NEW YORK -- Seagate Travel Group here replaced McCord Travel
Management as the lone U.S. agency in Synergi, a global network of
corporate travel agencies.
Seagate, a $400 million agency, previously was the largest
member of Hickory Travel Systems/First Travel Management, an
organization with many U.S. partners.
In fact, Seagate president Dan Green said, "There are too many
U.S. partners."
McCord's recent acquisition by WorldTravel BTI in Atlanta
created an opening in Synergi, and Green said becoming Synergi's
only U.S. partner will help Seagate more
effectively grow its business worldwide.
First Travel Management was not growing adequately as a global
presence, Green said, adding that becoming the "sole U.S.
representative at a global organization was a home run."
When there are multiple U.S. partners in a global travel
network, it's difficult to get every shareholder on the same
wavelength when a decision needs to be made, he noted.
And when a global network wins a bid to serve a multinational
account, there may be disputes among multiple U.S. partners as to
which agency serves the account, Green said.
"Being the lone U.S. shareholder in Synergi gives us a clear
structure and no pause to go after any piece of business we want,"
he said.
Synergi is composed of 53 agencies with an aggregate sales
volume of $12 billion.
Its headquarters were in Chicago when McCord was Synergi's U.S.
partner, but the network's base has moved to New York.
Seagate is a travel management company with clients in the
sports, entertainment, jewelry and cosmetics industries.
One of Seagate's accounts is a joint venture with the National
Basketball Association and Northwest Airlines, in which Seagate
manages a fleet of aircraft for the NBA.