Meet Bronwyn and Adam Hodge, general manager of IslandsEscapes by Goway and marketing manager, respectively, for Goway Travel, founded, they both tell us, by their father Bruce Hodge, who in 1970 “with passion and dedication, opened for business with just $300 and a reservations system operated by telegraph.” Wow, what a start; let’s get an update on this family business.
Says Bronwyn: “Goway has always focused on helping travel agents sell, and we work hard to give their clients the best service and value. In the end, it is travel agents who have made us as successful as we are, and in the age of consortiums, we are proud to have strong relationships with some serious agents out there.” One of those is Laura Tyree, travel consultant-group & incentive sales specialist at Travel Lovers, who says “When I found Goway—where I work with six or seven different destination experts who, even with my difficult, unique requests, have never let me down—I struck gold. Goway’s knowledge, reliability and very competitive pricing keep me coming back.”
Goway has always focused on helping travel agents sell, and we work hard to give their clients the best service and value. In the end, it is travel agents who have made us as successful as we are, and in the age of consortiums, we are proud to have strong relationships with some serious agents out there.
– Bronwyn Hodge, General Manager, IslandsEscapes by Goway
Bronwyn adds: “Both the diversity in our product and our destination specialist teams have been key. We have many eggs in many baskets, including six core destination brands, a groups division, an air division, a corporate division, and a Sydney, Australia-based inbound office.”
According to Adam: “Goway is not a luxury company, per se. We offer three-, four- and five-star products, for we believe there’s great opportunity in being a more general soft-travel brand, rather than strictly high-end adventure or luxury. We can handle the 20-somethings on an overland trip through Africa, the first and second honeymoon trip to Tahiti, and the 70-somethings on a multi-generation Galapagos adventure. We are really trying to ensure we’re positioned to handle a lifetime of travel experiences for all kinds of globetrotters—those travel agent clients we think of as ‘real travelers.’”
Adam adds: “Since the financial crisis of late 2008 and the downturn in business for everyone, we’ve continually been reinvesting in technology as a key part of our future, including improvements in our res system and integration with suppliers. The complexity of getting online and a good website has seen our marketing team completely evolve and change in the last few years.”
Bronwyn reports: “Among Goway’s newest travel destinations is Europe, added to the product line two years ago, and growing steadily. And we love self-drives, newly expanded in Europe, as well as in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Actually, South Africa has been very popular because of the exchange rate and its incredible value for money, and cruising is doing spectacularly well. And to meet the demand for immersive experiences enriched with local culture, Goway has introduced a Live Like a Local program in Australia, Cook Islands and New Zealand where our clients stay among the locals, learning their traditions, sharing their ways of life.”
CONTACT INFORMATION
Laura F. Tyree, Travel Consultant – Group & Incentive Sales Specialist19129 Forest Road, Lynchburg, VA 24502
Tel: (434) 385-5192
E-mail: Laura@travellovers.com
Website: goway.com
