CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel) is a

travel management company Travel Management Companies (TMCs) are travel agencies that manage organizations' corporate or business travel program. They will often provide an end-user online booking tool, mobile application, program management, and consulting teams, executive ...

that manages

business travel Business travel is travel undertaken for work or business purposes, as opposed to other types of travel, such as for leisure purposes or regularly commuting between one's home and workplace. According to a survey, 88% small business owners e ...

meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism is a type of tourism in which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together. Recently there has been an industry trend toward using the term 'meetings industry ...

, and handles

event management Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of small and/or large-scale personal or corporate events such as festivals, conferences, ceremonies, weddings, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. ...

. 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 The following is a list of top earning travel companies, which includes both travel agencies and corporate travel management companies, as published by ''Travel Weekly''. To qualify for the list, companies must have a minimum of $100 million in sa ...

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 Newrest Wagons-Lits, formerly (lit. ''International Sleeping-Car Company''), also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is a division of particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being ...

(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 Georges Lambert Casimir Nagelmackers (born 25 June 1845 in Liège, Belgium; deceased 10 August 1905 in Villepreux, France) (60 years old) was a Belgian civil engineer and businessman. He was the founder of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons ...

in 1872 in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and later acquired by

Accor Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor op ...

. On April 27, 2006,

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 JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the wo ...

. On June 22, 2014, Carlson, which owned a 55% stake in CWT, agreed to acquire the 45% interest in CWT held by

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...

. 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

* {{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