Ninan Chacko, the CEO of Travel Leaders Group, sees a number of benefits resulting from the pending merger with Altour.
For one, the size and scale of the two companies -- Travel Leaders Group is No. 9 on the Travel Weekly Power List, and Altour is No. 14 -- will help it forge new opportunities with supplier partners.
But the merger will also create an organization that is even more attractive to independent contractors (ICs) than Travel Leaders Group or Altour would be on their own.
Chacko said both companies have been a "significant participant in the independent contractor model."
Ninan Chacko, CEO of Travel Leaders Group.
"I think we have become kind of the default home, or the most attractive home, I'd say.... for an IC to place their business, especially if they index higher on luxury, whether it's corporate or leisure or entertainment," Chacko said. "Because as an IC, you want to be in the place where you've got the best support, the best infrastructure, the best training, the best conditions, and so on and so forth."
The merged Travel Leaders Group and Altour will enable it to leverage investments across a broad pool of agents, Chacko said.
"Numerically, we just end up being kind of a more attractive place for agents to also be in, because they're able to essentially find a much broader range of services to allow them to succeed and compete effectively," he said.
The merger, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be complete sometime around the end of August. Both Travel Leaders Group and Altour will maintain their brands and leadership, but Chacko also sees opportunities for synergies down the road.
"Most mergers happen because they essentially see cost synergies, which eventually we will have," he said. "Because obviously, in whatever category, there will be opportunities as we look down the path to essentially figure out how we can operate even more effectively given the size of both our respective companies."
But post-merger both companies will operate much as they do today. Historically, Chacko said, Travel Leaders Group has taken things slowly with companies it has either merged with or acquired, "not to be in any kind of a driving rush to drive integration." That tactic has been employed so each company can learn more about the other, he said, and be methodical when it comes to making changes.
"We'll think through opportunities to figure out what synergy, from where, and what timeframe," Chacko said.