CHESTNUT HILL,
Mass. -- Garber Travel applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office to register the Synergi name, an initial step in maintaining
the global agency group with affiliates that dont join the new TTC
Global Network.
The move came after
the Travel Co. in the U.K. purchased the shares it didnt already
own in the Synergi agency consortium last month and rebranded it as
the TTC Global Network.
That acquisition put
Garber, with 75 offices in North America and the U.S., in a bind.
Thats because the Travel Co. is controlled by the parent of
WorldTravel BTI, which competes with Garber. And, Garber had been
Synergis U.S. affiliate before the acquisition of the
group.
We have talked to
the majority of Synergi partners over the last 10 days, and they
strongly support the concept of maintaining a network using the
Synergi name with a revised, streamlined business approach, said
Garber Travel President Roz Garber.
Many of these
travel management companies spent lots of money rebranding as
Synergi and have a strong interest in maintaining the brand, Roz
Garber added.
Garber Travel would
manage the global network with support of Ian Allan Travel in the
U.K., which had been one of the Synergi shareholders bought
out.
Roz Garber said the
agency would manage the global network from its corporate offices
in Massachusetts, and is developing a lower-cost business
model.
About 40 former
Synergis affiliates have expressed some interest in staying with
the global network, Roz Garber said.
She noted that Garber,
which had been Synergis U.S. affiliate before the acquisition,
received no prior notice about the acquisition.
To contact
reporter Dennis Schaal, send e-mail to [email protected].