Northstar Travel Group

What Northstar Travel Group does

Northstar Travel Group is a U.S.-headquartered B2B media and events company serving the global travel industry across five verticals: corporate travel, meetings and sports, hotel investment, retail travel, and travel technology. The company operates a portfolio of owned media brands (Travel Weekly, Business Travel News, PhocusWire, TravelPulse, SportsTravel, Hotel Investment Today, TravelAge West, Meetings & Conventions Asia) and roughly a dozen proprietary event properties (ALIS, TEAMS Conference + Expo, Business Travel Show, Phocuswright Conference, CruiseWorld, Global Travel Marketplace, Mountain Travel Symposium, WiT). Its reach includes over 100,000 corporate travel buyers, nearly 500,000 meetings and event professionals, 130,000+ retail travel subscribers, and 110,000 international delegates attending BHN Group hotel investment events across 22 countries.

The business monetizes through three primary streams: (1) events and conferences via attendee registration, exhibitor fees, and sponsorship; (2) media and publishing via display advertising, sponsored content, and digital media placements across its owned editorial sites; and (3) information products and research, including subscription-based research, data products, and the Phocuswright analyst franchise. Technology infrastructure includes digital content delivery platforms, event registration and management systems, the Axus meetings technology platform, and the daily Northstar Travel Today newsletter. Northstar was acquired by JTB Corp. of Japan from EagleTree Capital in September 2025 and now operates as an independent subsidiary, with 501–1,000 employees.

Customer segments are diversified across enterprise advertisers/sponsors (airlines, hotels, OTAs, travel management companies), event attendees and exhibitors, and individual or corporate subscribers. The model is event-driven and community-led: the company leverages decades-old editorial brands to drive event attendance and advertising pipeline, and uses its event footprint to reinforce subscription and audience engagement across brands.

Name

Northstar Travel Group

Legal name

Northstar Travel Media

Website

https://NorthstarTravelGroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Northstar Travel Group is a B2B travel industry media and events company operating owned brands (Travel Weekly, BTN, PhocusWire) and major conferences (ALIS, TEAMS, Business Travel Show) serving corporate travel buyers, meeting planners, hotel investors, and retail travel professionals globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Industry Media and Events

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591), Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (5615)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Meetings & Group Travel Management (Corporate/MICE) (THALANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Meetings & Group Travel Management (Corporate Groups) (THAKAMAC), Travel Subscription, Membership & Deal Clubs (THAKAAAL)

Keywords

• Travel industry media
• Business travel events
• Trade publications
• Hotel investment conferences
• Corporate travel research

Headquarters

HQ city

Secaucus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Events and Conferences: Northstar generates revenue through organizing and hosting industry conferences and events including ALIS, TEAMS, Business Travel Show, Phocuswright Conference, CruiseWorld, Mountain Travel Symposium, The Meetings Show, and Global Travel Marketplace. Revenue comes from attendee registration fees, exhibitor/sponsor participation fees, and associated event services.
2. Media and Publishing: Revenue from publishing advertising across multiple media brands including Travel Weekly, Business Travel News, Business Travel News Europe, PhocusWire, SportsTravel, TravelPulse, TravelAge West, and Hotel Investment Today. Income generated through display advertising, sponsored content, and digital media placements.
3. Information Products and Research: Northstar provides research, data and software products to the travel industry, offering market intelligence, industry analysis, and data products for corporate travel buyers, hotel investors, and travel professionals.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Northstar Travel Group is a B2B information and marketing solutions company serving the global travel industry. It operates a portfolio of trade media brands (Business Travel News, Travel Weekly, PhocusWire, Phocuswright, TravelPulse, SportsTravel, Hotel Investment Today), industry conferences (ALIS, TEAMS, Business Travel Show, CruiseWorld, Phocuswright Conference, Mountain Travel Symposium, Global Travel Marketplace), research/data products, and marketing/advertising solutions. Its audiences include corporate travel buyers, meeting planners, hotel investors, and retail travel professionals.

