With 2 U.S. Members, Synergi Moves On

<B> With 2 U.S. Members, Synergi Moves On</B>

By Sarah Welt

<i>New York</i> - Quelling industry rumors of its imminent demise, Synergi--formerly SRG International--begins 1998 with a new organizational structure and a new name and logo, as it moves into the new year with only two U.S. members: McCord Travel Management and U.S. Office Products.

Still, it said, the Chicago-based McCord, with $600 million in annual air sales, and the Denver-based USOP, with $1.4 billion, create a partnership that rivals the volume of the original group.

The statement follows on the heels of the recent announcement that yet another SRGI founding member plans to leave the global travel network. Mt. Laurel, N.J.-based Travel One's December decision to part company came shortly after Travel & Transport of Omaha pulled out of the association and joined Woodside Travel Trust (<i>BTN</i>, Dec. 8, 1997).

Travel One has signed with Hickory Travel Systems/First Travel Management International, the global consortium with $9.5 billion in annual sales, said senior vice president of strategic planning Charles Roumas.

Roumas said Travel One found it "disconcerting to belong to something where one member (USOP) suddenly became a dominant force in the organization." Travel One "wants to be in control of its own destiny. We are running our own global expansion plans and we are not relying on centralizing with any organization."

Synergi, meanwhile, views the new organizational structure as a positive step for its multinational network. The group has an aggressive growth strategy, and on Jan. 1 added three global partners--Millennium Team of Italy, Diners World Travel in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and Mercury Travels Ltd. in India. Synergi plans to raise the number of its partners from 29 to between 35 and 40, said president J.J. Doran. The network specifically is looking to add partners in Latin and South America, Austria, Belgium, China and Japan.

Domestically, Doran said McCord and USOP make ideal partners, and noted that there is only one country besides the United States with more than one Synergi member. Indeed, having but two U.S. affiliates will make it easier for clients. "Some of our customers said it was difficult to pin us down as to who and what we were in a particular market. This is clearer," he said.

USOP in its '97 buying spree acquired three SRGI founding members: Mutual Travel, Associated Travel and Professional Travel Corp. While Doran said the acquisition by USOP of some of Synergi's affiliates was "certainly catalytic," he added that decisions to part company were made for business reasons, "and Synergi did not force anyone out."

Doran said the new structure is "a very positive step" and "perhaps long overdue" as some regional agencies became national. "There were bound to be conflicts of interest and this prevents that from being an issue," he said.