Flying Elephant

What Flying Elephant does

Flying Elephant AS is a privately held Norwegian investment company, established in 1993 and headquartered in Oslo, that builds, owns, and operates businesses within the hotel industry. The group is organized around two core subsidiaries: Gest Hotels, the operating company that runs 14 hotels with approximately 2,050 rooms across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) under six franchise brands — Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Comfort Hotel, Quality Hotel, Home Hotel, and First Hotels — alongside a Best Western BW Signature Collection property; and Host Hoteleiendom AS, which owns and asset-manages a real estate portfolio of 11 hotel properties with roughly 1,699 rooms, plus a development site at Jessheim near Oslo Airport Gardermoen.

The business model blends a white-label hotel operator (Gest Hotels) with a property owner/asset manager (Host Hoteleiendom AS), generating revenue from operated hotel gross operating profit, third-party management fees for branded properties, and rental or asset-management economics from owned Scandinavian hotel real estate. Distribution to end guests occurs through the global booking and loyalty platforms of its franchise partners rather than via a direct Flying Elephant channel.

Customer segments span three constituencies: hotel property owners seeking professional operators, international hotel brands (Hyatt, Strawberry/Nordic Choice, Best Western, First Hotels) requiring a Scandinavian operating partner, and travelers/consumers booking through branded channels. Notable heritage assets include Skt. Petri (Copenhagen), Hotel G (Gothenburg), Grims Grenka (Oslo), Amaranten (Stockholm), and the flagship Hôtel Reisen (Stockholm) under Unbound Collection by Hyatt. Corporate governance is supported by a Transparency Act disclosure, a whistleblowing portal, and a long-running CSR partnership with Amani Children's Home in Tanzania funded via employee payroll contributions.

Name

Flying Elephant

Legal name

Flying Elephant AS

Website

https://flyingelephant.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Flying Elephant AS is a Norwegian investment company established in 1993 that develops, owns, and operates hotel businesses across Scandinavia through subsidiaries Gest Hotels (operating 14 hotels, ~2,050 rooms) and Host Hoteleiendom AS (11 owned properties, ~1,699 rooms).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hotel Investment & Management

NAICS

Traveler Accommodation (7211)

SIC

Hotels & Motels (7011), Real Estate Dealers (For Their Own Account) (6532)

akta.pro primary industry

Resort Convention Hotels (THAGALAC)

Keywords

• Hotel investment
• Hotel management services
• Hospitality asset management
• Hotel franchise operations
• Hotel real estate

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Flying Elephant AS is a Norwegian investment company established in 1993 that develops and manages businesses within the hotel industry. It operates through two core subsidiaries: Gest Hotels, which runs cost-effective hotel operations and commercial activities for 14 hotels across Scandinavia under six franchise brands; and Host Hoteleiendom AS, which owns and manages a real estate portfolio of 11 hotel properties with approximately 1,699 rooms.

Product overview

Flying Elephant is a Norwegian investment company established in 1993 that develops and manages businesses offering leading products and brands within the hotel industry. The company operates through two primary entities: Gest Hotels serves as the operating company managing 14 hotels across Scandinavia under six brands (Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Comfort Hotel, Quality Hotel, Home Hotel, and First Hotels), while Host Hoteleiendom AS functions as the real estate asset manager overseeing a portfolio of 11 hotel properties. The company previously developed notable Scandinavian hotels including Skt. Petri in Copenhagen, Hotel G in Gothenburg, Grims Grenka in Oslo, and Amaranten in Stockholm. Flying Elephant also provides governance services including a whistleblowing portal and maintains CSR initiatives such as the Amani Program supporting children's welfare in Tanzania.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Gest Hotels: Hotel operating company managing 14 hotels in Scandinavia under brands including Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Comfort Hotel, Quality Hotel, Home Hotel and First Hotels.

Products and services

• Gest Hotels Hotel Management Services Hotel operating services delivered by the group's operating company Gest Hotels, providing cost-effective hotel operations and commercial activities through centralized monitoring, training, and operating standards. Covers 14 properties in Scandinavia under franchise agreements with international hotel brands.
• Host Hoteleiendom AS Real Estate Asset Management Hotel real estate ownership and asset management services for the group, creating long-term sustainable cash flow and value through acquiring, managing, and selling hotel real estate. Manages a portfolio of 11 hotel properties geographically diversified across Scandinavia with approximately 1,699 rooms.
• Scandinavian Hotel Property Portfolio A combined portfolio of hotel properties operated by Gest Hotels across Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, encompassing approximately 2,050 rooms under brands including Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt Place, Comfort Hotel, Quality Hotel, Home Hotel, and First Hotels.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gest HotelscoreOthersGest Hotels is the Group's hotel operating company, undertaking cost-effective hotel operations and commercial activities through centralized monitoring and training. This is the primary operating subsidiary of Flying Elephant managing 14 hotel properties across Scandinavia.
• Hyatt (Unbound Collection by Hyatt, Hyatt Place)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGest Hotels operates multiple Hyatt-branded properties in Scandinavia including Hôtel Reisen in Stockholm (Unbound Collection) and Hyatt Place Gothenburg Central. These franchise partnerships provide international brand distribution.
• Strawberry (Comfort Hotel, Quality Hotel, Home Hotel)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGest Hotels operates multiple properties under Strawberry's brands including Comfort Hotel Sundsvall, Quality Hotel Grand Falun, and Home Hotel Christian IV. Strawberry is a Nordic hotel company.
• Best Western (BW Signature Collection)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGest Hotels operates Karlskrona Stadshotell under Best Western's BW Signature Collection brand.
• First HotelscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGest Hotels operates multiple First Hotels properties including First Hotel Grand Odense, First Hotel Millennium Oslo, First Hotel Stadt Härnösand, First Hotel Witt Kalmar, First Hotel Statt Örnsköldsvik, First Hotel Olofström, First Hotel Breiseth Lillehammer, and First Hotel Jörgen Kock Malmö.
• Host Hoteleiendom AScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost Hoteleiendom AS is the hotel real estate owner and asset manager of the group, creating long-term sustainable cash flow and value through acquiring, managing and selling hotel real estate. In December 2023, Host AB divested 51% of shares in Host Property AB to Gelba Management AB.
• Amani Children's HomeminorOthersAmani Children's Home is dedicated to protecting Tanzania's most vulnerable population: street children. Established in 2001 in Moshi and Arusha, Tanzania. Flying Elephant's partnership began in 2005 when Asmund Haare visited Tanzania and learned about the organization. Since then, employees have made donations through optional monthly paycheck contributions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flying-elephant-as

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Flying Elephant