Blastness, a leading group in the supply of technology for hotel reservation services, acquires Athena Solutions, a travel tech company specialising in the accommodation sector, to which it supplies dedicated software under the brand ErmesHotels. Among the services offered are booking systems, automated quotations, channel management, GDS connectivity and automated payments.
The acquisition enriches the Blastness portfolio, which now includes more tech solutions and strategic luxury hotels, reinforcing its position in the Italian market where the company has for over 14 years remained the foremost provider of reservation systems for 5-star hotels – confirming its undisputed leadership in the luxury hotel segment. The acquisition also ensures full business continuity for Athena Solutions, whose founders will continue to work in managerial positions within the Group.
The deal is just the latest stage of a successful 2024 for Blastness, now in its 20th year of activity. In fact, for the first time since its creation, summer 2024 saw the value of direct bookings of the Blastness portfolio in Italy match the volumes of Booking.com. This confirms that the goal the company set itself at the time of its formation – to support properties in developing their official sales channel – has now exceeded initial expectations.
Andrea Delfini, Blastness’ founder and CEO, said: "This deal is of great value to us and represents an important development in the growth of our Group. Athena Solutions is an Italian company with an impressive history, solid expertise and a recognised reputation in the hotel market. The acquisition is a great opportunity to be able to provide the high value-added Blastness systems and services to Athena's customer base, which closely corresponds to our target market, where we have developed a wealth of experience. With this acquisition, more than 1,800 hotels will benefit from the services offered by the merger".
Founded in 2003, Athena Solutions was the Beta Test company for Expedia for the launch of Xml connectivity, by developing ErmesHotels, the first Xml Channel Manager in the Italian market, which to date has over 200 certified connections with retail channels. Founded and directed by Marco D'Amore, Roberto Romano and Roberto Santececca, it now boasts more than 600 properties in its portfolio. Customers include prestigious hotels and resorts such as the Grand Hotel Quisisana in Capri, the Covo dei Saraceni in Positano, the Grand Hotel et de Milan, Masseria San Domenico, Masseria Torre Coccaro, and the brand-new The Plein Hotel in Milan, as well as important hotel groups such as Egnazia Ospitalità Italiana (of which the well-known Borgo Egnazia is a part), Greenblu Hotels & Resorts, Bettoja Hotels, Marcegaglia Hotels & Resorts, Eight Hotels (Portofino, Paraggi, Venice, Cortina), Mangia's, Bluserena Hotels & Resorts and many others to add to the more than 1,200 Blastness customer hotels.
Marco D'Amore remarked: "The acquisition represents a great opportunity for growth. Aware that we are part of a market-leading group, we will continue to serve our customers with our usual quality and professionalism. We now also have the opportunity to offer the wide range of products that Blastness has built up in the web, advertising, revenue and consultancy sectors to satisfy all digital needs in the area of hotel reservation management".
Blastness' legal advisor for the merger was the legal and tax firm GPD, with lawyers Andrea Gemma (partner) and Alessia Salamone (senior associate), assisted by Beatrice Nobili and Darina Ferri (associates). Luca Sintoni, a partner at CSSF, oversaw the accounting aspects and tax due diligence. Both GPD and CSSF have long been strategic partners in the growth of Blastness.
