Case Study
Careful planning and collaboration ensure smooth conversion
USTRAVEL TRUSTS SABRE TO HELP HANDLE GROWTH It started with a few cups of coffee. Mark Eliason, raised in Iowa, moved to Alaska in the 1970s and eventually developed commercial real estate in the oil boomtown of Prudhoe Bay. Eliason frequently stopped to chat with a tenant who ran a travel agency in the far north town. Eliason was also cold. “It was warm inside and they always had coffee, ” Eliason says. Travel always fascinated him, and Eliason casually mentioned to the owner he might be interested in partnering someday. Eliason had no idea what a simple cup of coffee would lead to. But he soon found himself half owner of a travel agency. And, today, he’s owner and CEO of USTravel, headquartered in Anchorage. “I’m naturally a curious person,” Eliason says. ”I love the varie