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
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, the company reported US$23 billion in total transaction volume in 2018.
It is ranked 5th on the
list of top earning travel companies published by ''
Travel Weekly
Travel Weekly Group Ltd is a UK publishing and events company serving the travel industry, principally travel agents, tour operators and other suppliers.
Its main brand is weekly business publication ''Travel Weekly'' and its associated onlin ...
''.
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
The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car.
...
''), founded by
Georges Nagelmackers in 1872 in
Belgium and later acquired by
Accor.
On April 27, 2006,
Accor announced the sale of its 50% interest in CWT: 5% to
Carlson and 45% to
One Equity Partners
One Equity Partners is a private equity firm with over $10 billion in assets under management which primarily deals with the industrial, healthcare and technology sectors in North America and Europe. One Equity Partners was the merchant banking a ...
, an affiliate of
JP Morgan Chase.
On June 22, 2014,
Carlson, which owned a 55% stake in CWT, agreed to acquire the 45% interest in CWT held by
JPMorgan Chase.
In July 2017, the company launched RoomIt by CWT, dedicated to hotel distribution.
On February 18, 2019, the company announced that it was rebranding as CWT.
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.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Travel and holiday companies of the United States
Privately held companies based in Minnesota
Travel management
Carlson (company)
Hospitality companies established in 1994
American companies established in 1994
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021