Protravel International Acquires Rich Worldwide Travel
As a travel agent with Rich Worldwide Travel, I am extremely excited about this merger. As a result of the this merger, we will become a much larger and stronger entity with more bargaining power with the Travel Industry suppliers. This will enable us to pass along some additional cost savings to our clients. Additionally we will be receiving special offers that we will pass along to our clients. These offer may sometimes not be available to the general traveling public. I will keep your posted with updates as they occur.
New York, NY – June 30th, 2009 – Protravel International Inc. announced today that it had acquired Rich Worldwide Travel. According to Priscilla Alexander, President of Protravel, “with three of the Rich offices in primary Protravel locations, it is a natural merger of similar customers and business philosophies.”
Rich Worldwide, headquartered in Westchester, NY and founded by Ina and Alan Rich in 1954, has been jointly run for the last few years by their two daughters, Michele and Donna, and their sons-in-law, Nathan Devore and Richard Esman. The four principals will continue with the merged companies in senior management positions. With annual sales of $60 million, Rich joins Protravel International, Virtuoso’s Top Producer, reinforcing its position in the premium travel market.
“As a family-run business it was important to find the right agency with which to merge; one that mirrored our business philosophy and direction” said Co-President Richard Esman; “When considering potential partners we looked for several things; an agency with impeccable credentials, a fine reputation for service, a similar business philosophy, smart people and a company committed to growth in the long term. We believe Protravel is all of that, and more.”
Founded in 1984 by Priscilla Alexander, and with over 650 people in 20 locations, Protravel is one of the leading agencies in the U.S., focusing on premium leisure business and corporate accounts in the $1 – $10 million range. Protravel has successfully established itself as an agency that combines boutique service with state of the art technology and strong cost containment, delivering measurable value. With a similar client base and shared business philosophies, this merger makes perfect sense and by joining forces they are no longer competing in the same space.
Never one to look backwards, Alexander said that future considerations were paramount in everyone’s thinking. “This merger affords us the ability to position ourselves for growth in a very competitive industry, allowing us to leverage expanded sales on behalf of our clients, while finding economies of scale that will permit us to invest in people and technology for continued success.”
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Arthur D. Wright is a contributing travel writer to Out Impact and has over 25 years experience in the travel industry. Arthur is with Rich Worldwide Travel, and Rich Worldwide Travel is a member of IGLTA and Virtuoso Travel Association. For more information on Arthur, please visit his blog at http://adwrichtravel.wordpress.com/.
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[...] I posted about the merger between Rich Worldwide Travel and Protravel International. During this process, as a Rich Worldwide Travel agent, we are seeing many positive results of this [...]