I was very lucky to fall into this profession at a young age.
December 15, 1969 I joined Jayne Travel, Enid, OK with no experience. Helen Jayne and Sharon Mahaffey taught me how to read an OAG, tarriff, travel guides, locate closest airports to any town/city/military base. Back then nothing was on comptuers. Tickets were hand written. Did I mention you had to know about routings to get the correct fare? One of the tricks for finding the lowest airfare was reading those airfare routings.
August 5, 1978 Geoff and I married. I moved to Topeka, KS and joined King Travel. King Travel was the oldest travel agency west of the Mississippi. Tom King and Maureen Sullivan were my new best friends. Tom (owner) and Maureen (agent, grew up in England working at her father's agency) were wonderful teachers. I got to specialize in international travel. I was in heaven. I also learned how to use TWA's booking system.
We moved to Austin, TX August 1981. I joined Accent Travel and continued working in international travel and was now using SABRE for my booking engine. Great people, agency, agents and a lot of people wanting to travel. Most importantly, many travellers became friends.
1998, Geoff, retired from IBM, we moved back to Oklahoma. I started working from home and our travels begin big time. We were so lucky to visit many wonderful places. I've lost count of the number of countries. We've been on all the continents. Travelled with tour groups, cruise ships (big and small) and independently.
2020 Accent Travel merged with Colwick Travel, Dallas, TX. I really like the ownwer and the agents. Colwick Travel works with Direct Travel and they belong to Virtuoso. Did I mention clout? Wish this happened years ago! Thank you Greg.
2022 is going to be a great time to start traveling!
Direct Travel is proud to be among the 1% of the most elite travel agencies in North America. As members of the world’s most premier travel organizations, including Virtuoso, we are able to provide our clients with exclusive benefits and complimentary amenities. With an average of 20 years of experience, our advisors have traveled the world over to discover the perfect destinations and personalized experiences for every client.
Our advisors are specialists for all regions of the world, and can guide you to the best in hotels, tour guides, activities and dining venues in every city and every country. From family vacations to wellness retreats, we have advisors who specialize in all specific types of travel. We also work with a variety of companies that offer specific activities for travelers with an active lifestyle seeking a personalized adventure.
There is a cruise for every type of traveler- river cruising for a slower pace, ocean cruising for waking up in a new city each day without unpacking more than once, and even expedition cruising for exploring the best nature has to offer. With an array of cruise choices and itinerary options around the world, we have the specialists who have been onboard each ship and sailed each itinerary in order to provide our clients with the best cruise to suit their travel style. We also offer extra special amenities like additional onboard credits and private shore excursions exclusive to our clients.
As members of Virtuoso and several elite luxury hotel programs we are partnered with the best of the best hotels, villas, resorts, boutique properties, and more— many of which we have first-hand experience. Our handpicked selections deliver exclusive savings and amenities—like complimentary breakfast or a welcome gift upon arriving to your suite—thanks to our worldwide and personal connections with numerous properties.