About Us

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 We Are Travel Connections!

 

Founded in West Springfield in 1996 by local travel planning experts Lori Keeley and Sue Miller, Travel Connections has become one of western Massachusetts’ most trusted and experienced travel agencies!

Lori Keeley

Lori Keeley

Lori has been planning vacations for over 40 years! Her previous experience was gained at various local travel agencies such as Park Main Travel, Fugazy Travel, Carlson Travel Network and Worldtek Travel. In 1996, along with her business partner and friend Sue, opened Travel Connections!

Lori’s favorite trips have been to the Caribbean and Mexico, and exploring the cities of Europe - and she has been on almost a dozen cruises. Lori is an ALG Elite Sapphire Specialist, AmaWaterways River cruise Specialist, Certified Sandals Specialist, Viking River, Ocean & Expedition Certified Cruise Expert, Avalon Waterways River Cruise Specialist, Aruba Specialist, St. Maarten Specialist - and lists Hawaii and The Netherlands as her favorite destinations…but has Alaska and Iceland at the top of her bucket list!

Sue Miller

Sue Miller

Sue has been in the travel business for 40 years! While the phrase “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” isn’t entirely true in the life of a travel agency owner, Sue cannot imagine doing anything else with her friend and business partner Lori!

Sue truly loves working with her clients in planning the perfect vacation for them - and always lives by the golden rule of "treat others the way you want to be treated”. She is a Certified Sandals Specialist, Aruba Specialist, St. Maarten Specialist, and La Colección Resorts Expert, absolutely LOVES Bermuda, Mexico, and the Florida Keys - and can’t wait to experience a European river cruise ASAP!

 

Our loyal clients come from all over the northeast - and we just LOVE connecting you to the world by using our first-hand travel experience and formal training to work in planning the ultimate vacation experience! And, as a member agency of Travel Leaders - the largest travel agency network in North America - you KNOW we have a direct line to some of the very best hotels & resorts, river and ocean cruise lines, and guided tour operators in the world…after all, our name is Travel Connections!

So from romantic honeymoons and family adventures to solo journeys and multi-generational escapes, why not work with a LOCAL company with GLOBAL reach? Get in touch with us today - and let us start planning your next great vacation experience!


 

 Kylemore Abbey, Co. Galway, Ireland

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10.5 Reasons to Work With Us…

“Travel agents are still around?”

We hear it ALL - THE - TIME. If you’re asking yourself that question - and why you need to work with one in planning your dream vacations, here are 10.5 reasons! Simply click the “+” to expand each reason…

 
  • We have spent most of our careers establishing and building relationships with our supplier and destination counterparts, so that our clients can enjoy exclusive access, VIP treatment and special amenities wherever and whenever they travel. In some cases these benefits are complementary to the traveler – just one more way travel advisors provide superior value.

  • We are your advocate from start to finish and have no reason not to get you the best price possible based on your needs and requirements.

  • We truly have your back before, during, and even AFTER your vacation. Not only do we help coordinate all of the moving parts of your vacation (air, hotel, ground transportation, cruise, meals, tours, and much more), but we also work with suppliers on your behalf to work out issues like airline schedule changes, missing baggage, arranging special-occasion events, and helping with travel insurance issues…so you don’t have to!

  • You can’t hit rewind on a bad vacation. We have come to understand and appreciate that our clients’ time is their most precious asset. Let us take the stress out of planning - or if you like pre-planning - let’s do it together.

  • Yes, really! During EVERY trip we take, we researching for our clients so that we can place them at the right hotels, resorts, cruise lines, and tours - and can be sure we are providing the correct information at all times. Many “vacations” we take include inspections at other local hotels - and virtually all of our activities and meals are documented so that we can pass on this knowledge to our clients. Travel consulting is a profession that requires ongoing training just like any other profession and these "vacations" are part of our training.

  • If you can’t afford to lose everything you’ve paid for your trip - you need to buy travel insurance. Being young and healthy doesn’t mean you don’t need insurance…and your home-based health insurance probably does not offer medical coverage outside the United States. Travel insurance is for unexpected emergencies, regardless of your age or health, and is a NECESSITY - especially in today’s travel environment.

  • You have no idea who that reviewer is, what their expectations are when it comes to a hotel stay and what "their perception" of great is. We choose hotels based on YOUR needs and expectations. Just because a vacation was great for someone else, doesn't mean the same vacation will be great for you.

  • The cruise, tour or resort, dining reservations, shore excursions, etc. should be booked early. Did you know many of the most popular vacation times and destinations like Christmas and school vacation weeks in the Caribbean, summer in Europe, and tours of US National Parks can book up a year or more in advance? By booking early, we can usually obtain the best pricing and selection for your vacation investment.

  • We are very well-traveled, having been to dozens of countries, and we share our first-hand insights with clients. Chances are we have been where you want to go!

  • That’s right. Most suppliers like cruise lines, hotels, and tour operators pay us a small commission for handling your travel planning. That commission is built into their pricing - which is NOT reduced if you work with them directly. So we ask - why not take advantage of our (usually) FREE expertise?

  • The more information our clients provide to us at the start of our vacation planning - from interests to preferences to budget - the better. We can then use that information to tailor tours towards your interests! And contrary to popular sales lore - we are NOT using your budget to book as expensive a vacation as it allows. We simply are using that as a tool to help us decide what to focus on: first-class or economy, bed and breakfast or luxury villa, compact car or chauffeured limo, group motorcoach experience or private tour?