By Jeff BACON
When Nancy Chapin started Vista Travel in Florida in 1994, she used a philosophy made popular in a Zig Ziglar quote: “You can get everything in life that you want if you just help enough other people get what they want,” and it’s been the guiding principle for her team ever since.
“Every day the most important aspect of our job is to help our clients first figure out what they want, and then help them make that a reality,” Nancy noted during a recent interview. “The business of travel agencies has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years but the end result is the same – we help people get the most out of their travel dollars and vacation time.”
In the 1980s it seemed there were travel agencies on every other corner of every town in the U.S. Today, with the advent of the Internet, many people have taken on the role of their own travel agent using online services.
“The Internet has made some aspects of travel easier, but there is always the possibility that your best laid plans won’t ultimately go as smoothly as you’d hope,” Nancy adds. “It’s always nice to have an advocate that is familiar with how the airlines work and understands what is possible and how to make adjustments on the fly. When things go wrong, we are the ones fighting for what our clients have paid for and it can mean the difference between a great vacation or a huge headache.”
So what happened to all the travel agencies we once took for granted?
“Many of the smaller agencies took a hit after 9/11 and then again in the recession,” Nancy notes. “Our most important source for new clients is referrals, so the fact that we had a strong base of satisfied clients really helped us during the lean years after 9/11. Consolidation of resources and the Internet also took a lot of the smaller agencies out of the marketplace, so it says a lot that we’ve been around for 23 years.”
Now with their new offices in Ketchum, Vista Travel is bringing the full-service travel agency experience to the Valley.
“We are definitely in a relationship business,” Nancy adds. “I have personally traveled extensively and I often use what I’ve learned during those experiences to help our clients. There’s no substitute for experience.”
And what are some of the most popular destinations Vista Travel is currently booking?
“Europe is a great value right now,” Nancy notes. “Also, we’ve seen an increase in travel to South America and multi-generational trips. Grandparents taking their grandchildren or entire families booking travel to the same location are very popular.”
Contact Nancy and her team at VistaTravelPalmBeach.com.