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Flight Centre acquires Silicon Valley business + manages 4-star Bali hotel

While the industry wound down for the holidays, Flight Centre moved into the "cradle of innovation" by purchasing a Silicon Valley-based travel management company.

While the industry wound down for the holidays, Flight Centre moved into the “cradle of innovation” by purchasing a Silicon Valley-based travel management company.

Managing Director, Graham Turner, revealed last last year that the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) had purchased Casto Travel Inc., a business he expects will “strengthen” the group’s overall US operations.

Based in California’s major technology hub of San Jose, Turner said the acquisition will give Flight Centre greater scale in Silicon Valley as well as the West Coast market where he admits the group previously had a “relatively small corporate travel presence”.

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“Looking ahead, we see great opportunities for Casto to grow as part of our FCM Travel Solutions business.”

Graham Turner, Flight Centre Travel Group Managing Director

“FCM’s global reach, proven marketing expertise and full corporate product suite will enhance Casto’s strengths and significantly increase opportunities to win larger pieces of business in the west, which is the USA’s second largest corporate travel market,” Turner added.

In addition to expanding its corporate travel presence to 20 US cities, FCTG also signed a 10-year agreement to lease the 4-star beach-front Camakila Legian Bali Hotel, which is believed to be popular among FCTG’s leisure clients.

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The agreement is part of FCTG’s expansion into hotel management through the acquisition of Bespoke Hotel Management (BHMA) that manages 22 properties in Thailand, Vietnam and Bali.

“Legian’s popularity with travellers globally, coupled with FLT’s strong market-share in theregion, makes this lease a low-risk proposition for the company,” Turner said.

“The agreement is also aligned with FLT’s strategic objective of securing a greater level of control over the in-destination customer experience and the opportunity to capture a greater margin on products sold.”

 

How do you think Flight Centre’s new purchases will benefit business?