About TravelStore
An Employee-Owned, Award-Winning Travel Agency
Company Profile
TravelStore is the largest independently owned travel agency headquartered in California, and consistently ranked among the top 50 largest in the United States.
Our corporate centers are located in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Irvine. Our leisure vacation travel locations include Los Angeles, Sacramento, Irvine, Palos Verdes/South Bay, Pasadena and Santa Barbara/Camarillo.
What Makes Us Different
Employee-Owned
We are unique being an employee-owned travel agency, with a high bar for our integrity and dedication to customer service. Our strong company culture is anchored by our mission and values.
Award-Winning
Our award-winning company consistently ranks among the best agencies in the country (Travel Weekly, Business Travel Weekly). Our passion for our profession has resulted in being named multiple years as one of the "Best Places To Work" in Los Angeles County and Sacramento.
Engaged
Our management team is active on various travel advisory boards and committees for travel organizations like ASTA, travel magazines (Afar, Travel+Leisure), major hotel brands, and airlines. We are engaged with our industry and our opinions continue to be sought across the broad spectrum of our industry. Meet our key Executive Team.>>
Connected
TravelStore is a top member of the prestigious Signature Travel Network, a highly regarded worldwide partnership allowing us to provide our customers unmatched benefits and additional value when you travel. We are a Premium Member of ASTA (American Society of Travel Advisors), CLIA (Cruise Line International Association) and an affiliate of BCD Travel.
Chairman's Message
After working for Lufthansa Airlines in Frankfurt, Nairobi and New York for six years, I moved to Los Angeles and opened Travel Store Inc. in 1975. We began as a boutique agency with a handful of employees writing paper airline tickets. Today we’ve transitioned to issuing e-tickets — one of the many advancements our industry has seen in the last 40+ years.
Our first office was located near UCLA in Westwood Village, California, because I thought professors planning sabbaticals would make for great clientele. With a developing reputation in the travel industry, the company grew and I opened a second office in 1980, followed by more branches across the Golden State.
As Chairman and [former] CEO of TravelStore, my goal has always been to make sure our company is operating with the most sophisticated technology, while ensuring we continue to deliver a personalized level of service to each of our clients.
In 2005, I made the decision to create an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), allowing our employees to benefit from being part owners in TravelStore.
Though my initial hope that professors would be our best clients didn’t exactly prove to be true, TravelStore has become much bigger and more successful than I ever imagined.
We have always been guided by values like humility, integrity and respect in how we work with each other and we have strived to treat others the way we wish to be treated. This is the philosophy that has brought us much success. As we look to the future, it gives me great confidence and pride to know that no matter how much the world may change, you can rely on TravelStore to act in accordance with these values.
My sincere thanks to all of our professional agents and staff, the preferred suppliers we work with, and to our respected clients without whom our success would not be possible.
Wido L. Schaefer
Chairman