Acendas Travel, a travel management company with headquarters in Mission and Eden Prairie, Minn., announced the acquisition of Travel Partners, a destination and special events agency based out of Sioux Falls, S.D., effective immediately.
“We are excited to have the Travel Partners team come under the Acendas Travel umbrella and look forward to continuing to serve the Sioux Falls market,” said Brent Blake, president of Acendas Travel. “We have a focus on growth, but only if it is a good fit. Travel Partners is not only a good fit, it is a great fit.”
Acendas will take over some operational activities of Travel Partners, which specializes in destination and event packages in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe. The agency will retain its name and operate as a subsidiary.
Mary Jo Nelson, the previous owner of Travel Partners and her staff of six will remain with the agency.
“This is a positive move for our clients and Travel Partners,” said Nelson. “We looked at our future needs and determined that in order to continue to provide the best service to our customers and to stay competitive, we needed additional resources. Acendas Travel is the perfect partner because its philosophy matches ours and it is a recognized leader in the industry.”
According to director of marketing Jeff Bollig, Acendas Travel currently employs a staff of 94, including Travel Partners. Of those, 40 positions are based in Kansas City. No Kansas City jobs will be affected by this deal.
With the acquisition of Travel Partners, Acendas continues its growth beyond Kansas City.
Acendas has purchased several Minnesota-based agencies, starting with Vanguard Travel in 2010. Following that deal, Acendas acquired Gateway Express Travel in 2012, Interlachen Travel in 2013 and Edina Travel in 2016.
Founded in 1982 in Kansas City as All About Travel, Acendas Travel provides services for leisure travelers, corporate travelers, and meetings and incentive travel. In addition to travel advising, Acendas offers travel management software as well as analytic services through its partnership with BCD Travel, a global corporate travel management company based out Utrecht, Netherlands.
