by Mark Chillingworth

Avis lose CIO to LateRooms.com

News
May 18, 20111 min
CareersMedia and Entertainment IndustryTransportation and Logistics Industry

Adam Gerrard, formerly CIO of car hire giants Avis Europe has moved to become the CTO of Laterooms.com the online hotel booking aggregation service.

Gerrard had been group CIO of Avis Europe since November 2007. At Avis Gerrard brought together the national IT operations in the various markets Avis operates in to create a central services model that enabled greater sharing of technology and best practices.

Read the full CIO interview with Adam Gerrard

LateRooms became part of the First Choice travel business in December 2006 when the UK travel operator bought the online business for £108m. First Choice, and later TUI Travel, who acquired First Choice, saw the LateRooms acquisition as an opportunity to bolster their presence in the online only sales market and the burgeoning price comparison market. Consumers use LateRooms to make last minute bookings as well as compare hotel prices in locations.

LateRoomshas grown aggressively as a business and now operates in five languages. The Manchester based business launched in 1999 and saw its business grow by 50 per cent in 2008.