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Saturday, October 24, 2009
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Traveler's Fare acquires Paulson's agency business
Senior Reporter Brainerd's travel agency landscape changed recently as an acquisition combined operations of two agencies into one.
Traveler's Fare Inc. purchased Paulson Travel in October.
Erik and Tam Paulson sold the travel agency side of their business to Clare Williams, owner/manager of Traveler's Fare. The Paulsons are continuing to operate PTS Tours, focusing on escorted travel trips with international and national destinations.
"We came to a point we just decided to focus on one thing," Tam Paulson said.
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Traveler's Fare Inc. is on Laurel Street in Brainerd, across from the Brainerd Police Department.
Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson
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Paulson said Williams was a good competitor and the best fit to take on their travel agency business. Newly combined travel agency staff members are working together in the Traveler's Fare chalet style building at the corner of Laurel Street and East River Road.
The merged staff added to Traveler's Fare experience level and the pooled resources offer benefits to customers, Williams said.
"I'm very optimistic about it," Williams said.
It's not the first consolidation of area travel agencies. Paulson Travel, CarlsonWagonlit Travel, with offices on Washington Street bought Riedl Travel Service and Bemidji Travel Service in 2006.
Top destinations
Popular travel sites for 2009 and 2010 include:
Mexico: Riviera Maya, Cancun, Cozumel
Florida: Orlando and Disney World, Fort Myers
Hawaii
Alaska and Alaska cruises
Caribbean and Panama Canal cuises
Turks and Caicos
Jamaica
Grand Cayman
Italy
Spain
South America
Greece and Greek Islands
Egypt
Source: Traveler's Fare Inc.
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When Williams, a 1977 Brainerd High School graduate, started her career as a travel agent in Brainerd, there were a number of agencies serving the lakes area. She began at Riedl Travel Service in 1979 before opening Traveler's Fare Inc. in Brainerd in September 1984.
While people are able to go online and search for travel arrangements themselves, Williams said there continues to be a calling for professional agents as advocates for the traveling public.
Earlier this summer, CNN noted a study by Forrester Research, a market research company, found a decrease in the numbers of travelers using online booking as more people went back to travel agents. The percentage booking their own travel online dropped from 53 percent in 2007 to 46 percent in 2009.
"I see the value in someone who is a professional doing it everyday," Williams said. "There is room for this - someone who will navigate for them and have information from a track record and experience. We'll bring the better value more times than not or at least as good. It's probably going to beat what you are putting together yourself."
Williams noted online services also have fees. And she said she hears more often now from people who have surfed the Net looking for airfare and accommodations for themselves before returning to the agency.
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Kari Satre (left), sales manager, and Clare Williams, owner/manager, worked on travel plans at Traveler's Fare Inc., on Laurel Street, in Brainerd. Traveler's Fare, which has been in Brainerd since 1984, recently purchased Paulson Travel. Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson
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Long-time Traveler's Fare customer retired Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., an experienced traveler, said years ago he tried booking online as a price comparison. But there is one big reason not to do it yourself, Vessey said.
He said Williams has bailed him out when flights were canceled during a trip to Europe and it looked as though he had no hope of getting out.
"There have been dozens of examples like that through the years," he said. "It's been very reliable. I've been so pleased."
Williams said travel agents still have resources and contacts beyond those available to the general traveling public. And she noted online sites have their own service fees.
"We work for you, not the airlines, not the tour company and that's a valuable thing," Williams said.
After a slower spring and summer, Williams said interest in travel has picked up. She recently worked with a group of eight for a trip to northern Italy. The trip included arrangements for five different hotel reservations, private drivers and trips to sites that aren't on the run-of-the-mill tour. And they are seeing people with an interest in a long weekend in a sunny site in the U.S.
Williams has 31 years experience in the travel industry. Four travel consultants in her office, Kari Satre, Diane Lindroth, Alyssa Shelito and Michelle Underland have a combined 57 years experience. In accounting, Sara Nagel has 11 years experience.
For travel agents, the business has changed radically. When Williams started she worked with dial phones and giant reference books of airline prices. She said the travel industry was one of the first deeply affected by the migration online. Customers who once had travel agents plan their trips were able to surf the Internet and try to put the best prices together themselves.
But Williams - who has survived airline strikes and Sept. 11 in the travel industry - said travel agents save time, peace of mind and they find values. "There is a definite place for us and we're here to stay."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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