Best Travel owners Mary Anne Peterson and Loretta Hohenboken have long helped customers with their travel needs. Their Geneseo business recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.
However, their work in the travel industry pre-dates Best Travel.
Peterson said from a young age she knew she wanted to work in travel. “I worked for two years so I could save enough money to go to school,” she said. With her travel degree in hand,
Peterson worked for United Airlines for five years before joining Central Bank’s travel division.
Hohenboken was a teller at Central Bank for 14 years before transfering to the company’s travel section. “Central Bank then sent me to school for my travel education,” she said.
The pair worked together at Central Bank until the company closed its travel agency.
“We went to work at Creative Travel, which was located in the old Deck Motel,” said Peterson.
In 1989, the pair decided to go out on their own. “At the time, we thought ‘We could do our own thing,’” said Hohenboken.
The duo opened their doors at 204 S. State Street, and have been located there ever since.
“When we work with people, we’re helping make their dreams come true,” said Peterson. “Every day is different.”
Along with Hohenboken and Peterson, travel consultant Kippy Nelson works at Best Travel. She has been with the company since 1993.
Best Travel also has two outside sales employees Jack Farrell and Linda Homer.
Best Travel is a full-service travel agency. “We can book cruises, rental cars, Amtrak, hotels, tours, everything,” said Hohenboken.
When the women started in the travel business, tickets were hand written. “Today, it’s almost all electronic tickets,” said Peterson.
“The geography has changed as well. Places like the Middle East and Europe aren’t what they use to be,” said Nelson, pointing to the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union.
“Security measures have also increased, and they’re only going to keep increasing,” said Hohenboken. Airlines and other travel companies regularly update agents at Best Travel regarding security changes, she said.
Travel trends have changed as well. “Years ago, it was a pretty big deal if someone wanted to go to Hawaii. Now it’s pretty common,” said Peterson.
“Clients want all-inclusive vacations. They want everything taken care of, and they want to know the total price up front,” said Hohenboken.
Travelers are also turning more and more toward the Internet. “We tell them to go ahead and look online, but when they go to book, to come to us,” said Nelson.
“We’ll sometimes have people who’ve booked something online contact us when something goes wrong, but we really can’t help them out, since booking online is like going through
another travel agency,” she said. “The Internet is a great tool for information, but it’s not going to
be there if things go wrong.”
After September 11, 2001, for example, Best Travel had clients that were stuck in Alaska. Because they couldn’t catch a flight back to the continental United States, Hohenboken was able to book them on a cruise from Alaska to Seattle.
“We try to go above and beyond for our customers,” said Nelson, who added she recently woke up at 2 a.m. to make a phone call directly to Rome to book hotel rooms for a customer.
Peterson recalls waking up at 6 a.m. five mornings in a row in an attempt to book a Disney breakfast for a young girl celebrating her birthday. “On the last day of their trip, I managed to get the breakfast booked,” she said.
When booking a trip, the women at Best Travel also have the capability of checking every airline to try and find customers the best price. “If they do it themselves online, they’re only able to check one airline at a time,” said Peterson.
Still, customers shy away from using a travel agent because they fear what they’ll be charged.
“A misconception is that using a travel agent is expensive,” said Peterson. In truth, customers are only charged a small fee when airline or Amtrak tickets are booked.
For everything else, Best Travel makes its revenue through commissions from the travel companies themselves.
And, booking a trip through Best Travel also benefits the local economy, said Nelson. “We, in turn, support the community through our tax dollars,” she said.
In the 20 years since they started Best Travel, Hohenboken and Peterson said they’ve made a lot of friendships with their customers.
In response customers have also provided the agents with feedback on places they’ve visited.
“It’s a wonderful feeling when customers come back and tell you how much they enjoyed their
trip,” said Hohenboken.
Best Travel can be reached at (309) 944-6113.
Geneseo, Ill. —
