CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a travel management company that manages business travel, meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions, and handles event management.
 | |
| Formerly | Carlson Wagonlit Travel |
|---|---|
| Company type | Privately held company |
| Industry | Travel management company |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
Area served | 145 countries |
Key people | Patrick Andersen, President & CEO |
| Services | Corporate travel management, Event management |
| Revenue | US$1.5 billion |
Number of employees | 18,000 |
| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the company reported US$23 billion in total transaction volume in 2018.[1] It is ranked 5th on the list of top earning travel companies published by Travel Weekly.[2]
History
editCWT has existed in its present form since 1994, the result of a 50%/50% merger of two large travel agencies: the Ask Mr. Foster Travel Agency chain, later called Carlson Travel Network, and the travel agency of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (literally sleeping car), founded by Georges Nagelmackers in 1872 in Belgium and later acquired by Accor.[3]
On April 27, 2006, Accor announced the sale of its 50% interest in CWT: 5% to Carlson and 45% to One Equity Partners, an affiliate of JP Morgan Chase.[4]
On June 22, 2014, Carlson, which owned a 55% stake in CWT, agreed to acquire the 45% interest in CWT held by JPMorgan Chase.[5][6][7]
In July 2017, the company launched RoomIt by CWT, dedicated to hotel distribution.[8][9]
On February 18, 2019, the company announced that it was rebranding as CWT.[10]
On July 31, 2020, the Register reported that CWT was the victim of a ransomware incident a week earlier, in which they paid US$4.5 million.[11]
In 2022, CWT had a capital injection which resulted in Carlson becoming a minority shareholder.[12]
On March 25, 2024 rival AMEX GBT announced it's intention to buy CWT.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b "CWT at a glance".
- ^ "Power List 2019". Travel Weekly.
- ^ Biesiada, Jamie (February 21, 2019). "CWT scrubs Carlson and Wagonlit from name". Travel Weekly.
- ^ "Accor Divests Stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel" (Press release). Hospitality Net. 27 April 2006.
- ^ "Carlson Announces It Will Take Full Ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel" (Press release). Business Wire. June 22, 2014.
- ^ Phelps, David (March 5, 2015). "Carlson board sharpens its focus". Minneapolis Star Tribune.
- ^ King, Danny (June 23, 2014). "Carlson to take full ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel". Travel Weekly.
- ^ "Carlson Wagonlit Travel launches new division dedicated to hotels – RoomIt by CWT". CWT (Press release). July 17, 2017. Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ Chaturvedi, Anumeha (July 17, 2017). "Carlson Wagonlit Travel launches new division RoomIt dedicated to hotels". The Times of India.
- ^ "CWT is the New Name in Digital Business Travel, Hotel Distribution, and Meetings & Events". CWT (Press release). February 18, 2019. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "First rule of Ransomware Club is do not pay the ransom, but it looks like Carlson Wagonlit Travel didn't get the memo". The Register (Press release). July 31, 2020.
- ^ "Carlson Family Gives up Control of Namesake Agency CWT in Refinancing Deal". 15 September 2021.
- ^ "Amex GBT To Acquire CWT" (Press release). March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.