(Photo above: Renee Price | photo courtesy of J-R Price Travel)
When Renee Price started her travel agency, J-R Price Travel, out of her Redmond home in 2012, she expected to specialize in European trips. But her clients had a different idea. Turns out that, in addition to Europe, they had their sights set on everything from Caribbean cruises to tours of Hawaii and beyond.
“I just had a group return from Alaska on a Princess Cruise last week,” Price noted.
“Next month I have booked a more complex trip flying my clients to Barcelona to catch a Princess Mediterranean Cruise that ends in Venice. Then I am purchasing a Euro Rail Pass for them to Budapest to take a Viking River Cruise that ends in Amsterdam and booking their extra hotel nights and some extra sightseeing in between.
“That took a little time to pull that one off as it was short notice and limited space. Matter of fact they got the last suite on the Viking Ship.”
Because of the unexpectedly diverse destinations for her customers, Price is particularly thankful for her affiliation with KHM Travel Group, based in Ohio. With more than 3,500 independent travel agents across the United States, KHM is large enough to offer a wide variety of specialized training much of it from our suppliers that is solely for our company.
Price’s recent trainings in the last months reflect the wide variety of trips available worldwide. Just in this last month her training has went everywhere from African Safaris (for photo shoots), to the new open Cuba for educational tours, Holland America Alaska cruise and land tours, religious vacations, Viking River Cruises and the list goes on.
“I could take classes all day long as we have literally hundreds of travel suppliers,” said Price. “My husband who assists me is a Globus, Princess and Royal Caribbean specialist.”
That training allows J-R Price Travel to offer the personalized service of a home-based agency in Central Oregon, yet keep up with the latest on everything from cruises to all-inclusive beach resorts to land tours around the world.
It also makes Price more accessible than having an office that is only open from 9am-5pm. She is travel agent will travel to your place of business or even meet you at the local Coffee Shop to start helping you plan your vacation.
She noted that she’s studying to become a specialist with Viking River Cruises and The Globus Family of Brands to add to the other training she has received in the last three and a half years.
Putting all that training together, she feels she now has the ability to book just about any kind of trip, anytime, anywhere. She particularly relishes the challenges of organizing travels on land or water for groups.
“I can do anything from pre-packaged tours for groups to making arrangements for someone who wants to travel independently and take cooking classes in Paris,” Price said.
A new endeavor is a new travel club that is forming with Eagle Crest residents to help put together some folks that may want to travel together as a group or find a partner to travel with. The first meeting was a success as people shared their travel experiences. They plan on meeting once a month with a different theme each month.
She is hoping to reach out to the local churches to offer faith-based travel to both Catholic and Protestants to discover their religious heritage from where the Apostle Paul traveled to the Steps of Martin Luther.
“Best thing is that our travel supplier makes it possible for the Pastor or Priest to travel free with the group so they can get to know them on a more personal level,” said Price who never used a travel agent as she was under the false impression that you had to pay them a fee or there would be added expense.
“Simply not true!” she insists. “The whole purpose is to save time and get you the most value for your money, without the headache of figuring it out all on your own.”
The question she gets asked the most is “what are your fees?” She chuckles and says “most of the time you don’t pay me anything. Unless it is a highly custom trip, there may be a fee. Travel suppliers either pay their employees (agents) on their end, or an independent unbiased agent that has the flexibility to work with any supplier and find the best fit for their client.”
Renee Price continues to be a SRES -Senior Real Estate Specialist and a Resort and Second Home Specialist.
J R Price Travel
Renee Price, Broker, cell 541-419-9837
SRES-Senior Real Estate Specialist, Century 21 Gold Country Realty
