10 questions, 12 very different answers 

Each month we will feature a new THOR member travel agent who’s been asked to respond to the same 10 questions. See how different the answers can be!

TRAVEL AGENT PROFILE:

NAME: Alan J Savada
TITLE: CTC
TRAVEL AGENCY NAME: FROSCH
TRAVEL AGENCY LOCATION: WASHINGTON, DC
YEARS IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY: 28
SPECIALTY: Performing Arts

Q: In what positive ways do you feel that your role as a travel agent has changed over the years?

I am able to offer my clients so many more benefits.

Q: How many stamps do you have in your current passport? Where is the furthest country you visited?

I have two stamps because I only left the country once since I got a new passport and took two cruises! The furthest country is Thailand/the island nation of Kiribati, or Antarctica, depending on where you stand.Why? I LOVE TO TRAVEL!

Q: If you could take your all-time favorite singer or band on a trip, who would you take and where would you go?

I would have to take an entire opera company with me, as I handle travel for hundreds of singers. We would go on a cruise so they could sing night after night and be the best entertainment at sea!

Q: If someone visited your hometown, what one thing would you recommend that they do?

My hometown is Washington, DC and I always recommend the unknown Hillwood Museum as it is a treasure trove of art/ architecture, and so much more, as well as a magnificent palace.

Q: If travel were a scent, what would it smell like?

I adore vanilla -- pure Tahitian.

Q: What hotel have you always wanted to stay at?

There’s really not ONE....there are dozens and they would include small, intimate super luxurious hotels in places that I have not been to yet.

Q: Where are you planning to travel in 2014?

We just returned from a 30-day South Pacific Cruise and had another in the Western Caribbean this past April. The summer brought visits to several opera festivals in Ft. Worth and Cooperstown, plus a trip to Oregon for a family wedding in the high desert. December is a cruise from Singapore to Myanmar and Malaysia!

Q: What is the most unique hotel amenity that either you, or a client, received?

If amenities include upgrades then it would be an upgrade to a 4-room suite of about 2,500 sq. ft. When I was travelling ALONE!

Q: What is the strangest thing that you have ever had a client request?

I have a client who always calls and leaves a message like, “Please book me to California next week, OK?” With no specific date or city! This is always hard to decipher!

Q: Share a happy travel moment with us, whether it was for you or your client, which reflects why you love being a travel agent.

It just makes me feel good when I am able to help people and they send a small note or email saying THANK YOU!