Joshua Bush

Joshua Bush

April 2008
 
April 2008

It takes a lot to land on the cover of Luxury Travel Advisor twice, but that’s exactly what Joshua Bush, CEO of Avenue Two Travel has done, once in April 2008 and again this past February. In his first profile, we spoke to Bush about his then-new affiliation with Virgin Galactic, which would allow him to sell travel to outer space. We also positioned him as the rising star in his family business (he was the director of business development back then), which was run by his parents Craig and Debbie Bush.

 

Fast forward seven years: The Bush family had made bold moves to completely restructure the way it sells travel. They upped and moved from their cozy but crowded Swarthmore, PA, storefront to a custom-built luxury office in nearby Villanova, where they could entertain and consult with clients in an extremely posh setting. The 5,000 square feet of new space also provides a spacious and user-friendly workspace for its advisors. And, quite significantly, the agency changed its name from Park Avenue Travel to Avenue Two Travel.

We caught up with Joshua Bush, who is now CEO of the agency, for our “Where Are They Now” compilation, even though it hadn’t been that long since we’d chatted. But would you know, he’s evolved the family business even further since February.

“Since our last article a few months ago we have continued to grow and add new faces,” he tells Luxury Travel Advisor. “Our growth for 2015 will be greater than 25 percent over last year with over $25 million in sales. And, we continue to invest in advisor development with participation on numerous boards and events.”

Recently, he or his advisors attended ILTM Africa, LE Miami, Ultra Luxury Exchange and the Virtuoso Symposium, and plans are for the team to be at Travel Industry Exchange, PURE, ILTM and of course, Virtuoso Travel Week.

February 2015
 
February 2015

“I think that our team’s commitment to knowing properties, destinations and suppliers intimately adds a level of expertise and knowledge that our clients yearn for in their travel advisor. The last nine years have brought us from the neighborhood mom and pop to a brand and a company that is built for the next 30 years. I can’t wait to see where we as an industry go next!”

Bush has already traveled to all seven continents but still needed to tick Tahiti off his bucket list. That he just did and in fine form, visiting the Four Seasons Bora Bora (“It provided the quintessential over water bungalow experience we had always imagined”) and The Brando on Tetiaroa (“It gave us a true private island feel with the service and comfort one would expect on their own island”).

He’s just back from The Breakers in Palm Beach and loves this grand dame. “It’s one of the old classics and it’s fabulous. It has everything that a five-star luxury property should have but goes one step further with its staff, who are engaging, warm and friendly. Every staff member has a story and wants to enhance every guest’s stay. This genuine and authentic service is often strived for, yet very rarely executed flawlessly. The Breakers team, however, nails it every time,” says Bush.