 |
 From
the Fort Wayne News Sentinel
June 7, 2010
Travel Leaders hopes to live up to its name
Agency cuts Internet clutter for clients
Click here to view article at news-sentinel.com
By Paige Chapman
pchapman@news-sentinel.com
Ann Waters, the current president and owner of Travel Leaders,
acknowledges the travel industry is facing new challenges, ranging
from the economic recession to the emergence of travel Web sites
like Orbitz and Expedia. However, her homegrown travel agency is
still working to live up to its name: being a “travel leader”
throughout Indiana.
“What we offer goes far beyond making the reservation,” she said.
“We cut the clutter. Instead of poking for hours through the
Internet, we can give customers what they want on their budget.”
Travel Leaders is even calling two new locations home in Fort Wayne.
Their headquarters has moved to 10202-D Coldwater Road, next to
Rustic Hutch in Pine Valley Mall. Their new vacation office can also
be found at 5655 Coventry Lane, in the Village at Coventry.
Though the offices moved to make way for the Kroger/Scott's
expansion, Waters said they wanted to serve a loyal clientele since
their start 27 years ago.
At that time, her father Wayne was the former head of Lincoln
Financial Group's travel department. He saw an opportunity to start
his own business after Lincoln's organizational changes left him
unemployed.
Since then, Travel Leaders has grown to four other Indiana cities,
with offices in Warsaw, Marion, Carmel and Bloomington. In addition
to being a personal travel agency, they also coordinate travel
efforts for about 400 organizations.
Waters took over the family business in 2001 after her father's
retirement. Just a year later, she said the company began seeing
customers shift from using travel agents to Web sites to plan their
vacations.
The recession's impact became noticeable a year-and-a-half ago,
Waters said, as many corporate clients began cutting back on travel
expenses. Though she says the Internet remains a “big competitor,”
Waters is noticing an increase in sales for the first time in nearly
two years.
One way Travel Leaders is attempting to stay ahead of the
competition is by collaborating with many partners to offer clients
exclusive deals.
“Travel is a big investment, and the recession did affect business,”
Waters said. “By investing in us, customers can know everything from
what suppliers are reputable to what experiences cruise lines
offer.”
The recession's largest change in business lies in vacation-planning
attitudes. Now, customers are planning shorter vacations closer to
home, Waters said. Prior to the recession, vacations were planned as
far as six months to a year in advance; people instead are planning
two to three months ahead of time.
Another change? The name. Formerly known as Conference & Travel,
Waters changed the company's moniker in August 2008.
“Even though we had a great reputation, the name didn't say who we
were anymore,” she said.
“Our new name says it all. We want to be on the forefront of the
industry, using the best tools and knowledge so our customers know
where the up-and-coming places are to go.”
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