Product overview

Northstar Travel Group is a multi-brand B2B travel media and events company operating as a platform-plus-sub-brands architecture. The portfolio includes media brands (Business Travel News/BTN Group, Travel Weekly, PhocusWire, Phocuswright, TravelPulse, SportsTravel, Hotel Investment Today, Meetings & Conventions Asia, TravelAge West), event properties (Business Travel Show, ALIS, TEAMS Conference, CruiseWorld, Global Travel Marketplace, Mountain Travel Symposium, Phocuswright Conference, WiT), technology tools (Axus), and services (Northstar Travel PR, Northstar Travel Today newsletter). The BHN Group serves the hotel investment vertical, while Northstar Meetings Group serves the meetings and events sector. The company was acquired by JTB Corp. in 2025 and now operates as an independent subsidiary serving a global professional travel audience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BTN Group: Business travel information, news, data, analysis, and research brand serving corporate travel buyers and procurement leaders.
• BHN Group
• Northstar Meetings Group
• WiT (Web in Travel)
• PhocusWire
• TravelWeekly
• TravelPulse
• Business Travel News
• SportsTravel
• TEAMS Conference
• ALIS (Americas Lodging Investment Summit)
• Phocuswright
• CruiseWorld
• TravelAge West

Products and services

• BTN Group (Business Travel News) Leading provider of business travel and meeting information, news, data, analysis, and research for the $1.4 trillion business travel industry, serving over 100,000 corporate travel buyers and procurement leaders responsible for managing their organizations' annual T&E spend.
• Travel Weekly Trusted travel industry trade publication providing news, analysis, and insights to retail travel professionals, with a 60-year content heritage in the travel and luxury space.
• PhocusWire Travel technology news outlet covering innovation, digital transformation, and emerging trends in the travel industry for technology vendors, travel buyers, and investors.
• Phocuswright Research Travel research and advisory firm providing market intelligence, analyst coverage, and syndicated research on the global travel industry for travel companies, investors, and technology vendors.
• TravelPulse Travel industry news and content platform delivering articles, videos, and insights to travel advisors and retail travel professionals.
• SportsTravel Publication and brand serving the sports-event industry with news and information for sports travel professionals, event organizers, and host destinations.
• TravelAge West Trade publication delivering travel industry news, destination coverage, and supplier information to travel professionals in the western United States.
• Hotel Investment Today Digital publication covering hotel investment news, transactions, and market analysis for hospitality investors, lenders, developers, and owners.
• Meetings & Conventions Asia Publication covering the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry across the Asia Pacific region.
• Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) Premier annual hotel investment conference bringing together investors, lenders, developers, owners, and operators for deal-making, market intelligence, and networking across the Americas lodging sector.
• TEAMS Conference + Expo Leading conference and expo for the sports-event industry, attracting over 1,000 attendees including CEOs, executive directors, and sports-event organizers.
• Business Travel Show Premier business travel industry exhibition and conference where corporate travel buyers, procurement, and bookers gather to start, improve, or benchmark their travel programmes and meet suppliers.
• Business Travel Show America Regional North American corporate travel event at the Javits Center in New York, bringing together corporate travel buyers, travel managers, procurement leaders, and service providers.
• Business Travel Show Asia Pacific Regional Asia Pacific corporate travel event held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, organized by BTN Group, bringing together over 3,000 corporate travel professionals, procurement leaders, and suppliers.
• CruiseWorld Travel Weekly's annual cruise industry event bringing travel advisors and suppliers together for educational workshops, networking events, and an Exhibitor Showcase focused on cruise growth and evolution.
• Global Travel Marketplace (GTM) Elite appointment-based event connecting top-producing travel advisors with global travel suppliers through pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings and networking.
• Mountain Travel Symposium Largest and longest-running annual gathering of mountain travel professionals in the world, providing education, networking, and supplier connections for the mountain travel segment.
• The Phocuswright Conference Premier travel industry conference where influential travel leaders gather for pointed conversations, critical debate, and the next wave of innovation in travel and technology.
• WiT (Web in Travel) Travel technology conference and media brand covering AI in travel, distribution, corporate travel, and payment evolution; operates events such as WiT Queenstown as a Northstar Travel Group company.
• BHN Group Hotel Investment Events Hotel investment event portfolio bringing together investors, lenders, developers, and owners across 22 countries with 110,000 international delegates, including regional Hotel Investment Conferences across the Americas, EMEA and APAC.
