All Aboard Travel Inc. boasts worldwide clientele, knowledge of more than 25 countries in every continent except Antarctica, and a storefront 10 minutes from campus. The travel agency primarily assists nearby colleges and Hillsdale residents in planning trips around the Midwest, Cabo, Greece, New York, Russia, South Africa, and Spain.
All Aboard Travel operates in a similar way as most large online travel agencies, such as Expedia and Travelocity. Hotels give All Aboard their deals and All Aboard finds people to fill the rooms. It specializes in affordable travel services for large groups or private travelers, and often organizes bussing services for Hillsdale College functions like the University of Michigan-Hillsdale basketball game Saturday.
Director of Student Activities Anthony Manno booked with All Aboard for the exhibition basketball game this weekend. He said All Aboard provided the best option for the dates he needed busses.
“All Aboard Travel has always been very helpful and easy to work with,” Manno said.
“We have schools from all over the U.S. that work with us and that’s a big part of our clientele,” All Aboard Travel Owner Christina Boyer said.
All Aboard has four main travel consultants who help clients travel around the U.S., to the Caribbean, Walt Disney World, cruises, and specialty locations all over the world. Sometimes, the consultants travel with the tour groups to make sure everything is organized and going well.
The company’s Facebook page features a picture of Betty Spahr, the travel agent responsible for specialty destinations, in front of the Taj Mahal on a trip to India.
“India was a very different tour with people from many different cultures and religions,” Spahr said. “It has become a new destination for us.”
Spahr worked as a Spanish teacher in Pittsford, Michigan for 27 years, where she often used All Aboard Travel for bookings to locations such as Mexico, Peru, and Spain. When she retired from teaching in 2010, Boyer offered her a job and Spahr began booking worldwide trips.
“In November, I took a small group to Turkey, where we took a hot air balloon ride over the area of Cappadocia. Floating over the unusual landscape with hundreds of other balloons was a great feeling,” Spahr said.
Spahr has been to Costa Rica, Russia, Salzburg, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, and is now planning specialty trips for groups travelling to places like China in August, and a four-night cruise down the Yangtze River.
Although the NCAA limits overseas trips to once every four years, Al Philipp, International Group Coordinator for All Aboard, is organizing an August excursion to Spain for the Hillsdale College men’s basketball team to take advantage of the opportunities it has to play abroad.
“We went to Greece four years ago with the team, and we’re very excited to return to Europe,” Philipp said.
Philipp, a native of Vienna, Austria, consults teams and school groups around the area and always enjoys returning home to Europe.
“You can’t really get a picture of the world if you sit behind a desk,” Philipp said.