ABOUT SUSAN PARR TRAVEL
How We Began...
In 1994, against the advice of many, Susan Parr Travel opened its doors in Port Angeles, WA. The new travel agency was facing competition from 6 other agencies, already well established in the small town. Susan started the company with only herself and one other agent, Barbara Hanify, who although retired, is still working at Susan Parr Travel. Within a week, Susan hired another employee who, for 2 months, worked for free. The neighboring town of Sequim had 5 travel agencies, Port Angeles now had 7.
Business was slow and times were tough. New challenges were beginning to emerge. The airlines stopped paying commissions to travel agents, the internet "travel" sites were the new craze and people started to make their own travel arrangements. The business outlook for travel agencies was grave. Then the unimaginable happened. The most horrific tragedy in United States history occurred on Sep 11th 2001. Of the 12 Travel Agencies in the area, only 3 were able to stay in business after 9/11. Susan Parr Travel was one of them.
Susan Parr Travel, Inc., in the face of adversity, persevered and has become the #1 Travel Agency in the area for the past 25 years and is the last remaining full service travel agency on the Olympic Peninsula.
There are now 7 employees working at Susan Parr Travel, and we have recently re-located to a new, larger office where the business continues to flourish. At Susan Parr Travel we know that the key reason we were able to survive in such competitive times is because of our practice of "Going the Extra Mile" for all our clients.
Business was slow and times were tough. New challenges were beginning to emerge. The airlines stopped paying commissions to travel agents, the internet "travel" sites were the new craze and people started to make their own travel arrangements. The business outlook for travel agencies was grave. Then the unimaginable happened. The most horrific tragedy in United States history occurred on Sep 11th 2001. Of the 12 Travel Agencies in the area, only 3 were able to stay in business after 9/11. Susan Parr Travel was one of them.
Susan Parr Travel, Inc., in the face of adversity, persevered and has become the #1 Travel Agency in the area for the past 25 years and is the last remaining full service travel agency on the Olympic Peninsula.
There are now 7 employees working at Susan Parr Travel, and we have recently re-located to a new, larger office where the business continues to flourish. At Susan Parr Travel we know that the key reason we were able to survive in such competitive times is because of our practice of "Going the Extra Mile" for all our clients.
The Susan Parr People
Meet the travel professionals who will make your trip your most memorable ever!
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Susan was bitten by the travel bug when she was in high school. All it took was being chosen by the local rotary club to be an exchange student to Australia. Within a year after returning, Susan began working for a travel agency, and the rest is history. Ten years later she opened Susan Parr Travel. That was June 1987. Susan won the first American Society of Travel Agents "extra mile" award for her work with adoptive families. Susan and her thirteen-year-old son John brought two toddlers to the U.S. from Ethiopia under extremely difficult conditions, and was honored for her accomplishments. Susan prides herself on her expertise in all aspects of travel and trains her consultants to be "the best in the world" at what they do. Having traveled extensively, she knows what it takes to get from here to there and back again. Susan books all aspects of travel but excels at doing Custom Travel Packages to Exotic Destinations. Best of all, she loves what she does and it shows. |
Susan's third loves (son John is first) are her Bernese Mountain Dogs, Gandalf, Dallas & Nevada.. In her spare time, she is off to dog shows doing competition obedience, drafting and confirmation with two of the. When not at dog shows, she is usually working on her small farm doing various chores that never seem to go away, or volunteering her time on various community projects.
