Maureen Jones

Maureen JonesMaureen Jones of All Horizons Travel in Los Altos, CA continues to live in “paradise,” as she calls it. Indeed, her affluent town is an idyllic California retreat in Silicon Valley. Which also means inside all those charming storefronts, restaurants and salons are super-wealthy denizens in search of their next great travel experience.

Enter Jones, whose Signature Travel Network agency is up 20 percent over last year so far, “mostly in cruises and FITs.” This endearing agency owner is very much a part of the local scene; she and her husband, Roy, participate in the Rotary, Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Merchants Association. They also sit on various boards. “We help with every fund-raising effort in town,” Jones tells Luxury Travel Advisor. “Roy and I were voted Best Citizens of the Year and given several commendations from California state and local politicians, which gave us lots of great publicity.”

Jones is also an avid blogger; her entries on Patch.com are wildly popular, as she provides great detail and robust opinions on the places she’s visited. That activity, along with the evening events she plans for suppliers and clients, brings her business great contacts and helps to grow the business. “Our suppliers have been generous with their co-op funding as well and offer exclusive benefits for bookings in addition to any Signature amenities offered,” she tells us.

Her success comes from amazing travel knowledge as well; Jones, who is British, has been to London more than 150 times. “On my last trip, I stayed at Hotel 41,” she says. “It’s a great location, small, friendly and luxurious. They made me feel like the Queen. I recommend it highly.” Other recent travel took Jones on a Viking River cruise, from Basel to Amsterdam and an AmaWaterways cruise, from Passau to Budapest (“that was as a Signature Agency owner’s award for the level of sales of preferred products sold,” says Jones).

May 2007
 
May 2007

Over the top is the norm for All Horizons Travel, but a recent stand-out trip had the president of one of the agency’s corporate accounts requested a vacation to Australia and New Zealand. Best part? There was virtually no budget limit. The itinerary the agency crafted took him and his family and two domestic staff away for three weeks over Christmas and New Year where the total spent was over $250,000. “The family was thrilled with the travel experience and Travel 2 was amazing in arranging all the details,” says Jones. “We used Signature hotels where we could for suites and extra amenities, and it was unusual in that we included the Indian Pacific train across the country.”

Exciting news for All Horizons is its new website, which is mobile friendly. “It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread!” says Jones, who adds that it’s already bringing in new clients. “In a constant search for Millennials needing our help, these new tools help us remain relevant in this business,” she tells Luxury Travel Advisor.