THE Australian-founded Lido Group was last month fully acquired by global hospitality technology provider HRS, which has expanded its presence in the local market with a newly established office led by former Helloworld Global Director of Corporate Sales, Ana Pedersen. Lido CEO Steve Mackenzie, who has built a strong relationship with HRS since the company took a 25% stake in 2016, will leave the business, but told travelBulletin he believes it is in very good hands.
“I’ve taken it as far as I can, and I am looking forward to watching the next stage of Lido’s growth,” he said. The combined businesses give corporate and government clients access to more than 515,000 “business-grade” hotels worldwide, with an extensive team on the ground in more than 60 countries who work to secure compelling rates and value-adds for customers.
German-founded HRS currently works with about a third of the Fortune 500 corporations on their hotel programs, with over 3,000 multinational businesses using HRS technologies including Google, Volkswagen, Alibaba and more. Pedersen said the Lido team had built a “tremendous business” in the Australian and New Zealand markets. “Their focus on driving transparency and savings for clients — from sourcing through to payment — mirrors HRS’ approach all around the world,” she said. Forecasts for ongoing expansion of the corporate travel market in Australia over the next few years meant the time was right for HRS to build on its investment here, Pedersen added.
HRS will begin integrating Lido’s unique payment services into its overall technology stack. With the trademarked “Book, Stay, Walk Away” tag-line, Lido aims to make it easy for corporate travellers to manage their trips, while ensuring program compliance and offering negotiated benefits for its customers.
