Exclusive Group Travel Keeps Travel Agents In The Loop As It Merges With Mark Travel

Exclusive Group Travel is keeping travel agents in the loop as it transitions over to its new owner, Mark Travel Corporation.

Mark Travel Corporation, parent of Funjet Vacations, Blue Sky Tours, Southwest Vacations and United Vacations, and a wellness travel group, agreed last month to acquire Long Island-based tour operator EGT. Family-owned EGT, based in Melville, NY, sells exclusively to travel agents, specializing in FIT and group travel in Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.

In a letter to travel agents, Funjet Vacations executive vice president of travel agency engagement Mark Noennig and Exclusive CEO and president Steve Gorga said they “are doing everything possible to ensure your needs are met and your questions are answered. We value your continued support during this process.”

The transfer of business was originally slated to take place April 1, but due to “time requirement with legal issues,” it has changed to April 10.

EGT will continue to operate through April 9. The EGT booking portal will remain live through April 16; following that, new reservations and group bookings will be made via Funjet Vacations’ VAX VacationAccess platform.

Travel agents will be able to access existing EGT reservations and add new passengers to existing group bookings through the EGT portal for a limited time, but eventually the EGT portal will be retired and all reservations will be moved over to the Funjet Vacations platform. All bookings made by EGT after April 10, 2017, will be serviced by Funjet Vacations.

Existing EGT commissions and policies will apply through April 16. Call centers, group departments and customer service teams will remain intact throughout the transition. EGT’s business development team will be transitioning their clients to Mark Travel’s nationwide team, but “there will be no lapse in your level of service and support,” the company promised.

On Long Island, meanwhile, Newsday reported that 116 employees could be affected by the sale of EGT, according to a WARN notice filed with the state in March. But it quoted Gorga as saying, “We had to file the notice because we’re unsure how many employees will ultimately stay on. But we know some [employees] will be hired, and the Bethpage office will remain open.”

Travel agents, meanwhile, had nothing but kind words to share about EGT’s staff on Facebook. “We really enjoyed working with EGT,” said Amy Grubbs McHugh. “They embodied what great service was all about. I know our clients will be fine (we’ll make sure of that!) but I feel so badly for their staff members. Hoping things work out!”

“Two good companies!” said Sandy Anderson. “This makes sense!”

But Helen Prochillo is “heartbroken. I loved knowing if there was a problem we could go to Steve Gorga if necessary.”

–Additional reporting by Cheryl Rosen