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By PENNY FLETCHER
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Having had to make a few unexpected and unplanned trips this summer due to a family emergency, I’ve spent quite a bit of time talking to travel agent Linda Santello of Williams Travel in Sun City Center.
While in the past, I’ve always planned and executed my own trip plans and itinerary, I suddenly found that when you have to be someplace in a few hours it’s amazing the difference a professional can make.
Since this summer has been filled with road trips and flights for myself and other family members, I’ve noticed who else has been traveling and (with a reporter’s curiosity) asked people on planes, rest stops along the highway, and bus terminals where they’re going and what they’re up to.
Their answers prompted me to question Linda after things slowed down and I was able to spend an hour in her office just to say thanks.
From the talk on the road, it seemed to me that people are taking different kinds of trips this year than in previous years and that sounded like something worth exploring.
Penny Fletcher Photo
Linda Santello of Williams Travel in Sun City Center says some people are trying out new types of vacations because of changes in their economic circumstances.
As it turns out, I was right.
Linda says that while her long-term retired clientele on decent-sized pensions are still going on long trips to Africa and the Orient, she’s finding lots of middle-income (and even lower income) families downsizing trips from those taken in previous years and looking for new ways to vacation.
“Short three-to-five day cruises are selling very well now,” she told me. The new terminals out of Port Tampa and Port Manatee have really boosted travel on family-oriented lines like Carnival and Holland America. “Many families are finding ways to save up for their vacations if they can’t pay for them right away. Some people are even coming in and paying a little bit along each week or month until it’s time to sail.”
Retirees hit by the stock market dive are also taking advantage of lower cruising rates because it lets them feel like they’re taking a vacation without spending a whole lot of money. And having the ports nearby saves on driving and air fare to get to the port from which they will sail.
Cruising, especially for native Floridians who can take advantage of major discounts if they book in advance, has become much more affordable than 20, or even 10 years ago when it was considered to be a mode of travel only available to upper-income families.
But cruising isn’t the only mode of travel where things are changing. A lot of people are also changing the way they travel by air.
Many airlines have recently discontinued First Class flight status in favor of something called Business Class. Never having heard of this, I asked for a detailed description of how Business and First classes differed.
It seems that where First Class has always had exclusive comforts, like high-end meals and in some cases even luxuries like champagne and caviar, Business Class is a step above Coach, but the price is nowhere near what people used to pay for First Class. The comforts aren’t as luxurious, but are definitely above sitting three-or-four across in Coach.
“In Business Class, you can stretch out and walk around. A lot more people travel in Business Class than ever traveled First Class,” Linda explained. “This is because in Coach, seats are crowded together and there’s very little leg room. But in Business Class there’s more room, and better service. It’s a step up, without having the huge price differential you see with a First Class ticket,” she explained.
Next I asked about train travel.
After finding out that travel by train is highly expensive, I still picked up the Canadian publication Rocky Mountaineer Travel Journal and Mayflower Tours 2009-2010.
Mayflower’s publication informed me that this is the year they’re giving the 41st performance or the world-renown Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. I started counting on my fingers, aware that they only give the “authentic” performance every 10 years. Why, it has been nearly 40 years since I was in Germany. I remembered the smell of “gasthouses” (family-friendly pubs) with wooden floors and Kickerball tables; brown-bottle beer and polka music accompanied by clapping hands and stomping feet.
I decided to take the magazines home. Next year things just could be better around here. And if they are, who knows? Maybe for once I’ll hire a professional for something other than an emergency.
But during the time I was in her office I learned many people who travel have emergencies when they least expect it. Sometimes, they expect their travel agent to tell them how to handle those unexpected events; or to act as an activities director, counselor, medical advisor or even a non-attorney advocate.
“As agents, we have to imagine how our customers feel in the circumstance they’re in, and then try and help them from their point of view,” Linda told me.
Still, I had questions about clients expecting Linda to figure out how much they had spent on medical bills while on vacation or how they were to get copies of receipts for things they’d bought in port that they had lost; or charged, or whatever.
“It all comes with the territory,” she explained, launching me into a quick course on travel insurance.
Finally, I asked the big question: Has business dropped off seriously since the economic downturn? With four travel agencies in Sun City Center, I imagined the competition was fierce.
I was wrong.
In fact, Linda said the agents all work cooperatively and get along well with each other; and despite tough economic times, there’s still enough business to go around.
While things are generally a little slower than usual for this time of year, Linda says there’s been no big drop in business because of the oil spill, or the general public’s lack of easy access to money.
“We have a steady client base here,” she said. “Some of our clients have been with us for 18, 20, or more years and they just keep coming back.”
One of the most interesting things about writing this column is finding out about the different people who live among us as our neighbors and learning about the jobs they do and the services they perform.
Every week, I learn something new.
*Perhaps you have something you’d like to share. Or maybe you’d rather tell the community about your favorite charity or cause: or sound off about something you think needs change. That’s what “Over Coffee” is about. It really doesn’t matter whether we actually drink any coffee or not (although I probably will). It’s what you have to say that’s important. E-mail me any time at
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and suggest a meeting place. No matter what’s going on, I’m usually available to share just one more cup.
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