Veteran travel executive John McMahon has acquired luxury online travel agency Five Star Alliance (FSA) from business information and events company Questex LLC. The sale, which was finalized late last week for an undisclosed sum, marks McMahon’s return to the travel industry after his April departure from Questex, where he significantly expanded the organization’s Travel and Hospitality Group, adding new titles, events, industry education and digital expertise to the company’s legacy print titles over a twenty-year long career.

Founded as an online tool to help discerning travelers find and book verified luxury hotels, Five Star Alliance is today the global leader dedicated to pairing luxury customers with the world’s best hotels. It will now transform beyond hotels to become a full-service designer of bespoke travel adding air, cruise, private yacht and vacation rentals and exclusive tours. In addition, FSA has enhanced its VIP Advisor Desk, to offer expert travel advice by professional luxury travel advisors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via online chat or by phone.

By seamlessly merging an online to offline transaction, McMahon believes Five Star Alliance is ahead of its time and is the next important evolution in the purchase of luxury travel. “Growth within the luxury travel sector remains ripe with opportunity and Five Star Alliance is poised to go beyond sourcing the world’s best hotels to meet the travel desires of this discriminating audience every step of the way. With expert assistance available online and in person by pros when and how high-end consumers wish, it’s truly the best of both worlds,” says McMahon.

A fixture in the travel and hospitality industry for more than 30 years, John McMahon literally coined the term “luxury travel advisor,” founding the eponymous publication Luxury Travel Advisor as executive vice president and group publisher of the Questex Travel Group more than a decade ago. He now joins the ranks of the industry he informed, educated and inspired.