Despegar means "to take off" in Spanish, and the company spent 18 years getting off the ground before it reached the New York Stock Exchange. The Buenos Aires company started in 1999 as an online travel agency for Latin America. By 2017 it sold flights, hotels and package trips across the region, from Brazil to Mexico. When it listed that September, most Latin Americans still booked their trips through travel agents or directly with airlines.

Born in the Bubble

A group of young founders, among them Martín Rastellino, launched Despegar in 1999, just as the dot-com boom peaked. They survived the crash and Argentina's 2001 economic collapse. The bet was that Latin Americans would book travel online if someone handled their currencies, payment habits and installment plans. Despegar built local sites in each country, sold under the Decolar name in Brazil, and added packages and hotels to its airline tickets. Expedia became a major shareholder before the IPO.

From the NYSE to Prosus

Despegar priced its IPO at $26 a share on September 20, 2017, and listed on the NYSE as DESP. The pandemic later shut down travel and hit the company hard, and the stock traded far below its offer price for years. In December 2024 Prosus, the Dutch technology investor, agreed to buy Despegar for $19.50 a share in cash. The deal closed in May 2025, and Despegar left the New York Stock Exchange.

Cover: The Swallows, Félix Henri Bracquemond. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for swallows in flight (taking off).