HRS has taken a stake in Lido Group, with Brian Bridgewood, Tobias Ragge and Steve Mackenzie, signing the deal

The global hotel solutions provider HRS has invested in the Australian company The Lido Group through a strategic partnership, thus continuing its global expansion.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Sydney, The Lido Group is a market-leading corporate and government accommodation aggregator and provider of integrated payment solutions.

Its portfolio boasts some 6,700 hotels in Australia.

By taking this step, HRS is extending its global portfolio and is now active in all of the top business travel markets in the world.

The business travel market is growing worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific region recording particularly strong growth and thus solidifying its top-ranking position.

One of these growing markets is Australia, which is ranked the seventh largest market in the world for accommodation in the business travel sector.

Australian companies frequently book their business travel accommodation online: Australia is one of the global leaders in this regard, with online hotel bookings representing 76 per cent of its total market.

“Australia is a very dynamic and progressive market,” said Tobias Ragge, chief executive, HRS, when formally signing the contract in Sydney.

“Thanks to the investment in The Lido Group and the expansion of our portfolio into Australia, HRS is now well-positioned in all of the world’s top business travel markets.

“We can also provide even better support to our customers when it comes to their worldwide travel programs.”

The Lido Group currently works with government organisations, such as the Queensland Government and government owned organisations such as Ergon Energy, as well as global providers such as American Express and Amadeus.