NEW YORK -- Carlson Travel Network, the Minneapolis-based parent of
franchising powerhouse Carlson Wagonlit, announced the launch of a
brand that it billed as "the first limited-service travel agency
franchise organization."
Dubbed Results Travel, the new franchise brand will be marketed
to appeal primarily to the estimated 17,000 U.S. agencies
affiliated with consortia, Carlson officials said in a press
briefing here.
"We noticed in our efforts to attract new franchisees to Carlson
Wagonlit that, among those who chose not to sign up, the most
common reasons offered were agencies wanting to keep their own
identity or to avoid getting locked into long-term contracts," said
Roger Block, executive vice president with Carlson.
"It became clear there was a niche out there for those who
wanted more service than they were getting from the consortia, but
who weren't quite ready to make the jump to a full-service
franchise, and that's exactly what we feel this will be," he
added.
Results, which will initially be targeted for launch in the top
50 metropolitan markets, provides members with Carlson's 24-hour
call center, CRS, members-only extranet site with catalogued
preferred supplier and destination information, and preferred
supplier override agreements, including what Block termed "five
major airlines who carry over half of American air traffic."
The company does not make public the names of its preferred
suppliers, which Block said number between 50 and 60.
What affiliates will not receive, according to Carlson president
Michael Batt, is either the degree of either training or marketing
support enjoyed by Wagonlit franchises.
"We don't ever want to give a false impression or make promises
we can't deliver, so we have to realistically say we're not going
to be focusing on that," Batt said. "If you sign up, it will be
because you want to take advantage of the technology and buying
power, not because we'll be marketing your local agency."
Affiliates must apply for entry to the program, and are granted
one-year contracts with an option to quit at any time, provided at
least 60 days notice is given to inform Carlson's preferred
suppliers.
Conversion fees to join Results Travel will be $1,500, with an
annual fee of $600. However, Carlson will be waiving the initial
conversion fee, as well as the first two years of license fees, for
the first 200 agencies who sign on to the program.
Carlson Wagonlit's 690 franchises, which currently comprise
nearly half the total travel franchises in the country, will remain
largely unaffected by the launch, Batt said.
"In talking to our affiliates, they are not concerned at all
about this being a competition, as they know they stand to benefit
from even greater buying power with the Results locations," Batt
said.