Recommended Hotels sold to Cultuzz Digital Media

Berlin-based Cultuzz Digital Media GmbH has acquired Recommended Hotels Ltd, in a deal advised by Initium.

Recommended Hotels Ltd is a unique out-sourced content management and sales and marketing solutions company, specialising in generating bookings for independently owned hotels, apartments and venues through online travel agents (OTAs). Established in 2003, Recommended Hotels Ltd works with the UK’s leading OTAs, such as laterooms.com, booking.com and lastminute.com.

“I trusted the Initium team to make the right choices on my behalf. In the end your international focus paid off” – Martin Phillips, Recommended Hotels

Founded in 2000, Cultuzz is a leading provider of software, technology and content solutions to the travel and hospitality industry. Its Channel Manager software allows hotels to synchronise their inventory with OTA platforms automatically and in real time, optimising distribution and sales while cutting costs and eliminating human error.

The acquisition of Recommended Hotels allowed Cultuzz to strengthen its footprint in the UK.

Deal commentary

Martin Phillips, founder of Recommended Hotels, offered his perspective on approaching the sale, and Initium’s role as advisor: “I needed an innovative approach to selling my business to go along with my unique business model. Everyone I met at Initium gave me confidence: from the first meeting at through to the project team assigned to sell my company.

“I trusted the Initium team to make the right choices on my behalf. In the end your international focus paid off for me as I sold to a German buyer. We had the UK market knowledge and they had software systems which greatly complemented our model – the synergies were fantastic and I knew it could work hand in glove.”