• Northstar Meetings Group Premier B2B information and marketing solutions platform serving nearly 500,000 actively engaged business meetings and event owners, planners, and interactive professionals across an integrated suite of data, digital, events, and print products.
• Axus Technology platform for the meetings and events industry supporting itinerary management and operations for event planners and suppliers.
• Northstar Travel Today Newsletter Daily eNewsletter delivering top industry news, research, and insights aggregated from Northstar's trusted media brands to travel industry subscribers.
• Northstar Travel PR Boutique travel public relations agency offering integrated earned media strategy combined with travel trade engagement for destinations and travel brands across the UK, Ireland, and the United States.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves over 100,000 corporate travel buyers managing T&E spend
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Travel AdvisorscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 April 2026Luxury travel advisors are key customers of Northstar's media brands, responding to trends toward meaningful connections through immersive and authentic travel experiences. Travel advisors use Northstar content to create curated, high-end experiences and organize small, intimate groups.
• Rocket Travel MarketingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 31 March 2026Northstar Travel PR launched in partnership with UK-based Rocket Travel Marketing to serve destinations and travel brands in the UK and Ireland. Rocket Travel Marketing provides integrated earned media strategy and travel trade engagement capabilities as part of this boutique PR agency launch.
• The Abbi AgencyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 31 March 2026Northstar Travel PR launched in partnership with The Abbi Agency in the United States to offer an integrated approach combining earned media strategy with travel trade engagement for destinations and travel brands.
• JTB CorpcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 September 2025JTB Corp acquired Northstar Travel Group from EagleTree Capital, with the transaction expected to close in September 2025. Northstar operates as an independent subsidiary of JTB, continuing to serve a global professional travel audience. This acquisition supports cross-regional expansion and strengthens both companies' positions in the global travel industry.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• STR (CoStar hospitality benchmarking): STR, part of CoStar, provides hotel performance benchmarking, data, and industry intelligence and competes with Northstar's BHN Group and Hotel Investment Today for hotel investment research and media attention. It is the dominant paid-data analytics provider in the same hotel investment segment.
• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association): PCMA is the leading association for convention and business events strategists and runs its own flagship Convene conferences, education, and digital media. It overlaps with Northstar Meetings Group for sponsorship, content, and audience engagement with the same meetings and events buyer base.
• Skift: Skift is a digital travel industry media, research, and events company covering corporate travel, online travel, and the broader travel ecosystem. It competes head-on with Northstar's PhocusWire, Phocuswright research output, and travel-industry conferences for audience and sponsorship share.
• Meeting Professionals International (MPI): MPI is the largest association for meeting and event professionals, delivering education, networking, and its own annual conference that draws from the same ~500,000 professional audience as Northstar Meetings Group and TEAMS. It is a community-led peer competing for meetings industry mindshare.
• TTG Media (Jacobs Media Group): TTG Media publishes travel trade titles including Travel Weekly UK and TTG, serving travel agents and corporate buyers with news, data, and events. It directly competes with Northstar's BTN Group and Travel Weekly on retail and corporate travel audiences in Europe.

Broad incumbents

• Questex: Questex is a B2B media and events operator serving verticals including hospitality, travel, and meetings through owned brands and live events. It overlaps with Northstar Meetings Group, Phocuswright research, and hospitality media assets as a diversified competitor.
• Informa: Informa is one of the world's largest B2B events, media, and academic publishing groups and owns Travel Weekly in the UK and runs major travel and hospitality exhibitions. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps with Northstar on retail travel media and travel industry events globally.
• Reed Exhibitions: Reed Exhibitions is one of the world's largest exhibition organizers across multiple verticals and runs travel and tourism trade shows such as Arabian Travel Market. It is a broader incumbent competing for corporate travel and tourism event sponsorships and audiences that Northstar also targets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xlinkedin.com/company/northstar-travel-media
• Facebookfacebook.com/NTGtravel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northstar-travel-media
• Instagraminstagram.com/ntgtravel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A6 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northstar Travel Group