Fusion & Acquisition

💸 Isabelle Clerc, CEO of AEROAFFAIRES, discusses similarities between luxury hotels and private jets industry on "Check-In, l'émission". No specific dates, locations, numbers, or statistical information provided in the excerpt. The summary focuses on the thematic connection between two high-end service sectors as described by a leading industry executive.

💸 Fora Travel, an American travel agency, raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by Thrive Capital and Insight Partners, including previous investors Forerunner and Heartcore Capital. The company, founded in 2022, has booked 2 million nights and generated over $1 billion in sales. Operating in 92 countries, Fora Travel's economic model offers a 12% average commission, with travel advisors keeping 70% of the fees. This funding follows a $20 million Series B.

🏖 Indian startup Rimigo raised $550,000 (€484,000) in a pre-seed funding round led by Japan's Reazon Capital and India's SGgrow, with contributions from Subramaniam Ramadorai, Ravi Nigam, Shashank Deshpande, and Ujjwal Jain. Founded by Sahil Sharma, Shubham Chintalwar, and Aditya Shirole, Rimigo offers AI-powered custom travel planning. The Bangalore-based startup, still in beta, has organized over 120 trips, with 50 completed and 70 in the planning stage. Rimigo aims to simplify travel planning and provide a fully personalized vacation experience. Prior to Rimigo, the founders launched GigIndia, which amassed over 1.5 million users and was acquired by PhonePe in 2022.

🏨 Dalian Wanda, previously a giant in real estate and entertainment, sells its hotel management subsidiary to Tongcheng Travel, backed by Tencent and Trip.com. The transaction helps Wanda in deleveraging while Tongcheng ascends in the premium hospitality sector. The deal includes 204 hotels, over 40,000 rooms, 376 projects in development, and high-end brands like Reign, Vista, and Realm. The purchase amount is 2.5 billion RMB (approx. 302 million euros). Tongcheng Travel, the third-largest Online Travel Agency (OTA) in China, has been collaborating with Wanda for over a decade since buying Wanda's travel agency in 2016.

✈ Electra raised $115 million for the hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft EL9, aiming for pre-production and certification. This Series B funding round was led by Prysm Capital, promising no airport, noise, or emissions. EL9 requires only about 50 meters for takeoff/landing, 10x less than similar-sized aircraft, carries 1.5 tons and 9 passengers, and has a range of ~2000 km. Founded in 2020, Electra received over 2,200 pre-orders worth $10 billion, targeting both civil and military applications.

🚗 Lyft acquires European taxi consortium Freenow for €175 million in 2025, after a record year in 2024. Freenow operates in 150 cities across Ireland, the UK, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, France, and Austria. In 2024, 90% of Freenow's bookings were for taxis, popular among both leisure and business travelers. The acquisition, approved by BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Mobility, will keep the Freenow brand and app intact, aiming to double Lyft's capacity to 300 billion annual trips and serve 50 billion users annually. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2025, was five times less than Uber's failed bid of $1 billion in 2020.

🏨 Lighthouse acquired The Hotels Network, a leader in AI-based marketing technology for hotels' direct sales growth. The partnership melds Lighthouse's business intelligence with The Hotels Network's marketing tech, aiming to enhance hotel bookings through personalized marketing and conversion optimization. Founded in 2015, The Hotels Network serves over 20,000 hotels in over 100 countries and has achieved a 32% average increase in direct bookings for its partners. Notable clients include Minor Hotels and Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

🏨 Preferred Hotels & Resorts, boasting over 600 luxury hotels globally, hosted a press event on April 8, 2025, in Paris, revealing updates for 2025. Chatham Bars Inn, Massachusetts, features a private beach, 217 rooms, and a new General Manager, Claudio Togo. Hôtel Casa Del Mar in California offers a seafood bar and wellness spa. Hôtel Dame des Arts in Paris, opened in 2023, blends left-bank artistry with modern gastronomy. Monument Hotel in Barcelona showcases Michelin-star dining. Shutters on the Beach in California introduces new dining and wellness offerings. The Alpina Gstaad in Switzerland expands with luxurious new residences. The BoTree in London, launched in September 2023, combines luxury with contemporary hospitality. The Londoner offers a unique underground leisure space. In 2025, Preferred Hotels & Resorts welcomes Peter Island Resort and The Newman in London, alongside other global openings. Over 80 new members joined the brand in 2024, a record growth since 2019. The Legend Collection now exceeds 100 properties, including a partnership with Virgin Limited Edition. A travel advisor portal is launched to aid professionals, and the "Live Like a Legend" collection offers bespoke luxury experiences. For detailed information and media, visit PreferredHotels.com and access photos via provided Dropbox links.

📈 Italian scale-up BizAway acquires Barcelona-based Aervio, a business travel agency that uses AI solutions, in 2025. Aervio, founded in 2016, raised €750,000 in 2019 and promises a 90% reduction in trip management time. BizAway, founded in Milan in 2015, seeks to enhance its platform and maintain human-centered service despite AI integration. In September 2024, BizAway raised €35 million and revealed plans for expansion and AI investment, with 360+ employees and presence in Italy, Spain, Albania, and the UAE.

🏠 Conduit (formerly HostAI), an AI-powered vacation rental management platform, secured a funding of €2.7 million ($3.1 million) led by Pi Labs with Y Combinator's backing. The California-based startup, which initially automated communications for vacation rental managers, aims to expand into the real estate market, leveraging its AI agents to autonomously handle rental processes while providing performance insights to teams.