Great Southern Travel shuffles offices

Kris Conley, executive vice president/managing director of Great Southern Travel, said that the company has chosen not to renew the lease on a 5,000-square-foot space at 1550 E. Battlefield in the Galleria when it expires Dec. 31. Great Southern Travel has signed a five-year lease for 3,000 square feet in Kelly Plaza on South National for an undisclosed rate. A corporate reservation center will open there Dec. 27.

Eight corporate travel agents from the Galleria and eight corporate travel agents from the company’s Vacation Center at 3424 S. National will move to the Kelly Plaza location, which has room for expanding the staff to 23. There are no immediate plans to hire additional agents for the Kelly Plaza location.

Three leisure travel agents from the Galleria location will relocate to the Vacation Center, bringing its staff to a total of 40.

“What we really wanted to do was get our corporate staff together, instead of having it so spread out,” he said. “We’re just rearranging a little bit.”

Conley said that the reorganization was necessary due to growth.

Great Southern Travel purchased the Galleria location, formerly Carlson Wagonlit/McDaniel Travel, Jan. 5. It was the company’s second buyout in five months, having purchased House of Travel in Brentwood Center in August 2003.

“This is something that I considered at the time that we purchased McDaniel Travel,” Conley said. “It’s going to make us more efficient by separating the corporate and leisure sales portions of our business. None of our agents cross-sell. In other words, you’re either a leisure or a corporate agent, and we’re literally physically going to move them into two separate locations. I think it’s going to help a lot with efficiencies.”

Conley said that the business has been swamped lately. “We just finished the best November that we’ve ever had (and we’re) finishing up the biggest year that we’ve ever had,” he said.

Gross sales for Great Southern Travel’s 12 locations will exceed $60 million this year, he said, an increase of 3 percent compared to 2003.

Conley credits the increase in sales to optimism about the economy. “There was obviously a major lull in our business after 9-11, and people are just traveling again,” he said.

Gail Peters, co-owner of Chesterfield Cruise and Travel, has seen similar recent activity. She attributes the turn for the better to politics.

“I think after the election everybody was kind of scared there for a while, but now they’re suddenly out there trying to book and are going places again,” she said.

Business for Chesterfield Cruise and Travel’s staff of six comprises 80 percent leisure and 20 percent corporate travel. Peters said that November was also a good month for business, but declined to share figures.

“January looks like it’s going to be (the start of) a good year,” Peters said. “Things are filling up as far as the tour companies.”

Conley said that Great Southern Travel is in an aggressive growth mode right now and looking at further acquisitions. “They’re outside of Springfield. That’s the only thing I can say,” he said.

Great Southern Travel was founded in 1977 and has 14 locations in Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas.

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