AUSTIN, Texas -- Gary Hoover, who helped pioneer the concept of the
travel merchandise-selling agency when he opened his first
TravelFest Superstore here in 1994, will begin franchising the
Travelfest name next year.
Hoover recently licensed his two Austin Superstores to Rose
Pace-Bogdanic, owner of Austin-based Pace Travel.
Hoover's TravelFest operations will continue to buy books,
luggage and travel accessories for the Austin stores and to support
their inventory control system, while Pace-Bogdanic will run the
retail operation, paying TravelFest a yearly licensing fee as well
as a percentage of profits from TravelFest merchandise sold.
Hoover said he currently is looking for a licensee for his third
Texas Superstore, located in Houston.
In 1999, Hoover said he will be able to offer a complete
franchisee package to agents around the country who want to open up
a TravelFest Superstore.
Hoover's change of direction -- from owning and operating
individual stores to franchising the name -- came about partly
because he saw a need for the service. "We'd gotten lots of
requests from agents to do franchises all over the world that we
turned down," he said.
He added that commission cuts and a belief that the TravelFest
stores required management whose strength was in the travel agency
side also played a role in his decision to franchise.
Hoover said he also plans to expand his Web site --
www.travelfest.com -- to sell travel merchandise through the
Internet.