Intrepid Travel is expanding into the lodging business with an acquisition strategy aimed at improving the way Intrepid Travel travelers experience hotels and accommodations.
Intrepid has added two hotels in Australia and Vietnam in the past three years: the company acquired the 15-room Daintree Ecolodge in North Queensland, Australia for late 2023, and recently signed a three-year lease with the 19-room Hoi An Field Boutique Hotel in Hoi An, Vietnam.
The company also has a 50% joint venture with Australia-based off-grid accommodation company CABN.
Intrepid hired hotel industry veteran Céline Hurel in June to head its lodging expansion, after 24 years at Accor where she most recently served as global head of the Sofitel brand.
At Intrepid, Hurel will be tasked with working with executive leadership to identify opportunities to acquire lodging that supports the company’s philosophy of responsible travel.
Intrepid owns the 15-room Daintree Ecolodge in North Queensland, Australia. Photo credit: Intrepid Travel
Intrepid’s president of the Americas, Matt Berna, said expanding into the hotel business was something co-founder and chairman Darrell Wade “has wanted to make part of the business for the last 10 to 15 years, and now we have the resources and momentum to look at it properly.”
Berna said Intrepid’s lodging strategy is based on the idea that hotels are an important but often overlooked part of travel and are sometimes “mediocre, negative and not even a memorable experience.”
“So how do we take something that’s an essential part of travel and make it a more enriching, immersive experience?” Berna says.
Intrepid said it will focus on acquiring hotels in the destinations with the most tours. Some properties will retain their identity and brand, while some will be co-branded, with the Intrepid name or logo appearing alongside the hotel name.
Hotels that are popular with locals and have an established customer base may retain their brand identity — for example, Berna said the company plans to acquire a traditional riad in Marrakech, Morocco.
Intrepid plans to initially target hotels in the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. Berna, who will leave his current role next year to become senior vice president of U.S. sales and operations, will lead the effort as part of Intrepid’s new growth strategy in North America.
Glamping sites and eco-resorts are high on the list because “it can be part of the trip,” Berna said.
The hotels will be used as preferred accommodations for Intrepid tour guests, but will be available for booking by other travelers.
One of Intrepid’s goals is to attract new customers, and having a highly frequented hotel with its own brand identity helps travelers become aware of Intrepid and its services.
More importantly, it provides Intrepid Tours guests with an authentic local experience.
“I would love to see a place with a restaurant downstairs that is highly regarded by locals,” Berna said.
An unusual move for a travel agency
Intrepid is doing something relatively unusual for a travel company, said Robert Cole, a lodging and leisure analyst at Focuswright.
Vertical integration generally involves a much higher investment risk and to be successful in a hotel you need a dedicated team with the right skillset to lead the strategy and of course a lot of capital.
German travel brand TUI is perhaps the most well-known operator with multiple vertical businesses, owning travel agencies, hotels, cruise lines, retail stores and several European airlines.
Education First, which includes the EF Go-Ahead Tours brand, has its own accommodation division that provides lodging primarily on language school campuses. These properties are typically used for educational travel clients, including students, but the company says some of its 50 properties around the world are also used by leisure travel groups.
A&K Travel Group is also expanding into lodging: The luxury travel brand owns Sanctuary Retreats, which operates safari lodges in Africa and South America for Abercrombie & Kent Tours guests, as well as river cruises in Egypt.
Hurrell’s role will see Intrepid move deeper into the competitive business, and the company said he brings a wealth of experience having held a variety of senior roles with Accor in several countries, including Australia, France and Thailand.
“It’s a really interesting industry, and it’s really competitive, so it’s easy to make mistakes,” Berna said, “so we have an expert, a general manager, who has been a strategic leader in this line of business for years.”
