During the long, dreary months of winter, many area residents probably dream of getting away to someplace warm and sunny.
Wendy’s World Travel, which opened an office on Main Street on Dec. 1 last year, can help make that dream a reality.
The business is owned and operated by Wendy Sylvester, who began her career with seven years of employment at a travel agency in Maple Grove, starting when she was just 19 years old.
After starting a family and commuting from Annandale, Sylvester decided to step out on her own in May of 2007.
The transition went well. Many of her former clients continued to use her services, and Sylvester began employing several independent contractors in 2010 to help accommodate additional clients and expand her base of individual expertise.
After succeeding in building her own business, the next step was to move into a dedicated office space away from her home. She found that place next to Annandale Embroidery in a small office suite behind the law office of MacMillan Wallace Athanases and Patera, P.A.
The A.M. Boutique sign on the building will eventually be replaced by a Wendy’s World Travel sign.
"I was looking for something inexpensive, something to get my feet wet and make sure this is what I wanted to do, and the response has been tremendous. People have been so supportive," said Sylvester. "Other downtown business people have been so great, so it has been a really fun time for me. This has kind of been a dream of mine since I started on my own, so to make it a reality has been really exciting."
Services
Sylvester has traveled extensively, particularly in Mexico and the Caribbean.
"I’ve been to over 100 hotels and I have contacts at a lot of places," said Sylvester. "I get my clients upgrades by going to these places and then contacting the hotel manager and saying, ‘Hey, I have these people coming in. Can you please take care of them?’ They’ll have some special amenities in their rooms or they’ll get an upgrade if there’s one available."
Sylvester also specializes in destination weddings, typically booking 10 to 12 per year, as well as honeymoons.
Combining the expertise of her contractors, Wendy’s World Travel has strong connections to Disney, Hawaii, Europe and more destinations.
"We can book anything from hotel rooms to car rentals to flights, to escorted tours in Europe, to rail passes – everything," said Sylvester. "We do a lot of price matching to online travel agencies too. So if you find something at Expedia and you’re just a little unsure, you can call me and do a price match and usually get it a little bit lower with our price match policies."
The agents do extensive traveling themselves in order to scout out and establish contacts at various destinations. Among other places, Sylvester has recently been to Cancun and Costa Rica, while one of her agents is going to Spain in April.
"We’re definitely out there traveling and learning about new places and new things. Having firsthand experience is very important," said Sylvester.
Hours and contacts
The Main Street office is generally staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
To contact the office, call 274-1840.
■ Sylvester is aided by independent contractors Kristin Fahey and Cristin Broughton, both of Annandale, along with Theresa Lenz of St. Michael.