Power List 2016: Introduction By Harvey Chipkin / June 27, 2016
It had seemed likely that we might see a change at the top of the Power List this year as a result of Priceline Group's momentum in the last few years. Moreover, in last year's ranking the top two were practically neck and neck, with Expedia Inc. at $50.4 billion in annual travel sales and Priceline at $50.3 billion.
Yet Expedia has maintained its position at No. 1, partly through aggressive expansion, such as the takeover of Travelocity and Orbitz Worldwide (No. 7 last year.) This year, our top agency clocked in with nearly $61 billion in travel sales in 2015.
Acquisitions were part of the continuing consolidation in the industry that resulted in the departure of some names even as new agencies joined.
It all adds up to some interesting dynamics in our annual Power List, which ranks agencies that report annual travel sales in the previous year of $100 million or more.
There were 21 listees -- the same number as last year -- reporting sales of more than $1 billion. To parse the numbers further: The top five agencies in the Power List collectively realized nearly $200 billion in travel sales in 2015.
World Travel Service, a perennial on the list and No. 34 last year, was acquired by No. 5, BCD Travel. Teplis Frosch, which last year was No. 55, has since been totally absorbed by No. 17, Frosch. (Longtime listee Montrose Travel was acquired by Corporate Travel Management, but since the deal was not completed until Jan. 1 the pair retain their separate rankings on this year's list, at No. 41 and No. 12, respectively.)
There was even a rare instance of a company that split, with both resulting enterprises remaining on the list: American Express Global Business Travel, at No. 3, and American Express Travel, at No. 8 (see Industry Focus).
New listees included Travel Planners International, at 42 (see Industry Focus), Creative Lodging Solutions, at 53, and KHM Travel Group, at 58.
Hosting, globalizing
One strong trend was the prominence of host agencies, though that is not a term that all prefer: Travel Planners International, for example, prefers the term "collection of specialists." Among listees with high percentages of sales from hosting were Travel Leaders Group (9), Travizon (26), Avoya Travel (35), Cruise Planners (36), Travel Experts (38), Travel Planners International (42), Uniglobe Travel Partners (43), OutsideAgents.com (54), Global Travel International (55), and KHM Travel Group (58).
Another trend was globalization, either through opening offices abroad or by affiliating with global companies. At the same time, family-owned agencies continue to maintain a strong position, such as Valerie Wilson Travel (33), Balboa Travel (45; see Industry Focus), Frosch (17), Avoya (35) and Cain Travel (57).
The list in general showed an erratic pattern of success, with some reporting strong growth in sales while others experienced declines that in a couple of cases were large enough to miss the list by just a couple million dollars in sales.
It's not only the Top 2 that specialize in leisure travel. A number of leisure-dominant agencies continue to thrive as consumers increasingly turn to agents.
Power List agencies are invited in our annual questionnaire to provide information about the previous year's developments and future plans (see our Methodology). As has been the case for years, the answers were dominated by technology improvements. Agencies, like other businesses, are investing in mobile and apps, and the term "artificial intelligence" has begun to show up in survey responses.
In addition, meetings and incentives seem to have finally returned in force. On the other hand, some agencies reported they were already seeing a slowing in corporate travel this year.
But Power List companies appear ready to adapt to any circumstances and to continue to add the kinds of value that have made them successful so far.
CORRECTION: The Power List introduction was updated to correct the information about the Montrose Travel acquisition. Montrose was acquired by Corporate Travel Management, not Flight Centre.
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