Travel management company discloses outside investments, new CEO

Equity stakes bought by two investment firms in Accommodations Plus International, a Melville-based travel management company, will help the firm invest in new technology and its workforce, API chief executive Richard McLeer said Monday.

API, which books hotel stays for flight crews for more than 80 U.S. and foreign airlines, announced last week that it had received investments in May from ClearPoint Investment Partners, a San Mateo, California-based private equity firm that invests in business service companies, and Manhattan-based Invus Opportunities, an equity investor in a broad range of industries.

The size of the investments was not disclosed.

Accommodations Plus also announced the appointment of McLeer, a co-founder of local technology company Dealertrack, as the 34-year-old company’s new chief executive. McLeer, who joined the company last year as chief operating officer, served as chief information officer and executive vice president of technology and service solutions for Dealertrack, the North Hills-based developer of software for auto dealers, until 2016. He became CEO in May.

The investments by ClearPoint and Invus give “API the opportunity to invest in technology, processes and people to grow the business and better serve our current clients,” McLeer said. “In terms of technology you want to make sure that you’re investing in reliability and stability of the platform and continued innovation.”

Ingrid Mazul and Carty Chock, co-founders and partners at ClearPoint, have joined the API board of directors. Executives from Invus have also taken positions on the company’s board.

Accommodations Plus has grown its business and employment in recent years. The company has approximately 350 employees today — most of whom work on Long Island — up from about 77 in 2013.

The company is also projected to book around 8 million rooms this year, up from about 6 million rooms in 2015.

McLeer credited the growth to the company’s reputation and execution “coupled with an increase in airlines’ willingness to outsource this kind of service.”