Signature Travel Network has signed on 18 agencies as members since January, the group said Tuesday, higher than its typical number of 10 to 12.
In addition, current members of the consortium have acquired seven agencies this year, all from outside the Signature network.
Among the co-op's new members is Travel Planners International, the Maitland, Fla.-based host agency that ranks No. 33 on Travel Weekly's 2020 Power List.
Signature president and CEO Alex Sharpe said that, based on 2019 numbers, the new members will add around 40% to Signature’s sales with its preferred suppliers.
During an update with members, Sharpe said the co-op has 206 owners in the U.S. and one in Canada. It has 89 international affiliates: 82 in Australia, three in Brazil, two in Mexico, one in New Zealand and one in the Dominican Republic.
Sharpe welcomed the new members.
"I just want to really ... say how pleased I am to have more wonderful people come into the fold that will only help us all grow coming out of this, get back to our volume and growth year over year," he said. "That's really what it's all about."
Signature's new members are:
- Cadillac Travel, Southfield, Mich.
- Continental Capers Travel Center, Gainesville, Fla.
- Edgewood Travel, Savannah, Ga.
- Elevations Travel, Atlanta, Ga.
- Go Travel, Longwood, Fla.
- Jeffrey's World of Travel, Great Neck, N.Y.
- MEI-Travel, Issaquah, Wash.
- Prestige Travel and Cruises, Las Vegas
- Stellar Travel, Bellevue, Wash.
- The Art of Vacationing, Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Travel and Cruise Deck, Lake Oswego, Ore.
- Travel of America, Covina, Calif.
- Travel Planners International
- Unique Romance and Adventure Travel, Anacortes, Wash.
- Viajas el Corte Ingles, Mexico City
- Viking Travel Service, Westmont, Ill.
- Vista Travel Associates, North Palm Beach, Fla.
- World-Wide Travel Associates, Washington D.C.
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Sharpe said new members were likely drawn to Signature for its technology offerings, as well as its member engagement.
“There is a perception that we’ve been even more engaged with our members, and I think I would certainly agree,” he said. “We’ve had to right-size like everybody, but we kept our team largely intact, and we’re just digging in and trying to do more for the members when they have fewer resources, rather than being in survival mode.”
Even as it gained 18 new members, it lost three this year: one due to
the death of an owner, one due to illness and one closure was related to the
pandemic-era business climate.
This report was updated Dec. 15 with information from a Signature press conference.