HOUSE OF TRAVEL
House of Travel was opened in 1971 in Spokane and has been owned by Cary & Val Day since 1981. In 2002 its location was moved from Spokane to St. Maries, ID in conjunction with the building of the St. Joe Riverfront B&B. Together they represent over 50 years of experience in the travel industry.
Most important are the many worldwide destinations they have personally visited to provide firsthand knowledge and advice to their clients in planning a trip. A few of the destinations include Australia, Fiji, Tahiti, Europe, parts of Asia and the Caribbean, the Greek Isles, and Hawaii. Furthermore they have personally taken 15 cruises on such popular lines as Holland America, Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Val is a CTC (Certified Travel Counselor), and ACC (Accredited Cruise Counselor) similar to earning a Master's Degree. In addition, she is a South Pacific specialist that required taking correspondence courses and attending seminars to achieve this special and unique designation. If she doesn't know the destination, she won't sell it.
With the technology and internet opportunities that has opened new doors for the traveler has also enhanced and made for a more challenging environment for the travel agent. What separates us from internet websites that bombard the consumer with interesting and many times "too good to be true" offers is once again the knowledge and experience over the years. As consumers ourselves, it is always wise to shop and compare prices. Unfortunately, many times people end up comparing apples to oranges, i.e. as it relates to where a hotel is located or room location. As it pertains to cruise lines, deck location, cabin size, and even the cruise line itself plays a major factor in what you are getting for your dollar.
Your vacation experience whether it be a honeymoon, anniversary, family, friends, or other, should be handled with the utmost of concern as memories last forever, "good and bad." House of Travel is a member of WESTA (Western Association of Travel Agencies) that combines 175 agencies located primarily on the West Coast. To become a member you must have a proven track record in the travel agency industry of high ethical and sound business practices. Sales volume alone is not an automatic admittance for membership. The combined agencies represent $500,000,000.00 in travel volume on an annual basis. Although impressive, what's more important are the travel vendors that recognize WESTA as a premier group of agency professionals. With the buying power of WESTA, vendors offer exclusive cruise and vacation packages at great savings to you the consumer.
WHAT WE SELL
We specialize in planning tours, cruises and specialty group travel. House of Travel offers escorted packages such as culinary tours to destinations including, but no limited to, Italy, Mexico, Thailand and France. We have an art appreciation cruise to the Italian Riviera, a wine tour to an international destination (stay tuned to exactly where) and a warm weather destination to Fiji in the year 2004 just to name a few.
Whether it is an escorted tour or a custom planned itinerary just for you, we will make every effort to give you the best travel experience your money can buy.
Airline tickets. With the advent of the Internet air discount sites and the airlines not willing to compensate us for our efforts, for a fee, we limit our domestic (continental U.S. and Alaska, excluding Hawaii) airline ticket assistance to those who do not want to spend hours looking for those "so called cheap fares" and to those who want us to validate a fare they found on the Internet With the latter, clients e-mail us with the quote and site they found the fare on along with all pertinent travel dates and travelers. We do have access to sites that can help us determine if there are any cheaper fares available.
TRAVEL LINKS
Western Association of Travel Agencies (WESTA) - www.westa1.org
WESTA Articles - www.westa1.org/vendorarticles/seagreen/article.htm
Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory (TOWD) - www.towd.com
Convention Bureaus Directory - www.conventionbureaus.com
GORP (outdoor/recreation information/National Parks) - www.gorp.com/index.html
Carribean Travel Planner - www.caribbeantravel.com
Visit Europe - www.visiteurope.com
Reno Lake Tahoe - www.renolaketahoe.com
Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority - www.lasvegas24hours.com
Cruise Line International Association - www.cruising.org
Lonley Planet Guides - www.lonelyplanet.com/index.cfm
Travel Advisors - www.travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html
Customs Information - www.customs.gov/travel/travel.htm
Passport/Visa - www.travisa.com
Health Requirements - www.cdc.gov
Universal Currency Converter - www.xe.com/ucc
CIA World Factbook - www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
Travel Languages - www3.travlang.com
Consumer Travel Rights Center - www.mytravelrights.com