AUSTIN, Texas—Cendyn has acquired Knowland in a strategic acquisition that presents an opportunity to enhance sales prospecting by yielding greater bookings in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and events) space.
Knowland’s platform includes market intelligence data on meetings and events gathered from over 7,500 hotels across the United States and a handful of international markets. Knowland’s products connect hoteliers with market insights to drive revenue, accelerate the sales cycle, and optimize processes to achieve group sales goals.
Alongside Cendyn’s current investors, earlier this year, Cendyn welcomed Austin-based Haveli Investments to its private equity portfolio. With their focus on technology companies, the backing by Haveli Investments along with Accel-KKR puts Cendyn on a path of innovation in the hospitality industry. The pairing of Knowland’s meeting and event data with Cendyn’s Sales CRM, Proposals, and Grouprev platforms adds the opportunity to allow customers to find and drive group bookings with a single solution.
“To effectively sell group business, hoteliers need immediate access to data, and Knowland’s event intelligence platform is undoubtedly the market leader in this area. Its sales intelligence complements our Sales CRM, helping hoteliers find their target audience. Then, using our Proposals and Grouprev platforms, hoteliers can complete the booking process. It’s the perfect fit with our commitment to helping hoteliers ‘Find, Book, and Grow’ their business. With Haveli Investments’ dedication and expertise in technology joining our expansion, we’re poised to deliver a bright future for Cendyn’s customers,” said Jack Blaha, CEO, Cendyn.
“Salespeople thrive on information, and over the past 20 years, Knowland has provided them with essential data to help target new business efforts and hone in on genuine leads,” said Jeff Bzdawka, CEO, Knowland. “This exciting new era furthers our commitment to improving the working lives of hotel sales teams and helps shift the needle towards a proactive sales approach to group business.”
According to the U.S. Travel Association, after a slow recovery, business travel is expected to regain 95 percent of its 2019 peak in 2024. The acquisition provides Cendyn with the opportunity to equip its customers with a combined event intelligence and B2B prospecting solution, automating the sales process.
“We are excited to partner with Cendyn, its leadership team, and all of its shareholders, including Accel-KKR to capitalize on the growth opportunities that lie ahead,” said Ian Loring, senior managing director and executive chair at Haveli Investments. “We believe Cendyn’s broad portfolio of hospitality solutions uniquely positions it to help continue capturing market share, expanding into new markets, and driving value for its customers.”
