CWT (company)

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

For other uses of CWT, see CWT (disambiguation).
CWT
FormerlyCarlson Wagonlit Travel
TypePrivately held company
IndustryTravel management company
Founded1994 (1994)
HeadquartersMinneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Area served
145 countries
Key people
Kurt Ekert, CEO
ServicesCorporate travel management, Event management
RevenueUS$1.5 billion
OwnerCarlson
Number of employees
18,000
Websitewww.mycwt.com
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

The group 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]

References
  1. "CWT at a glance".
  2. "Power List 2019". Travel Weekly.
  3. Biesiada, Jamie (February 21, 2019). "CWT scrubs Carlson and Wagonlit from name". Travel Weekly.
  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.
  6. Phelps, David (March 5, 2015). "Carlson board sharpens its focus". Minneapolis Star Tribune.
  7. King, Danny (June 23, 2014). "Carlson to take full ownership of Carlson Wagonlit Travel". Travel Weekly.
  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.
  10. "CWT is the New Name in Digital Business Travel, Hotel Distribution, and Meetings & Events". CWT (Press release). February 18, 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.

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