I just closed up the financial records for our young (two-year old) travel agency.  We set some fairly bodacious goals for 2015, so I’m told.  And, I’m pleased to report that we knocked it out of the park in 2015.

Yeah!  We booked $958,852.30 in travel this year!

Carol and I set out to book $1million in sales for our second year in business, and we actually booked $958,852.30. The entrepreneur in me wonders how I can be pleased that I missed my goal, while the salesperson in me says, “hey, dude, that was one lofty goal”.  Me thinks I’ll listen to the salesperson in my head on this one.  For only our second year in business, we had a fabulous year.

Furthermore, Virtuoso®, the world’s leading international luxury travel agency network (to which we belong) has also experienced significant growth in 2015.  Virtuoso’s member agencies are up 12% to 381, travel advisors are up 26% to 11,429, agency locations are up 15% to 720, country locations are up 36% to 34 countries, and annual sales are up 11% to $15.5 billion.

So, while Carol and I are giving “high fives” to one another, let me just say that we couldn’t have done any of this without the support and trust of our clients.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Do-it-yourself travel planning is not all it’s cracked up to be!

I’m certain that as we share our success for the year, some of you are saying, “Hey, I thought travel agencies were dead.  Are all of these people paying more to travel then if they were to book it themselves?”  To that we say, “nope”.  We have very smart clients and they’ve simply discovered something that a growing number of folks are beginning to understand: Do-it-yourself travel planning is not all it’s cracked up to be!

Not convinced?  Let me share a few of the reasons that our clients find value in our travel advisor services…

Why Work With a Travel Advisor?

1. Personalized Planning – our clients greatly appreciate our collaboration when planning a trip to one of their bucket list destinations. We have travel planning partners in 52 countries around the world and we’re experts at helping our clients plan trips that are tailored to their needs, interests, and budgets.  Ask yourself this question: would you rather try to figure out what’s what by reading TripAdvisor, or have a conference call with one of our on-site partners who actually live in your desired destination?
2. Value for the Money – we have access to the same (and often better) pricing than you can find online.  Think about it, there’s you and your computer, and then there’s us with $15 billion of clout through our affiliation with Virtuoso.  Every single day, we bring our clients valuable savings and perks that they simply can’t get on their own.
3. VIP Perks – again, because of our industry clout, we’re going to get you access to events, private tours, and countless VIP perks that you simply won’t get on your own.
4. Ocean & River Cruises – we’re going to bring you best available fares, often with perks and benefits from our Virtuoso affiliation.
5. Hotels & Resorts – our Virtuoso “Best of the Best” hotel and resort collection features 1,100+ hotels and resorts around the world.  With each property, we’ll bring you best available rates, complimentary upgrades, complimentary breakfast each morning, resort credits, and more.  Plus, the hotels and resorts value our client’s business over the Internet shopper. Therefore,  you’ll also get the best room locations on property while the Internet shopper sleeps in a room next to the elevator and overlooking the parking lot.  :O

I could go on and on.  But I think you get the point.  Folks have been lulled into the belief that their best deal is to do-it-themselves on the Internet.  Well, our business is exploding because folks are beginning to learn that this simply isn’t true.

How ’bout you?  Might we have the opportunity to show YOU the value we bring to your travel planning?  All it takes is a simple, no-obligation phone call to find out! 🙂

To explore the value we can bring to your future travel plans, simply call us at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we’ll contact you.
 
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