Thankful.
Merriam-Webster offers this definition:
1:conscious of benefit received 2:expressive of thanks 3:well pleased
As we enter this season of gratitude and reflection, I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU to all of you, our loyal friends and clients.
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Dear Friends of Alpaca Your Bags,
As we enter our 3rd full year of being an independent, family owned and local travel agency, I am bursting with gratitude and thanks. Four years ago, I never would have dreamed that this business would take off the way that it has. I am truly humbled at our success over the last year.
2017 brought some awesome achievements for this little ol’ travel business:
- In 2017, we have booked just shy of $500,000 in travel for our clients. Entering our third year, we have achieved a goal that takes many travel agents 5+ years to achieve.
- In 2017, we’ve helped over 100 families book trips to destinations like Riviera Maya, Tulum, Punta Cana, Negril, Roatan, Belize, Trindad & Tobago, St. Lucia, St. Barth’s, Bermuda, Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Maui. Bahamas and too many more to list here. .
- In 2017, I welcomed the addition of Jen Fanoele to the team. Jen is a certified Disney specialist and has been tremendously valuable in booking AMAZING Disney vacations and Disney cruises.
- Last but certainly not least, 2017 brought Annette Agor to the team. Annette has been my assistant since the summer and I would be lost without her. If you’ve booked a trip this fall, Annette has helped you as well. THANK YOU, Annette!
On the Romance Travel front, we also achieved some big goals:
- My Destination Wedding book was published on Amazon. To date, it has been shared with nearly 300 readers with more to come in 2018.
- I was chosen to attend the 2017 Romance Travel Forum, an invitation-only event for just 150 agents worldwide. At this event, I was able to make personal connections in some exciting new destinations (Guatemala and Thailand, to name a couple) as well as deepening business relationships with some of our most popular destinations
- With the help of Baamboo Studio, we redesigned our website
- Finally,, we’ve assisted with the planning of 6 destination weddings, 1 vow renewal and dozens and dozens of honeymoons. Love has been in the air in 2017!
It’s been an exciting year… exciting and honestly a little overwhelming! This year’s success has also brought about some big changes, one of which I am going to share in this email.
Effective November 1, Alpaca Your Bags Travel is now a partner agency to Travel Concepts KC. This is an exciting partnership that will bring many additional benefits and personal 1-on-1 connections in the destinations you know and love.
Travel Concepts’ owner Denise Canon is a 20+ year veteran of the KC area travel industry. She has been a mentor to me and I’m thrilled to connect our businesses on this level.
Nothing will change with Alpaca Your Bags … this is totally added value and a BOOST to my ever growing business. This partnership will also allow Alpaca Your Bags to expand into two additional continents: Europe and South America travel. There will be more to share on this very soon!
If you’ve read this far, THANK YOU! None of these achievements would be possible without each and everyone of you. Thank you for your support, your referrals, your shares & posts, your bookings and of course, your friendship. Next year is going to be even more exciting… I am still holding back on some secrets, so you’ll have to tune in to see what’s next!
AS A THANK YOU to all of our loyal clients, I’d like to offer each of you $100 off your next NEW booking. This offer is good for all 2018 travel; just mention this blog post and we’ll get started. This offer expires December 22, 2017.
From our house to yours, Happy Thanksgiving and have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Best,
Ashley
(and Christopher, Jen, Annette, Matt, Sally and Charlie)
