John Peters, the president and CEO of Tripology, says Rand McNally acquired Tripology on Friday as the 154-year-old map and travel guide company transforms itself into an online and location-based online travel company.
The move breathes new life into Tripology, a lead-generation service for travel agents which had fallen on hard times weeks ago when an investor pulled out of the company.
It also ends weeks of speculation about who Tripology's suitor was after Peters had announced that Tripology had signed a letter of intent with an unidentified company.
Peters says the Tripology brand and operations will remain largely the same as Tripology becomes a Rand McNally property and one piece of the puzzle as Rand McNally transitions into an online, trip-planning company.
Jeff DeKorte, the former general manager of AOL Travel who was brought in by Rand McNally to strategize about Web strategy, says Rand McNally is in the midst of transforming itself from a traditional, print-based company that focused on selling maps and globes, into an online travel company which offers mobile-based services.
Among immediate changes, Tripology's headquarters will relocate from Manhattan to Skokie, Ill., where Rand McNally is based.
Peters will run Tripology and become Rand McNally's vice president and general manager of digital strategy.
Tripology, which has 14,000 travel agents signed up to use its lead-generation services, employs five staff, including Peters, and discussions are under way with the parent company about staffing levels.
Peters talked to Tnooz today at the TravelCom conference in Dallas about the acquisition. One year ago, TravelCom designated Tripology as its innovator of the year.
Peters says Rand McNally's purchase of Tripology for an undisclosed sum almost immediately solves several of Tripology's problems -- brand recognition, consumer traffic and distribution.
Peters acknowledges that it had been costly for Tripology "to get in front of consumers."
But, according to Compete Inc., Rand McNally had 757,000 unique visitors in January 2010, down from a 2009 peak of almost 1.2 million unique visitors in June.
Tripology had 33,600 unique visitors in January, Compete says.
DeKorte says Rand McNally has a broad vision to become an online trip-planning company and the strategy is evolving.
The move to become a a force in online travel coincides with the ascendance of a new Rand McNally management team which Patriarch Partners, the owner of privately held Rand McNally, brought in several months ago, DeKorte says.
Peters emphasizes that with the lead-generation service becoming a Rand McNally property, Tripology remains "all about travel agents."
He emphasizes that the acquisition means Tripology now will have the resources to develop more travel agent tools, including social-media features and lead management tools, which had long been delayed.
Says Peters: "We had a to-do list a year-and-a-half long."