Pegasus Buys Hotel Switch Competitor Wizcom
Pegasus Solutions last week announced a pair of acquisitions designed to consolidate hotel distribution offerings and overhaul its reservation technology platform.
The Dallas-based hotel technology provider last week said it had acquired Travelport subsidiary Wizcom, making Pegasus the sole provider of switch services in hotel distribution, and hospitality industry Web-based software supplier GuestClick.
The Wizcom deal, of which financial terms were not disclosed, gives Dallas-based Pegasus a chance to integrate the products and business of its competitor in providing global distribution system services as an alternative to direct supplier connections. Wizcom's products include GDS-related products, connectivity to Internet distribution systems and data management tools.
Both switches came on the market about the same time in the late 1980s, and the acquisition gives Pegasus a good market position, Pegasus CEO John Davis said.
"Hotel companies had three choices: going direct, Pegasus and Wizcom," according to Davis. "They still have the alternative of going direct, but at the end, this will reduce the cost and make it simple for the hotels."
Ken Esterow, president and CEO of Gullivers Travel Associates by Travelport, said in a prepared statement that Travelport had explored several options for Wizcom and ultimately decided it was best to join Pegasus, for which switch services are the primary business. Travelport, which also operates the Galileo GDS, recently spun off into a privately owned company from parent company Cendant Corp.
The GuestClick acquisition will allow Pegasus to build a new hospitality engine that will overhaul the central reservation system, officials said. GuestClick brings with it software and technology that will allow Pegasus to consolidate database technologies, operating platforms and programming languages, according to Pegasus.
"While Pegasus possesses one of the most comprehensive CRS offerings in the marketplace today, it is through this acquisition that we will be able to provide customers with the improved scalability and next-generation capabilities they need to stay competitive," according to Mike Kistner, COO and executive vice president of distribution services for Pegasus.