Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Fricke
Hi Victoria, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi! I’m Vic, owner of Vic’s Vacations. A luxury travel agency with a focus on Caribbean and European travel. We take the planning out of your hands giving you the freedom to decide on what type of trip you want to take, when you want to take it, the budget and the rest is on us! We curate the perfect trip with all components planned then you can eliminate the stress of planning and just go on the trip!
I’d say this was an intended hobby that accidentally turned into a career. I was a high school English teacher out on maternity leave with my second child. I intended to take a full summer and semester off then return to the classroom. During my break from school I started researching for our first trip to Disney and quickly became overwhelmed. I knew a travel agent who specialized in Disney World and decided to work with her. Very quickly I could see the value she added in her knowledge, and knew she was getting compensated with commission from my trip. Then I took it a step further and thought… I could do this.
I began researching everything there was to know about Disney. Where to eat, what rides to go on, how to navigate the parks. I became so focused to learn everything there was and decided I too would become a travel agent and help families go to Disney. By this point I had decided to stay home full time and knew I’d be bored to tears without a job.
I applied and was accepted to join a travel agency with a focus on Disney and began learning the ins and outs of the travel space. I quickly realized I had a knack for helping people plan and wanted to start planning trips beyond Disney. I also realized I was absolutely in the wrong travel agency and needed to find a new one.
I moved agencies and really began focusing on turning the hobby I had began into a career. I had a goal of 5 years to become a full time travel agent (making a salary that matched/beat my teacher salary). I did it in two.
After 6 amazing years working with my former agency I finally decided I had what it took to fully go out on my own and launched my agency, Vic’s Vacations. My team and I haven’t looked back and are blown away by what we’ve done since.
If asked about our agency and what I’d want people to know about us I’d say I want you to know we’re driven. We do a happy dance with every inquiry we get. A trip to the Caribbean- we’re excited. A trip to Europe- we’re excited. A destination wedding- we’re excited. We all love what we do, and it really is evident in our daily email response, our calls with clients and the service we provide.
I’m so proud of the passion we all share for our jobs and the unwavering commitment to our clients.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Things seemed smooth until Covid 19. To put it gently, my entire business came to a screeching stop and I saw everything I had built cease to exist. Almost ever trip I had booked for quarter 2 and 3 canceled in the matter of days. In that moment I could not have said one positive thing about that experience; however, looking at it now I can confidently say it was one of the best things for my business. The need and desire to have someone support travel became higher. The reviews and gratitude clients who did travel had of me were glowing. The want for my services quadrupled and here we are today.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in romance travel – honeymoons and destination weddings. I’m most proud of maintaining a small business feel as I scale into not so small of a business. My clients know me. They trust me. They feel confident in me. That same element transcends to my team. We might be busy, but that doesn’t take away from our personalized approach… I think that’s wet sets us apart.
What matters most to you? Why?
Experience and client satisfaction. Without happy clients we don’t grow. We can’t scale without the organic referrals we get on a daily basis. Those come because of our treatment to current clients and allows us to earn new clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vicsvacations.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vicsvacations/
Image Credits
Karolina Larokina