and professional services not directly related to transactions received from clients, travel suppliers and Network Partners. | Long Lake | $6.3B | 2.3x | |
Aug-25 | Northstar Travel Group | | Northstar Travel Group is a Secaucus, New Jersey-headquartered media and events company serving the travel, hospitality, and meetings sectors with publications, data services, and conferences. Operating from offices in Glen Ellyn, Illinois; Los Angeles, California; and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the firm publishes buyer's guides, online directories, and research like the Hotel Industry Benchmark Report. Northstar hosts events including the Global Travel Marketplace and Phocuswright Conference, while offering custom studies on traveler preferences and brand awareness for clients like Marriott and Hilton. | JTB Corp. | $350M | 2.7x | |
Jun-25 | Inspirato | | Inspirato is a Denver-headquartered luxury hospitality company traded on Nasdaq under ISPO that offers subscription-based access to a portfolio of vacation homes, five-star hotel partnerships, and bespoke travel itineraries. Subscribers enjoy stays at properties in destinations including Aspen, Tuscany, and the Maldives, with the Inspirato Pass covering nightly rates, taxes, and fees since its 2019 launch. | BuyerLink | $326M | - | |
Jan-26 | Wenrix |  | Wenrix is a Tel Aviv-based travel technology company specializing in AI-driven airfare optimization for online travel agencies, travel management companies, and retailers. The platform analyzes real-time market data, competitor pricing, and demand patterns to dynamically adjust fares, reportedly increasing profit per booking by up to 100 percent and boosting conversion rates. Founded in 2019, Wenrix has expanded to serve clients in Europe, Latin America, and beyond, generating additional revenue from air volume through ancillary upsell recommendations. | Etraveli | $300M | - | |
Dec-25 | IGLU.COM |  | IGLU.COM is a UK travel agency specializing in ski holidays, cruises, and adventure trips with expert advice and tailored packages. | Flight Centre | $155M | - | |
Sep-25 | Classic Vacation | | Classic Vacations is Seattle-headquartered luxury travel wholesaler exclusively serving travel advisors throughout North America. The company designs customized itineraries to destinations including Hawaii, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico, and Asia, securing VIP privileges such as complimentary breakfasts, room upgrades, and resort credits at properties from brands like Four Seasons and Belmond. Classic Vacations maintains offices in Seattle, Honolulu, and Toronto, focusing on personalized service for high-end leisure travel. Established in 1992, it holds top ratings among advisor networks for reliability and client satisfaction. | TBO.com | $125M | 1.1x | |
Dec-25 | Inspirato | | Inspirato is a Denver-headquartered luxury hospitality company traded on Nasdaq under ISPO that offers subscription-based access to a portfolio of vacation homes, five-star hotel partnerships, and bespoke travel itineraries. Subscribers enjoy stays at properties in destinations including Aspen, Tuscany, and the Maldives, with the Inspirato Pass covering nightly rates, taxes, and fees since its 2019 launch. | Exclusive Investments | $59M | 1.1x | |
Dec-25 | F | fluege.de |  | Fluege.de enables users to compare airline prices and access flight information through its web platform serving the German market. | Tongcheng Travel | $46M | 0.2x |
Jul-25 | Redeam | | Redeam is a Boulder-headquartered technology provider for tours, attractions, and activities operators worldwide. Its platform handles channel management, dynamic pricing, and scannable ticketing to process mobile vouchers and reduce fraud at venues. Redeam serves clients including CitySightseeing New York, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and Boston Harbor Cruises. The company won the 2017 Phocuswright Innovation Award and 2018 Future Travel Experience Startup Competition. | Travel Curious | $40M | - | |
Jul-25 | Holisto | | Holisto is a Tel Aviv-headquartered travel technology company providing an AI-powered hotel booking platform. The system aggregates real-time rates from hotel operators, online travel agencies, wholesalers, and global distribution systems. Proprietary Split & Match technology breaks down and reassembles options to deliver personalized packages with optimized pricing. Launched for leisure and business travelers, it serves users across Europe and the Middle East. | trivago | $26M | 1.8x | |
Apr-26 | Sleap.io |  | Sleap.io is a blockchain-based hotel booking platform that accepts cryptocurrency payments and uses AI search tools for better rates. Blockchain data generates personalized offers sent to users' wallets. | Staynex | $15M | - | |
Feb-26 | Trenes.com |  | Trenes.com is a Spanish online platform specializing in booking discounted train tickets, including AVE high-speed and international routes, with user-friendly search and management features. | Ixigo | $14M | 1.7x | |
Aug-25 | TA Pipeline | | - | NextTrip | $1.0M | 0.1x | |
May-26 | Loco Partners |  | Loco Partners is a Tokyo-based operator of Relux, a reservation platform for luxury hotels and ryokans across Japan. Founded in 2011, the service curates over 3,000 premium properties, offering exclusive rates and packages for international travelers. Relux emphasizes personalized bookings with amenities like private onsen access and kaiseki dining. The platform integrates with travel agencies and provides Japanese-English interfaces for seamless reservations. | Yeogi Eottae | - | - | |
May-26 | Bridgify | | Bridgify is a Barcelona-headquartered travel technology provider offering a white-label platform for hotels and OTAs to build personalized trip itineraries. Its API integrates accommodations, activities, and transport bookings into a single user interface, deployed by 50 partners across Europe and Latin America. Launched in 2022, the platform processes 1 million itineraries monthly. | HBX Group | - | - |
Most active buyers of online travel companies
Holidu, HomeToGo and FROSCH Ireland are the most active acquirers of online travel companies in the last three years.
