WE’RE DIFFERENT – IN WAYS THAT HELP YOU!   BE SURE TO VIEW SPECIAL "ACCOMPLISHMENTS" SEGMENT BELOW!

You will always talk to a real live person. You will never talk to a machine or be relegated to voice mail – you are too important. Regular office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Central Time Zone) Monday through Friday. However, we welcome personal, telephone and email appointments at other times if more convenient to you.

We were founded in 1966 and in the past 40 plus years our travel team has regularly arranged travels to (and personally experienced, as well) all 7 continents and upon all the oceans of the world.

All programs of every major cruise line and tour operator are present for you to consider and choose.

Additionally, Please Go Away™ Vacations is an active member of North America's largest vacation selling organization, Vacation.com.  As such, the marketing power of Vacation.com is at your fingertips through our team of full time travel professionals.  Vacation.com is a leading leisure travel marketing organization serving a network of more 5,100 travel agency locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Vacation.com is the bridge connecting consumers with experienced, knowledgeable travel professionals.  This results in better deals and better tailored experiences than you can find elsewhere.  When you confirm reservations with us, and use any one of Vacation.com's preferred tour operators and/or cruise lines, you have the full benefits of this special relationship.  Among these are:  special reduced pricing, shipboard credits and many additional amenities not available to the general traveling public.  All these benefits and unmatched travel support are without the necessity of being a member of a group (unless that is your preference).  From the more than 5,100 active locations throughout North America Senior Travel Consultant, Paula Axman, has been selected to serve as one of only 6 travel agency members of the national advisory board of EZguider, a breakthrough booking engine being developed for all of North America by Vacation.com.  Additionally, Larry Kopke, Senior Travel Consultant, is an invited member of Vacation.com's "Inner Circle" of the very limited number of travel professionals comprising the organization's overall national advisory board.  These special relationships result in benefits for our travelers, not otherwise available.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.  CONSIDER:

• Repeat factor of 94+%, with some travelers having “gone away” with us on more than 70 personally escorted travel experiences – others close behind.
• Travel experiences that have taken our travelers – and our professional team with approximately 100 years of combined travel experience -- to all seven continents, and upon all the oceans, of the world.
• A traveler allegiance that resulted in only 8 cancellations out of 1600 paid reservations (all sizes and types) on the books for travel between 9-11-01 (World Trade Center attack) and the end of that year. In fact, net gains resulted because of “new” reservations being received post 9-11!
• Being named to Carnival’s “Million Dollar Club”
• Being named to Maupintour’s “Top 100 Producers” in the United States.
• Being named (at least 6 different years) to American Express’ “Top 50 Representatives in the United States”. (Selection was determined solely on the amount of retail sales of leisure products regardless of agency size or location.)
• Being named recipient of CLIA’s “National Cruise Vacation Month Promotional Contest” award.
• Being twice named recipient of Carnival’s “Admiral of the Fleet” award.
• Being nominated for Carnival’s “Agency of the Year” award.
• Being named the recipient of Travel Weekly’s “Travel Agency Achievement Award” for “Best Promotional Campaign”.
• Being named recipient of Travel Weekly’s “Travel Agency Achievement Award” for “Best Community Service Program”.
• Being recognized as a “top” national producer for Princess Cruises.
• Being recognized with numerous other awards and acknowledgements (including being featured in national travel publications numerous times) from various industry components for sales achievements.
• Being named by Vacation.com, North America’s largest retail travel organization, for creating one of the “Top 20” new-travel-marketing campaigns in 2005.

RECENT - 2008 - AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:

• President's Club Designation - Collette Vacations
• 2009 Group Planner & Sales Reference Guide - Globus Family of Brands - 1 of 4 travel professionals featured.
• Princess Cruises Commodore Designation With Nationwide Publicity.
• National Advisory Board Designation - Vacation.com's "EZGuider".
• Invited participation in Inaugural festivities aboard new "Ruby Princess".

MORE RECENT - 2009 - AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:

• U. S. Local Business Association's "Best of Local Business" award.
• "Inner Circle" designation by Vacation.com, North America's largest  retail travel organization (the "inner Circle" is comprised of 85 travel industry leaders selected from America's more than 4,800 retail travel locations).
• Recipient of "Premier Agency Partner Award" of Globus Family of Travel Brands in recognition of successful sales achievements and promotions.
• Being named a “Platinum Group Producer” by worldwide travel industry leader, the Globus Family of Brands. Their “Platinum Group” is limited to the top 30 group travel producers in North America. With this coveted designation comes an array of benefits for travelers not available elsewhere.                          

• Consistent programs of well written and art highlighted in house printed direct mail programs consisting of regular Travel Talk newsletter as well as regular targeted mailings (both direct mail and email) for specific destinations and/or departures.
• Personalized service of all types of independent “on-your-own” leisure vacation and cruise experiences, by representing all major travel suppliers.
• Publication in house, and distribution of, a travel catalog of specially-arranged unique personally-escorted leisure vacation and cruise experiences that are marketed to all past travelers, as well as to ever increasing numbers of new travel prospects desiring the safety, uniqueness security, camaraderie and savings of personally escorted group travel.
• Our personally escorted programs are divided into three distinct collections; the CLASSIC COLLECTION, the CRUISE COLLECTION, and the LAND/AIR COLLECTION.
• A CUSTOM GROUPS department that works with numerous Chambers of Commerce, Group Leaders, Banks, Development Organizations, College Foundations, State-Wide Membership Organizations, Public Television Stations, Community Recreation Services, etc. in providing quality “private label” travel experiences to their circles of influence.
• An effectively segmented set of prospect lists housed internally for a number of organizations to accommodate both direct mail and email generated campaigns at “a moment’s notice”.

OUR PLEDGE TO YOU:

Please Go Away™ Vacations shall always be committed to the full time effective promotion, sales, and service of quality travel products and experiences in a “high tech, but high personal touch” environment by observing our personal service credo -- “Small Town Caring – Worldwide”.