Wome in Business: Pam Holsinger

Women in Business: Pam Holsinger

By Taylor Jones

Travel offers a respite from everyday life, allowing otherwise overworked business owners (possibly you!) the recharging necessary to return home from a beautiful destination to continue to offer the best of yourself to the people you help. This month, we sat down with Pam Holsinger of Holsinger Travel to learn about how she helps her clients travel and recharge through her business.

An avid traveler herself, Pam has been to Cuba, Costa Rica, Cabo, Italy, Jamaica, Turkey, and Greece, just to name a few. Her mission when starting Holsinger Travel was, and remains, to share the world with people. She makes it easy to achieve this by employing her wealth of knowledge when planning trips for her clients. Keep reading to find out how Pam grew in her career throughout the years, and to learn a little bit more about the in’s-and-out’s of a busy person’s favorite fantasy: a brief escape.

Women in Business Feature: Interview with Pam Holsinger

Planful: Tell me about yourself, your background.

Pam Holsinger: I went to Wilma Boyd Travel School in Pittsburgh. After I graduated from there I immediately got hired with Braniff Airlines. So I moved, I lived in Kansas City and I worked for them for numerous years. And then, due to family issues, I moved back home and I went to work for a travel agency. I worked there for a while, then got hired by another airline that was out of Jimmy Stewart Airport [laughs]. As crazy as that would be. We did commuter service from Indiana to Pittsburgh, which was pretty cool because the pilots would let me fly a plane. We would take it up and do somersaults and I got pretty adventurous! They would help me, of course! They ended up not having enough business, so then they ended up closing.

I think at that point I had one child, so I quit work for a while and watching him [grow up] until he got into school. I called a travel agent because we were going to go to the beach, but I decided it was too expensive. I knew I could get an all-inclusive for less than it cost to go to Ocean City. I called the travel agent and I was telling her this, and she said, “You seem to know what you’re talking about.” I told her [about my career], and she asked me if I would come in for an interview! I went in for the interview, and she asked if I could start the next day. I had one week of training with her, and then she went to Australia or somewhere! We were bought out at that company, and then I went through a divorce and personal matters which lead me to have to work for insurance coverage somewhere else. People kept calling me for travel, though, and I booked it. So I was doing two jobs at once. I got so busy that my husband said just open [a travel agency] yourself!

I have a home-based agency. It works well because I am flexible: if you want to meet me at 1 o’clock on Sunday, I can do it. My clients call me, text me, Facebook message me. Pretty open. I am pretty Type-A, I would say because if someone texts me at 10 PM, I’ll hop on my computer and help them. Not always, but I try to.

I travel a lot, too. I’ve been to Cuba. I ziplined in Costa Rica, I rode camels in Cabo. The camels were really friendly. You can snuggle up against them. I love Turkey and Greece. I escort groups, too. I went to Italy with a group last year. I do corporate travel and honeymoon travel. I love sharing travel with others, and my clients become my friends.

P: Why did you start this business?

PH: So it’s mine. I can do travel the way I want. It’s good to be able to take care of clients the way I want to take care of them.

P: How long have you owned Holsinger Travel?

PH: I think I am in year number 9.

P: In addition to your previous experience in travel. How long would you say you’ve been in the travel business?

PH: Oh, boy. I think my brochure says 25 years. I need to update that, but that shows how old I am! I should put 25+ years [laughs]!

P: What were your biggest challenges when starting your career? Now?

PH: Well, I think the biggest challenge at first is to get in. It’s really hard to get into the business, especially the airlines. A lot of people want that job, and there is limited space. I was very fortunate. The owner of the airline came to interview us, and picked five of us; I lucked out. And the other jobs kind of, seriously, just fell into my lap.

Starting my own business was scary because you ask yourself, what if I don’t get enough business? Not just anyone can be a travel agent, either. You have to go through training and get [license numbers]. I’m a certified Disney agent, I just came back from Jamaica Tours, so I’m a certified Jamaica agent. I’m a Master Agent for Apple Vacations. I try to keep up with education to keep on top of [new changes].

P: What motivates you?

PH: I love to travel, and I love helping people. I just want to share the world! I know all of us are on a budget, and you try to save. But you need a little time away to unplug and feel the sun on your face. I wish I could, if I ever hit the lottery, find someone who has never traveled and send them someplace.

P: Speaking of, do you have suggestions for paying for travel for people who feel like they don’t have enough money to travel?

PH: If you book far enough in advance, you would pay the deposit, and then small amounts throughout the year until your trip. Not the airfare, though, as that has to be paid in full. There are payment plans to try to work it into your budget.

It’s hard in this area, but there are places close to us, like the beach or Niagara Falls, that a person could work into their budget and time.

P: What would you like people to know about your business?

PH: I try to take good care of my clients. I’m good friends with my Apple Vacation reps, and we visit the hotels at the destinations I send clients. Sometimes we see 10 resorts in one day! When my clients go, I always email the resort and try to get them an upgrade or a bottle of wine sent to their room. Just little things! I get all of my clients gifts. I have clients going to Jamaica with their family, so I have little toys for their kids, water toys, and some snacks.

It is stressful. And I do not get paid until I sell something. A lot of people will call and say, I want to go to the Caribbean! And I ask, okay, where and when? But they won’t know. But I will still work to get them quotes and stuff like that, and of course, they don’t always book. Sometimes people will use me to price compare and book it on their own. I can match prices! Always let me try to match the price that you find. I think people are used to getting paid by the hour, but if I don’t sell something, I don’t get paid.

I get phone calls and text messages on holidays, weekends, and at night. I answer them. I always say, you know, I’m not 24/7, but I pretty much am.

P: What are your best time management tips?

PH: I’m bad at this. I get up in the morning and the first thing I do is go to my computer with a glass of water. I try to have a list, and I live by my calendar. I still have the calendar on my phone, but I’m still old-fashioned an like to have a paper calendar, too. That way I know when everybody’s final payment is due, and I have a list in front of me.

P: Is it challenging finding a work/life balance?

PH: Yes, very hard.

P: What is your best advice for women in business, or business owners in general?

PH: Put your heart and soul into it. I think your business is what you portray about yourself. I post a lot on Facebook, so people can see that I’m actually there [at the destinations I send clients]. That way people know I’m not just going to send you somewhere I don’t know about. I will not book you someplace that I know you’re going to hate. I turn people away, I’m like, No. I’ve seen that resort, and I wouldn’t put my dog in that resort [laughs].

It’s scary. At first, I was like, I can’t do this, what’s going to happen, am I going to go broke? You know, I still think that sometimes! If you love what you do and it’s in your heart then you’ll be okay.