Fusion & Acquisition

📈 Airbnb's strategy over the past decade includes acquiring complementary businesses to diversify beyond its core model. In 2019, it purchased HotelTonight, a site for last-minute hotel bookings. Now evolving into an Online Travel Agency, Airbnb is targeting hotel bookings to compete with Expedia and Booking.com, who have expanded into vacation rentals. To counteract declining urban bookings, Airbnb is testing a pilot program in New York, Los Angeles, and Madrid, cities opposed to short-term rentals.

🚀 Joby Aviation partners with Alatau Advance Air Group to launch Kazakhstan’s first air taxi service, valued at up to $250 million. The deal includes aircraft and services for urban air mobility. JoeBen Bevirt, Joby CEO, emphasizes Kazakhstan’s strategic role in Central Asia. Alatau, a tech hub, is the focus, with plans to extend to Almaty. Details on unit numbers and delivery timelines remain unspecified. Zhaslan Madiyev and Sergey Khegay highlight regulatory and infrastructure goals.

💻 TravelPerk rebrands to Perk on its 10th anniversary, aiming to eliminate "shadow work" that costs $1.7 trillion annually. A Forrester study shows employees lose 7 hours weekly to such tasks; in France, it's 4. Perk automates 67% of these tasks, enhancing productivity with AI-optimized solutions like Perk Pay. Founded in 2015, Perk has 1,800 employees, 12 offices, and 10,000 clients. In January 2025, Perk raised $200 million, reaching a $2.7 billion valuation.

🗺️ Essendi, ex-AccorInvest, finalise la vente de cinq hôtels à Buenos Aires et Mendoza au groupe ISWM en 2021. Désormais, 96 % de ses hôtels sont situés en Europe, renforçant sa stratégie de recentrage sur ce marché. Cette démarche s'aligne sur son plan de transformation pour optimiser la rentabilité des hôtels économiques et milieu de gamme. Essendi maintient des actifs au Chili, en Colombie, au Mexique et au Pérou, explorant d'autres opportunités d'investissement et de vente.

🎿 Au cours de l’exercice 2024/25, la Compagnie des Alpes a vu son chiffre d'affaires augmenter de 12,8%, atteignant 594,2 M€ pour les domaines skiables, avec une fréquentation record de 13,9 millions de journées-skieur. Les parcs de loisirs ont enregistré une croissance de 18,9%, grâce à 2,5 millions de visiteurs au Futuroscope et près de 3 millions au Parc Astérix. Le groupe prévoit une croissance de l’EBO supérieure à 15%, surpassant ses prévisions.

💸 Hostaway, a leading property management software company, becomes the first unicorn in the short-term rental industry on October 22, 2025. Post-raising $365 million in 2024, Hostaway's valuation soared from $925 million with over 50% growth. Founded in 2015, Hostaway now operates in 90+ countries, with a remote team in 44 countries. The short-term rental market, valued at $124.5 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $344 billion by 2034, growing annually by 10.7%.

🎪 In 2025, Parc Astérix welcomed 2.9 million visitors, securing its position as France's second-most visited park. The park plans a €250 million investment by 2030 for development. The Cétautomatix ride won "Top European New Attraction" in 2025, while the restaurant Les Fastes du Nil received the "Best Food or Retail Development" at the Park World Excellence Awards. Fasthôtel, a hotel cooperative, revamped its governance and modernized its offerings in 2025.

🍴 Selon une IFOP étude pour Airbnb, 75% des Français considèrent la gastronomie locale dans leur choix de voyage. Bretagne, Occitanie et Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes sont préférées pour ce tourisme. Airbnb propose plus de 300 expériences culinaires en France, avec au moins un hébergement dans 29,000 communes. Gastronomie représente environ 20% des dépenses touristiques. 70% des Français cherchent des restaurants ou producteurs locaux avant de réserver. Découverte du terroir est prioritaire pour 59%, et nouvelles saveurs pour 27%.

🚁 Joby Aviation, California-based, completed a stock offering raising $591 million to advance its electric air taxis (eVTOLs) on October 2025. Morgan Stanley managed the sale of 35,075,000 shares at $16.85 each, including 4,575,000 additional shares. The funding supports certification and commercialization efforts, with demonstrations in Osaka, Japan. Despite investor hesitation, tests in Dubai in July 2025 indicate potential eVTOL service in the UAE by 2026, transporting one pilot and four passengers at 320 km/h.

💰 Plusgrade acquired upsell software Oaky, announced in October 2025, aiming to unify upsell and cross-sell for a seamless traveler experience. Plusgrade, a global ancillary revenue leader, plans to integrate Oaky's top-rated upsell features, benefiting hotels worldwide. Ken Harris, Plusgrade CEO, emphasizes combining products, clientele, and teams. Montreal-based Plusgrade, with over 275 partners in hospitality and aviation, intends to enhance innovation and revenue, consolidating a leading hotel and resort partner portfolio.