Company:CWT

From HandWiki
Short description: Travel management company
CWT
FormerlyCarlson Wagonlit Travel
TypePrivately held company
IndustryTravel management company
Founded1994; 32 years ago (1994)
HeadquartersMinneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Area served
145 countries
Key people
Patrick Andersen, President & CEO
ServicesCorporate travel management, Event management
RevenueUS$1.5 billion
Number of employees
18,000
Websitewww.mycwt.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a travel management company that manages business travel, meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions, and handles event management.

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

CWT 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]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "CWT at a glance". https://www.mycwt.com/why-choose-us/our-company/cwt-at-a-glance/. 
  2. ↑ "Power List 2019". Travel Weekly. https://www.travelweekly.com/Power-List-2019. 
  3. ↑ Biesiada, Jamie (February 21, 2019). "CWT scrubs Carlson and Wagonlit from name". Travel Weekly. https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Corporate-Travel/CWT-scrubs-Carlson-and-Wagonlit-from-name. 
  4. ↑ "Accor Divests Stake in Carlson Wagonlit Travel" (Press release). Hospitality Net. 27 April 2006.
  5. ↑ "Carlson Announces It Will Take Full Ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel" (Press release). Business Wire. June 22, 2014. {{cite press release}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. ↑ Phelps, David (March 5, 2015). "Carlson board sharpens its focus". Minneapolis Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/june-23-carlson-board-sharpens-its-focus/264182351/. 
  7. ↑ King, Danny (June 23, 2014). "Carlson to take full ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel". Travel Weekly. https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Corporate-Travel/Carlson-to-take-full-ownership-of-Carlson-Wagonlit-Travel. 
  8. ↑ "Carlson Wagonlit Travel launches new division dedicated to hotels – RoomIt by CWT". CWT (Press release). July 17, 2017.
  9. ↑ Chaturvedi, Anumeha (July 17, 2017). "Carlson Wagonlit Travel launches new division RoomIt dedicated to hotels". The Times of India. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/hotels-/-restaurants/carlson-wagonlit-travel-launches-new-division-roomit-dedicated-to-hotels/articleshow/59631970.cms. 
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ https://skift.com/2021/09/15/carlson-family-gives-up-control-of-namesake-agency-cwt-in-refinancing-deal/