Enjoying the Past, Committed to the Future

This summer marks four years that I have been a professional travel agent. Its been a very interesting, and fun, personal and professional journey. What was once supposed to be a "fun hobby job" to make a little extra money for our family's Disney vacations has grown into a full fledged career! I have gone from an agent working on my own just selling Disney, to being a co-owner of an agency with an awesome business partner, planning trips for families all over the world, and I've somehow built a budding career out of it!

While all of this was going on my personal life was just as hectic. Within a few months of starting I found out I was pregnant with our FOURTH child. A few short weeks later my husband was offered a new assignment within his company that moved us to Houston, and just a few weeks after that I actually met my now business partner and great friend. Over that time our family has dealt with the ups and downs of personal and professional life, but all along life kept moving on and getting even more blessed than I could imagine.

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The Farrell family at 'Ohana for breakfast

The constant throughout much of this was an absolutely amazing group of clients! I still remember the very first family that trusted me with their vacations. The Heath's really wanted to take their son Ayden on an awesome trip to Walt Disney World. For some reason they decided to trust me with this adventure. I'd been so many times with my family nad had done all of the training, but I was still extremely nervous! When the trip was I over I remember sending a note to see how it went and nervously waiting for a reply. Once I read how happy they were and saw the excitement in Ayden's eyes in the pictures I was HOOKED!

Since the Heath's I have helped more than 300 families with the Disney trips. Can you believe that... 300! I've had the privilege of working with people all around the world in planning the perfect Disney vacation. I had the opportunity to plan honeymoons and family reunions. I helped people attend amazing events and enjoy one-of-a-kind experiences. I've even worked with families who wanted to use the magic of Disney to help overcome their own personal struggles or tragedies. I've laughed with my clients. I've cried with my clients. I've at times been their counselor, but more often than not they've been a friendly voice and a great listener as I've worked through life's struggles.

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The Salinas family at Animal Kingdom

Something odd happened along the way. Eventually I earned the trust of so many of my amazing clients that they came to me and asked to help plan vacations to other destinations. I was open and honest-- I'd never been to Hawaii or the Caribbean. I knew nothing about luxury hotels and had only ever taken one non-Disney Cruise. But my clients did not care. Finding out about a location is the easy part. What they wanted was someone they could totally trust, someone who understood them, and someone who could find them a great vacation-- they didn't want some automated website that gave them a cookie cutter trip and endless hold times if something went wrong.

Since that began I have sent clients to some absolutely amazing places. They have sailed Alaska and Europe, adventured throughout the Caribbean, and enjoyed the relaxing vibe of Hawaii. Each trip a success for my clients and an opportunity for me to learn a little more and help make their next trip even better.

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Jenn, thank you again for helping our family plan this Disney trip. It's no easy task organizing a group of 12 (across 3 states) and you pulled it off effortlessly! Throughout the weeks of planning you were amazingly quick to respond to all of our emails and keep us on track. Your suggestions of what to do around each of the parks was on-point and geared towards our family, as opposed to a generic mass email. You made us feel more like friends than clients!
- The Blessinger Family

We worked with Jenn to plan our long-awaited trip to Disney World. We took our five grandchildren, ages one to nine and their parents for a total of eleven people so, as you can imagine, there were a ton of details. Jenn helped us fill every minute and the schedule went off without a hitch...There's an old ad slogan that says "Don't leave home without it". We say "Don't do Disney without Jenn and White Glove Destinations!" We made memories that will last a lifetime.
- The Hall Family

The Tutor family... Hold onto that crown Princess!!!

This year as I have reflected upon the many blessings I have in my life because of the amazing families I work with every day I made a commitment to myself and to them. I was going to continue to get better, learn more, and improve upon the concierge travel services I provide.

It all began earlier this year when I completed by Cruise Line International Association's Accredited Cruise Counselor Program. This training program took two years of class room training, online training, ship tours, personal cruise experience and demonstrated product knowledge to achieve. Most travel agents helping families book cruises will never achieve this level of accreditation. My hope is to not only maintain this accreditation, but to work towards achieving the next level.

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AMAZING family vacation to Captiva South Seas resort. Thank you SO SO MUCH for taking care of all the little details that I would never have known were essential! Can't wait to go back next year, Thank You!
-The Finelli Family

Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a day long training program to become a Certified Sandals Specialist. I have already sent many families to Beaches and Sandals, but I wanted to make sure I knew all there was to know about these amazing destinations. Now with this certification you can feel comfortable knowing that I know these unique luxury vacation products.

And last week I spent several days in training and site tours throughout Cancun, experiencing the amazing all-gourmet and all-inclusive destinations in the Karisma Resorts family. While my husband will certainly poke at me for going to Cancun for work, I really am excited to share all I learned with you in the coming weeks and months.

I truly am excited for my future as a Travel Agent and my amazing agency, Whitney World Travel. I am even more excited to continue to help my amazing clients plan unforgettable vacations around the world. Each of you has truly touched me and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be a small part in creating amazing memories to last a lifetime. Thank you all for becoming a part of my family.

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Video of balcony at Generations Riviera Maya, a Karisma Resort- July 2015

JJenn Whitney is a travel enthusiast and mother of four. Her goal is to share her experiences and knowledge to help families plan amazing vacations around the world. Jenn is the owner of Whitney World Travel, a boutique family and luxury travel agency, and an Accredited Cruise Counselor. You can contact Jenn by e-mail at Jenn@whitneyworldtravel.com.