I've always traveled. As a child, my family spent countless weekends "Up North" in my home state of Minnesota. This may in fact be where my absolute love of the wilderness stems from. We did the usual Orlando, Mt. Rushmore, Wisconsin Dells vacations every year. My mother and grandmother took me to New York City when I was fourteen. While in college, I spent eight weeks touring Western Europe. After college, I met my soon-to-be-husband. We agreed that a traditional wedding was just not in the plan for us, so he whisked me off on a big cruise ship to Alaska and made me his wife. It was at this point that I decided travel was more than a hobby for me. I started Shelli's Travel in 1998 from a small corner of my house. Today my work takes up an entire office, but thankfully, I remain at home. My name has evolved to "Shelli's Vacation Travel" because selling vacations are the best part of my work! Vacations make people happy and fun to work with, and vacations are a reward many of us work so hard to get.

In January of 2007 I partnered with Destination Weddings.com and have since become one of their top 5 Senior Certified Destination Wedding Travel Specialists. It is such an honor to help couples plan their destination weddings. It certainly helps that I was a destination wedding bride myself! Over the past 5 years, it has been great privilege to accept a multitude of industry awards for sales and service. I truly love what I do, and I know how blessed I am to be able to say that.

It is my pleasure to help you plan the perfect get-away. Give me a call. I'm looking forward to working for you!

When the airlines cut travel agency commissions, and the "dot-coms" began to offer airfares on the Internet, the initial public reaction was, "That's the end of the travel agency industry." But to paraphrase Mark Twain, "The demise of the travel agency has been greatly exaggerated."

Why be so optimistic about the travel agency industry's future? Because it is ripe with growth potential. For example, U.S. travel agents' total annual sales are between $120 and $130 billion and rising. That's a lot of travel, and when you consider that travel agents still sell 80 percent of all airline tickets, 95 percent of all cruises, 90 percent of all tours and packages, 40 percent of all car rentals and about 25 percent of all hotels, it demonstrates that agents have the power, and the power is customer loyalty.

The travel agent of today, and the future, is an agent of the consumer. To that end, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has devised a new slogan that states succinctly how travel agents help the consumer with their travel arrangements. The slogan, "Without A Travel Agent, You're On Your Own," is true today more than ever. Agents act on their client's behalf, but if you've booked through the Internet, who are you going to call when you discover your "room with a view" has a view of the dumpster?

There are a host of compelling reasons to use a travel agent: Travel agents are out to find the consumer the best rate available. Convenient one-stop shopping. Agents are there to save you money as well as time.

*Customer advocacy: If you have a problem with a particular part of your travel experience, the agent is there to act on your behalf to see that restitution is made. ASTA, for example, is the only travel association aggressively fighting to improve the travel experience, and air transportation in particular, for all consumers, not just those with access to the Internet.

*Expert guidance: Travel agents, unlike instructions on a Web page, are experts in understanding and deciphering the myriad of travel information and codes out there. It's what they've been trained to do and they do it every day.

*Personalized service: Instead of an impersonal voice thousand of miles away, travel agents are you neighbors. They know what you want and what you value in your travel experience.
Professional advice: Travel agents are there to make sure you get where you want to go, when you want to go and for the lowest price.

*Time: Instead of checking a long list of travel Web pages, which only provide rates and fares for the companies that have contracted with them, why not go straight to the source? A travel agent has all the information at their fingertips, saving you a few hours in front of a computer screen.

*Unbiased information: Agents work for their clients, not for a travel supplier. It makes sense that a happy customer will be a repeat customer.

We've all heard the hype that bargain airfares are just an easy mouse click away on the Internet and the Web eliminates the need for a travel agent. The reality is quite different, however, and the message to the consumer is quite clear: Buyer beware!

To help you make the right decisions, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) offers the following myths and realities regarding booking travel on the Internet.

Myth: The cheapest airline fares can be found on the Internet.
Reality: No single Internet supplier offers the cheapest fares. And with fares changing constantly, comparison shopping is essential. Because they have the complete fare picture, travel agents can find the best fares and can suggest cost-saving options such as alternative airports or Saturday stay-overs.

Myth: Shopping for travel on the Internet gives you instant information.
Reality: Yes, but the information may be incomplete. Also, many sites – notably those of some airline-ticket consolidators – are not much more than billboards: "Call us for current prices" is the best you get. Also consider the time it takes to find and access the sites that interest you. It's all too easy to begin a small investigation and suddenly realize you've been online for two or more hours.

Myth: The Internet allows you to inquire without disclosing any personal information.
Reality: Often you can. But some sites require that you give your name, address and E-mail address before you can access any information. And beware of any site that requires your credit card number before you book your tickets.

Myth: The Internet can do anything a conventional travel agency can do.
Reality: There's no question the Internet can sell you just about anything these days – including travel. But selling is only a part of a travel agent's job. The rest is personal service. If you buy a ticket over the Internet, whom do you call to make last minute changes in travel plans? To re-book or make a change in your hotel reservation?

Myth: The Internet is driving travel agents out of business.
Reality: Many Internet sites are operated by travel agencies. It's simply another tool that your full-service travel agencies use to serve their customers in this e-commerce age.

So when you're ready to plan your next business trip or family vacation, consider the Internet as another source of information along with guidebooks, travel magazines, newspaper sections, and the phone number for Shelli's Vacation Travel, 507-267-4857.