Roz Garber
Australia's FCm Travel Solutions last month said its parent company took a 25 percent stake in Boston-area travel management company Garber Travel, adding it to FCm's recently expanded network. Garber, which has offices in London, Toronto and seven U.S. states as well as 41 onsite locations, last year left the Synergi network, which BCD Travel had absorbed. Ninety percent of Garber's travel volume is for business travel, the company said. As part of the deal, FCm named North America president Greg Dixon to its newly earned seat on Garber's nine-person board, and the Garber and Hill families each retain 37.5 percent ownership in Garber Travel. The Transnationalspoke recently with Garber Travel president Roz Garber.
Did you approach them or was it the other way around?
FCm has approached us several times over the last few years, most recently when they developed a relationship with our friends in Germany, DER. DER encouraged us to work with FCm. I made it clear that Garber was not for sale, as FCm's usual modus operandi is to purchase agencies, and that instead I would be interested in a joint venture.
How are they setting up management in the United States?
They currently have a North American structure and we are looking forward to managing new business that comes in. In March, they purchased Bannockburn of Chicago, and we have carved out territories so that right now it's divided according to very strict guidelines. And if there ever is controversy, a taskforce will help determine the direction of sales.
What are your plans for branding?
We will co-brand as Garber FCm Travel Solutions. With 60 years of branding and a fine reputation, it was important to understand that the Garber name had to come first in the United States. Elsewhere we'll be known as FCm Travel Solutions.
Will you combine or close any of your offices--say in Canada or the United Kingdom--or reduce headcount as a result of this agreement?
Right now, we are going to service our existing clients and we will evaluate [facilities] from there. We probably will increase headcount. The goal is to grow, so I certainly would need to increase infrastructure to handle additional sales.
Garber has done more than its fair share of experimentation with new booking technologies, such as ITA Software's reservations system. With the FCm deal, is there any reason to move to common technology with other FCm companies?
I think that's an advantage in belonging to this network. They have a customer relationship management [tool] that they use for sales, which we're interested in looking at. Our international clients are requesting data consolidation, so we'll look to FCm to use some of their advanced technology and help us out in that area as well.