Vacation. How sweet that three-syllable word sounds.
Exploring a new country, state or island or even returning to a place of origin melts the stress of the realities left at home away.
In planning any vacation, there is a battle to secure the cheapest rates whether it be in terms of airfare, hotel stay or deals on cruises.
With more than 20 years and counting under their belt, Travelspan works tirelessly for their clientele to ensure their travels to countries such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago are stress free.
Allisoin Mason, manager sales and marketing representative at Travelspan, works alongside her clients to secure reservations with the best rates. “We try to always beat the competition where fares are related,” Mason said.
Travelspan is the vision turn reality of Guyanese native Nohar Singh, whose love for aviation and his home forged together in the creation of charter flight services to Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago via New York and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
“When we first started with Caribbean Life, we would operate charters to Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana either out of New York or Ft. Lauderdale International,” Mason said.
Zoom 20 years forward; with the changing economy and rising fuel costs Travelspan switched its focus from charter flights to the travel agency aspect. “We had some changes over the years, we moved from operating yearly charters to seasonal charters and now we’re just mainly focusing on the travel agency side of it and the vacation side of it,” Mason said.
Operating as a small travel agency, Mason notes that since focusing on the travel agency aspect the clientele has slightly switched; however, those of Guyanese and Trinidadian descent have remained their loyal audience.
In this new digital world, Mason and the team at Travelspan have included more aggressive social media and Internet campaigns to reach new and old audiences. Specifically highlighting their fully capable website that allows the future vacationer the ability to book and pay for their booking at the offices in cash.
“We do have a full website that is supported by the office staff. If you do reservations online you can reserve it and still come into the office and pay cash,” Mason explained. “With the other companies and other online sources you can’t do that, you have to use the credit card. With our booking engine, you can book it, hold it for 24 hours, come in the next day and pay cash.”
With the customer always in mind, Travelspan always works to ensure their clients are nerve free. Boasting employees from countries such as Trinidad, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic — some of their most frequently booked vacation packages — travelers are able to get an inside scoop on the destination to which they traveling from a knowledgeable source. “When you call the other sites, they may have people in the office at the 24-hour call centers but they’re not from Trinidad or Guyana or Jamaica or the Dominican Republic and we have people from all these places. They give you that personal touch and little insight, places to go, interesting things to do, that type of thing,” Mason added.
Offering support in Trinidad and Guyana with their sister offices, vacationers in those countries have the ability to speak with an actual person versus paying a pretty penny for international calls to the United States.
Travelspan has two offices in New York, one in Queens located on Liberty Avenue — opened seven days a week — and another in Brooklyn located on Nostrand Avenue which is open six days a week.
