CDS Groupe Buys Rydoo Travel Platform to Boost Hotel Reservation Tech

Rydoo, a Belgian expense management software provider, is selling its travel platform to France-based hotel reservation tech firm CDS Groupe, according to a May 12 PhocusWire report.

CDS Groupe is reportedly aiming to become Europe’s leader in hotel reservation solutions for business travel. The company’s solution can handle payments, invoicing and personalized reporting, along with bookings.

Rydoo’s travel team will join CDS Groupe, and Rydoo Travel Vice President of Sales and Operations Pierre Mesnage will lead the travel unit. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This acquisition aims to reinforce the execution of CDS’s strategy that would accelerate the growth of its international expansion,” said Ziad Minkara, CEO of CDS Groupe.

Rydoo was launched in 2018, and the company separated its expense management and travel booking units around a year ago. Rydoo’s customers include names like Burger King, Deloitte and Singapore Airlines, per the report.

Now that it’s selling the travel unit, Rydoo reportedly wants to focus more on expense solutions, enabling links to travel management with various partnerships.

Travel has been bouncing back from the worst parts of the 2020 quarantine months, accompanied by developments such as the lifting of mask restrictions.

Last month, the Global Business Travel Association published a report that found 86% of respondents were giving the green light to non-essential domestic business travel — a 10% rise since the last poll in February of this year.

See also: Business Travel Takeoff Looks Imminent as Conditions Improve — But Who Really Knows?

“We’re seeing significant gains in the return of business travel, especially over the past month or two,” GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang said at the time. “Booking levels and travel spending continue to return, and there’s high levels of optimism and employee willingness to travel for business.”

Three-quarters of the companies that had suspended most or all trips to a specific country were reportedly planning to get back into domestic travel. The report also found that over half planned to get back into international travel within three months of late April.