CWT Buys Suburban Boston's Preferred Travel

Carlson Wagonlit Travel today announced it has signed and completed the acquisition of Braintree, Mass.-based Preferred Travel, which CWT claims handles annual air sales of $80 million.

Preferred Travel's 85 employees and management team will stay in place as it transitions to a CWT-owned operation, president of Preferred Travel Liz Hatch confirmed to BTN. The company also handles meetings services and leisure travel. Hatch will report directly to CWT East Region senior vice president Sam DeFranco.

The bulk of Preferred Travel's business is comprised of corporate travel accounts within the Boston metro area, according to CWT North America COO Jack O'Neill. In the coming months, the Preferred name will be integrated into CWT.

"We continue to talk with a number of agencies who may have an interest," said O'Neill. "It's a business that is consolidating and we want to be one of the consolidators and not the consolidatee."