CNG Travel feels the squeeze
The company, which floated on London’s Alternative Investment Market earlier this year, said hotels had found it easier in recent months to fill rooms without using intermediaries. CNG’s revenues suffered as it missed out on commissions that would otherwise have come from hotels that used its software to sell rooms over the internet.
Chief executive Finbarr Power said it was disappointing that improved economic conditions had changed the market and impacted on the company’s ability to generate high-margin hotel bookings.
However, he said TLC, the group’s unique booking tool that was developed in-house, had been well received in the market. Mr Power was pleased with feedback from travel agents and hotels and expected the product would become more popular in the New Year as new features were added.
The company also said yesterday that it had signed three major deals to roll out the availability of the TLC booking software among travel agents. Manchester-based travel technology company NIS will partner with CNG to deliver a combined booking system that will be used by more than 25,000 travel agents across Europe.
CNG also signed a deal with New Jersey-based travel group Hickory Travel Systems, which will install the TLC product at 4,500 travel agents in North and South America. Hickory chairman Bill Chiles said the product would make travel agents’ computer systems more productive and efficient and would allow the agents to compete with online travel providers.
The third deal was with CorporateChoice, the business travel division of Worldchoice, and will cover a further 2,500 travel agents. CNG also said it would sign further deals with leading hotel chains before year end.
Shares in CNG rose slightly in thin trading yesterday, but at 80p remained more than 20% lower than the price at which it floated. The company is valued at approximately stg£50 million (€71 million).
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