Edinburgh-based hospitality technology provider Criton has been acquired by global hospitality technology solutions vendor Nonius.

The deal will see Criton merged with Nonius’s mobile solution GuestU. The merged companies will better serve the hospitality market, which has seen major growth since the pandemic hit in 2020.

Founded in 2016 by Julie Grieve, Criton provides white-labelled guest apps to over 300 locations including hotels and serviced apartments. This allows them to offer a fully digital guest journey. In its journey, is has become the UK’s largest provider of guest apps for independent hotels.

The pandemic, in particular, saw significant growth in demand for Criton’s product as hotels struggled with how they could meet guest demand for contactless solutions allowing speedier check-in, use of a mobile key which allows guests to go directly to their room and mobile ordering.

Criton has won awards recognising its hospitality tech, including Best Tech Supplier at the Travolution Awards 2020 and Best Engagement Platform for Hotels at the 2020 Business Elite Awards.

Julie Grieve, Founder and CEO of Criton said: “I am delighted that we have agreed on terms with Nonius, a well-respected and innovative player in the hospitality market.

“I’ve been hugely impressed with their Nonius Hub and believe that together, our products will deliver exactly what hoteliers and their guests want, simple and effective mobile solutions bringing much needed digital transformation to a sector that has a challenging technology landscape and has been significantly impacted over the past two years of the pandemic.

“Since starting Criton we have always taken a customer-first approach, I am hugely proud of all we have achieved and I firmly believe this merger will create a world-leading mobile service allowing hoteliers to embrace the digital service their guests are demanding.”

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Nonius was founded in 2005 and serves over 3,950 hotels across the world with internet access, networks management, interactive TV, digital signage, voice. More recently, they have significantly added to their GuestU platform, as market demand for mobile solutions continues to grow.

GuestU leverages the Nonius integrations hub which enables hotels to access multiple integrations within one app and offer their guests an in-depth digital experience.

The combined mobile business unit will serve 700 hotels and serviced apartments worldwide.

Julie Grieve will continue as Director of Criton. The deal value has not been disclosed.

Antonio Silva CEO and Co-Founder of Nonius said: “At Nonius we have spent the past 17 years building and scaling a business that provides solutions to the global hospitality sector. We have been watching Criton’s growth in the market with interest over the past five years and we are delighted that we have been able to agree on terms to acquire Criton.

“Since its inception, Criton has grown an inspiring client list and we are now starting to implement our plan to fully integrate our platforms to create a world-leading offering from which hoteliers and their guests can benefit.

“In Criton, we have found a business with a similar customer ethic and this acquisition gives Nonius an excellent customer base within the UK from which to continue to scale.”

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