A SCOTTISH travel technology company has been acquired by global hospitality solutions vendor Nonius.
The merger of Edinburgh-based Criton, which claims to be the UK’s largest guest apps provider for independent hotels, with GuestU, Nonius’s mobile solution, will serve 700 premises in the hospitality sector in a market that has grown since the pandemic hit.
Criton was founded in 2016 by Julie Grieve and provides white-labelled guest apps to over 300 locations including hotels and serviced apartments.
The pandemic saw significant growth in demand for Criton’s product as hotels sought to establish how they could meet guest demand for contactless solutions allowing speedier check-in, use of mobile key which allows guests to go directly to their room and mobile ordering.
Nonius was founded in 2005 and serves over 3,950 hotels across the world with internet access, networks management, interactive TV, digital signage, voice and the GuestU platform.
The combined mobile business unit will serve the 700 hotels and serviced apartments worldwide.
Ms Grieve, who will continue as director of Criton, said: “I’ve been hugely impressed with their Nonius Hub and believe that together, our products will deliver exactly what hoteliers and their guests want, simple and effective mobile solutions bringing much needed digital transformation to a sector that has a challenging technology landscape and has been significantly impacted over the past two years of the pandemic."
Antonio Silva, Noniusco-founder, said: “At Nonius we have spent the past 17 years building and scaling a business that provides solutions to the global hospitality sector.
"We have been watching Criton’s growth in the market with interest over the past five years and we are delighted that we have been able to agree on terms to acquire Criton.
"Since its inception, Criton has grown an inspiring client list and we are now starting to implement our plan to fully integrate our platforms to create a world-leading offering from which hoteliers and their guests can benefit.
"In Criton, we have found a business with a similar customer ethic and this acquisition gives Nonius an excellent customer base within the UK from which to continue to scale.”
The deal value was not disclosed.
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