New G7 group pools agency leaders and resources

A new agency group that is small but mighty is set to start operations in early January. The newly minted G7 Travel Network is composed of just five independent agencies initially - Custom Travel Solutions in Alberta, YYZ Travel Group in Toronto, Boulevard Travel in Calgary, Canada One Travel in Winnipeg and Forte Business Solutions (Canada).

But these five posted annual sales of around $180 million, and the creative management talents of each have now been pooled under the G7 umbrella.

"This exclusive membership group will place executive leadership to assist each other and new independent members, to manage their sales and growth opportunities," said Kevin Murphy, president of the G7 Travel Network and general manager of Boulevard Travel.

"What we are building is a procurement group, by invitation, that can build upon fundamental business plans that support the supply chain directly," said Vaughan Payne, president and partner of Custom Travel Solutions Inc. "It will provide a supply chain management strategy with key partners from airlines, technology companies, hotels and ground service providers."

Contracts for G7 are already in place, said Payne, and "we can assume that these will continue to build for the association, based on the supply chain strategy we will be following."

The G7 Network will provide a "state-of-the-art" extranet site that will include a library and a menu of services which each member can access. This will help them respond to RFPs, build state-of-the-art delivery platforms, design websites and gain professional and executive leadership consulting, inclusive of outsourced fulfillment services and marketing needs, said Murphy.

The G7 Travel Network has also established a preferred relationship and partnership with Travel Savers Canada and TWIN, the Travel Savers Worldwide International Network. "Although G7 will actively seek to support its associate members in growing their corporate business against targets set by industry, Travel Savers will act as a backstop for all its leisure services," said Murphy.

Payne says the Travel Savers association will help members to "build, maintain and continually improve, which drives value to each organization within the network," and noted that there is no cost to join.

The group reviewed many options and "at the end of the day we made a decision to consolidate our group to Travel Savers based on some long-term relationships, and their alignment with ours, to deliver a program that provides integrity and transparency."

The G7 Travel Network plans to officially launch in the first week of January 2012, and information on establishing a central administrative location will be forthcoming.

"We are extremely excited about the possibilities that there will finally be an avenue for independent Canadian travel companies to grow using very strategically focused executives and members, through innovative services, technologies, operational platforms and support," said Murphy.

- Ted Davis