Thanks for visiting our website and thinking about booking your vacation with ULTIMATE VACATIONS. I have been around the travel industry pretty much my entire life. My father, Jay, has been in the industry for over 25 years and I have been in and around all the offices he worked in from a young age. In the beginning I was learning airport codes & labeling envelopes and now I've been actually creating vacations, honeymoons and destination weddings for you for well over a decade. I have recently moved to the St. Louis area with my wife, whom I met when she was a travel agent in St. Louis, and our 3 year old son.
I started with ULTIMATE VACATIONS on the day we opened, April 15, 2002. I was here when we picked out desks, computers, & chairs, and then I was fortunate enough to be able to put those things together. I can also tell you that this is a job that I take pride in, it is not just a job or a pay check to me. I have passion for the travel industry and enjoy assisting clients enjoy quality vacations. These days vacations seem to be very underrated. Everyone needs a few days to themselves to relax and get your mind off the day to day monotony.
Justin French @ Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland
Justin & family on Ireland beach
Prior to ULTIMATE VACATIONS opening I went to Shawnee Mission Northwest (Shawnee, KS) and graduated in 2001, and then went on to pursue baseball in college before my elbow told me that was a bad idea and I had to hang my cleats up. Upon returning, I became a full time agent and since then I haven't looked back. I am lover of music, sports, and of course traveling. I try to get and out see my favorite band, Dave Matthews Band, a couple times a year. I am also an English soccer fanatic and have been fortunate enough to go and see my team, Manchester City FC, play in their stadium on multiple occasions. There isn’t a much better atmosphere than a match of there.
As luck would have it, at my first travel conference in July of 2004 in Las Vegas I won an 8-Day trip to Spain from Trafalgar Tours. This is my first experience in Europe and I was sold instantly. I love the culture and history that Europe has. The feeling you get walking down a street near buildings that were built so many hundreds of years ago is magical. You just stop and think about all of the people who walked on that same path before you and it's absolutely breathtaking. I made a return visit in March of 2006, traveled solo and made a whirlwind tour. I visited: Split & Dubrovnik, Croatia; Manchester, England; Amsterdam; Dublin, Ireland; Cologne & Frankfurt, Germany. While the trip was fast and furious it was well worth it. I fell in love with the country of Croatia, it just has such unbelievable scenery & natural beauty. I actually had an article published in the KC Star's "Where Have You Been" section in the travel section about the beauty and history that's in Croatia. In the past few years I also made it to New Zealand by myself and Ireland with the whole family in tow. In New Zealand I toured both the North and South Islands, and what a clean & beautiful country it is with an incredible amount of activities. This on top of all of our many trips to Mexico, Central America, & the Caribbean. Having a family now also means I am paying a lot more attention to the family resorts and activities in the various destinations.
It's great to be a part of a family business where we stress customer service. That is one thing I can guarantee you, with ULTIMATE VACATIONS you will get the personalized customer service you deserve. If you contact us then we are going to do everything we can to take your idea of your vacation and turn that idea into into reality. So you don't have to worry about being overlooked and passed on. Each person that calls us get the customer service they desire and we will do everything we can to make you a satisfied customer.
I have been fortunate enough over the past few years to see numerous resorts and countries. It is my goal to take all that I experience and help you have a better vacation than you planned. That is what ULTIMATE VACATIONS takes pride in, the fact that we have been there and done it. We have seen a vast majority of the resorts in certain areas and we are then able to pass our knowledge on to you to help you have a better experience. We aren't going to just sell you the hotel on special because it is cheap and we might get your business one time. We want to give you the best hotel for the type of vacation you are expecting so that you can become one of our many repeat clients. We all know that a happy client is a good client and that's our goal, to make everyone a happy client. Plus with the relations we have built with some of the resorts we are now able to able to get upgrades, special amenities, and a better chance of getting requests confirmed. While they are still requests, the resorts know us and look to make our clients happier.
I must have done something well as I was selected for "30 Under 30", a list compiled by the national travel trade publication, Travel Agent, in 2008, as one of the Top Travel Agents under the age of 30 during their inaugural selection process. Needless I know several of my counterparts, have a deep respect for all of them and am honored to be included.
I am an Master Oahu Destination Specialist, Big Island (Hawai’i) Destinations Specialist, as well as a Certified Specialist for Princess Cruises, Sandals Resorts, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Karisma Resorts. I have also taken part in Destination Specialist training in the wonderful islands of Maui and Kaua'i. In visiting these islands I gained the valuable knowledge that comes along with these trips and will able to assist my clients to a better degree now. More recently I have gone to Panama and Costa Rica for in-destination training. I do go to Mexico and the Caribbean quite frequently and know the resorts and resort areas well. We continuously travel to these destinations in order to see to see what’s new as well as seeing if properties are keeping their property at the same or a higher level.
As always, should you have any questions regarding anything please let us know. We are always here to assist you, our clients, 100% of the time no matter if it is a simple request or an in-depth piece-by-piece Europe or exotic destination. Without you we would not be here. I look forward to being able to assist you plan your next cruise or vacation. Cheers!