See all online travel acquirers| Logo | HQ | Description | Key acquisitions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Holidu | | Holidu is a Munich-based travel technology company founded in 2014 specializing in vacation rental searches. Its platform compares prices across 80 websites including Airbnb, Booking.com, and Vrbo for 2 million properties in Europe, North America, and Australia. Proprietary image recognition technology scans listings to find savings up to 55 percent. Holidu processes 100 million searches monthly. | BestSearch MediaCybevasionFerienwohnungen | 3 | |
HomeToGo | | HomeToGo SE is a marketplace with a selection of vacation rentals. Its portfolio has renowned accommodations from vacation homes, cabins, beach houses, apartments, condos, houseboats, castles, farm stays, and many more properties. The company operates in two segments HomeToGo Marketplace and HomeToGo PRO. | InterhomeKMW ReisenSuper Urlaub | 3 | |
FROSCH Ireland |  | FROSCH Ireland is a travel management provider delivering customized corporate travel solutions with white-glove service to local and international clients from its base in Ireland. | John Galligan TravelGrogan Travel | 2 | |
Destinia | | Destinia is a Madrid-headquartered online travel agency offering hotel bookings, flights, and packages worldwide, with operations in Europe, Middle East, and Latin America, supporting multilingual reservations. | NetflightsTravel Republic | 2 | |
The Pangea Technology Group | | The Pangea Technology Group operates a social travel platform where users share detailed trip itineraries, destination recommendations, and travel statistics. London-based, it fosters community through interactive maps, photo journals, and analytics on costs and durations. Travelers discover offbeat spots via peer reviews and collaborate on group plans, integrating bookings with partners like Booking.com. | NomadagoOverlap | 2 | |
HBX Group | | HBX Group International PLC is a travel-technology marketplace. The company is engaged in the intermediation of hotel accommodations and complementary travel products between travel suppliers and travel distributors. With the help of its subsidiaries, the Group also assists hotels in optimising their direct online channel, creating booking engines, and supporting digital marketing. The company's maximum revenue is derived from hotel bookings. The company connect between supply and demand, empowering businesses and their travellers, with choice and confidence. | BridgifyPerfectStayCivitfun | 2 | |
Hays Travel Ltd. | | Hays Travel Ltd. is a Seaham-headquartered travel agency founded in 1980 in County Durham, England. The UK’s largest independently owned travel agent operates branches nationwide offering package holidays, cruises, long-haul trips, and tailor-made vacations. Hays Travel expanded through acquisitions including the Thomas Cook store network in 2020 and holds Investors in People Gold accreditation. | Polka Dot TravelCruise.co.ukSpear Travels | 2 | |
Flight Centre |  | Flight Centre Travel is one of the largest travel agencies in the world. The group generates around half of its total transaction value, or TTV, from the corporate segment, with the other half from the leisure market and ancillary travel-related businesses. In corporate travel, Flight Centre is a global Top 4 agent operating in over 100 countries, with different brands catering to various customer segments (small and midsize businesses to large enterprises). In leisure, Flight Centre operates an extensive network of shops while also runs online channels and deal with independent agents. Over half of group TTV is generated in Australia and New Zealand, 20% from Americas, just under 20% from Europe, and the rest from Asia. | IGLU.COMCruise Club UKThe fresh Group | 2 | |
TBO.com |  | TBO Tek Ltd is a travel distribution platform. It is engaged in the business of operating an online technology platform (TBO Portal) providing its customers access to book international travel inventory aggregated through travel suppliers like airlines, hotels, cruises, car rentals, transfers, and rail services among others. Its customers include retail and API buyers such as travel agencies, independent travel advisors, and enterprise buyers including tour operators, travel management companies, online travel companies, super-apps, and loyalty apps. The company's business activities fall within two primary business segments; Air ticketing which generates maximum revenue, and Hotels and packages. Geographically, it derives maximum revenue from India and also has its presence outside India. | Classic VacationJumbonline | 2 | |
NextTrip | | NextTrip Inc is an early-stage, technology-driven travel company developing an integrated travel booking and media platform designed to connect leisure, group and business travelers to the world. Its travel booking platform is powered by proprietary NXT2.0 booking engine, which offers extensive inventory, supporting both travelers and distributors with a platform for curating personalized experiences and efficient trip planning and booking. The Company has one reportable segment, Travel Products and Services. | TA PipelineFive Star Alliance | 2 |
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across online travel and beyond.
Pure
We provided buy-side advice to Russmedia on its acquisition of Pure, a London-based casual online dating platform, supporting commercial diligence and deal execution.
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MAILINGWORK
We acted as exclusive sell-side advisor to MAILINGWORK, a Chemnitz-based email marketing software platform, on its sale to French digital marketing leader Positive Group.
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TestSolutions
We acted as exclusive financial advisor to Swiss PE firm Patrimonium on its majority stake acquisition of TestSolutions, a Frankfurt-based software testing and IT services provider.
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Rebellion Pay
We acted as exclusive sell-side advisor to Rebellion Pay, Spain's leading Gen Z neobanking platform, on its sale to Turkish consumer fintech unicorn Papara.
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HAPPYCAR
We acted as exclusive sell-side advisor to HAPPYCAR, a Hamburg-based pan-European rental car comparison and booking platform, on its sale to Dutch online price comparison player EasyTerra.
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