Welcome Aboard!
Meet Lyle & Renee Curry — franchise owners bringing upbeat and modern flare to the traditional standard of travel. Their new and innovative business will open its doors on October 1. Expedia CruiseShipCenters is a travel agency that specializes in cruising but offers land vacations as well. Most of the services offered are free to the traveler.
Initially, at a time before the convenience of Internet, retail travel agencies were a common neighborhood business. While they tended to focus on airline tickets as their primary product, they also offered land vacations and cruises. The growth of online booking sites soon changed the outlook of these traditional travel agencies as the capability to purchase travel could be easily done at home. Expedia.com was a leading part of the Internet revolution in travel, but after a period of time they noticed something was missing.
Although most people would do their research online, when it came to complex vacations (like cruises) they still wanted help making the right decisions. With so many ships and different types of staterooms and amenities, finding the right sailing for your travel preferences can be quite the challenge. For this reason, 70 percent of cruisers choose to book with a travel agent and that number has been increasing for several years.
Through CruiseShipCenters, Expedia found a model that could leverage its technology and buying power while delivering the personal experience of a professional travel consultant. They realized that having a consultant based in your community is the way to best serve customers and create everlasting relationships.
Lyle was born in Edmonds and understands the beauty in our community. As a child growing up he had the opportunity to live in several areas around the U.S., but he never lost sight of the desire to return to the Seattle area. Lyle and Renee Curry moved back in 1991 and had the opportunity of raising both boys in the beautiful Seattle area ever since.
Renee, along with being a franchise owner, is also a middle school teacher. Education, community sports and organizations that serve kids are something they enjoy being a part of in their free time. Located near the iconic Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, the importance of community involvement is partially why they picked this location. They wanted to be close to a strong community center like the Third Place Commons Building in order to build a strong connection with the community via their team of vacation consultants.
“We are always looking for new consultants, and we have a great training program that is available for the right people. We are one of the few that are developing new travel professionals end to end,” said Lyle. “The immediate interest about joining on board with Expedia CruiseshipCenters is the recognition that we have for a strong connection to the community and desire to build long-term relationships as being keys to success. We both love to travel and being an important part of the community so it was a great fit for us. If you carry these same interests, please come see me. We would love to bring you along as part of our team!”
The growth in the cruising industry and the enormous popularity of river cruising are two significant driving factors as to why they focus on cruise. With over 5 billion dollars of new ships coming online each year, the foreseeable future points to growth. Check out some of the incredible features of cruises and meet new business owners Lyle and Renee. Their unique business and heartfelt care is an outstanding experience you don’t want to miss!
Lyle and Renee Curry
Expedia CruiseShipCenters
17171 Bothell Way NE Suite A015
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
206.347.8777
