| Business of the Month: Global Networks Tours |
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Co-founder of Global Networks Tours, Farida Garda reveals how her 14-year-old travel agency has sustained cycles of industry instability and increased market competition.
by Jason Feirman, Contributing Writer
It’s no wonder her clients call her a magician. Despite the lagging effects of the September 11th attacks on the travel industry and the current economic downturn, Farida Garda and her partner, Texter Vaid, have created a thriving travel agency that offers cheaper airfares than Expedia and Travelocity and unparalleled customer service that has become a rarity since the internet revolutionized travel booking. Created in 1994 with $20,000 from friends and family, Global Networks Tours sells discounted airfares to small and mid-sized companies. Although initially GNT dealt mostly with individual accounts, soon after its inception Garda and Vaid started business with organizations like BTS and Human Rights Watch. In 1999, a decision was made to go corporate all the way. “At the time, nobody was really marketing themselves to that audience,” explains Garda. “By coming to us, companies save 40 to 50 percent off of the published fares that they might find on the internet or by contacting the airline directly.” Garda attributes the discount she is able to provide clients to the relationships GNT has developed over the years. “We have negotiated with certain airlines and ticketing offices where we get fares because we promise them a certain amount of business over the year. A ticket to Shanghai booked online, for example, costs about $6,000. We just booked a fare there for $3,500.” She estimates that 90 percent of her clients, which include C3I and Clearpoint Learning, book their international flights exclusively with GNT. At any given time, Garda’s six person office is working on travel arrangements for a dozen mid-sized companies and as many as 50 smaller companies. They book up to 60,000 tickets a month depending on the season. One way that Garda believes GNT distinguishes itself from similar companies is with a corporate extranet – a system that was designed in house that can be used to make reservations customized to clients’ needs. The system stores each traveler’s personal preferences which include meal and seat requests, in addition to airlines that each traveler likes best. “When we show this system to potential clients, that’s what attracts them most to us,” says Garda. “Our ability to mix practical human intelligence with technology has given us the edge and enabled us to better deal with our clients than other organizations that are trying to do the same thing.” Even as the economy has taken turn for the worse this year, GNT has not seen a decline in business. “Economically we are in a much better position than we have been,” says Garda. “This quarter we have already surpassed most expectations and met all our targets. Most of our clients have always been budget conscious and they will continue to be. I see this as an opportunity to approach more clients. People who need to travel will travel.” In fact, Garda has ambitious plans for the company’s future, hoping to expand sevenfold in the next few years. The plans include opening up an office in India to service clients around the clock. Right now, for example, technology company Sophoi has offices in London, Los Angeles and Bombay. GNT only deals with their London and Los Angeles offices. Although expanding has been tempting in the past, Garda has been hesitant to do so until the timing was right. “There are people that have wanted to invest in our company we could make it larger, but we have a certain culture in company and want to make sure that cultural goes through with everything we do. Now we’re finally at stage where were comfortable and ready to grow.” |