Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Grum.
Hi Chris, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
After twenty-five years in the broadcast industry, I was looking for a change of pace. I had always wanted to own a business, but could never find the right fit. Years of researching various franchises and business models never yielded a viable option. One day in August 2010, while at lunch with my long-time friend Scott McAlister, we both came to the same conclusion: a travel agency. It made sense – I’d been traveling all my life and frequently gave advice to friends and family planning trips. Why not turn that into a business?
The rest of that fateful lunch was spent brainstorming names and other ideas for the company that would become Premier Custom Travel. Our initial business model was focused specifically on trips to New York City, although it quickly expanded to include cruises and Disney Destinations. The last quarter of 2010 saw the company’s brand developed, including our first logo and website.
Our grand opening was January 1, 2011 and our very first booking was a 7-night Caribbean cruise. Today, our cruise business alone has expanded to over 50 cruise lines, hundreds of ships, and thousands of reservations made. Ships account for approximately 70% of our booked vacations. Beyond the world’s oceans and rivers, we also offer the various Disney Destinations, guided and independent trips to hundreds of cities worldwide, and the all-inclusive resorts of Sandals and Beaches.
When you book with Premier Custom Travel, you’re supporting a locally-owned, award-winning small business. You’ll never pay more and you won’t pay any fees. We are also active in our community, supporting local events, charities, and more. Our certified travel consultants are industry experts with accreditation from many of the top suppliers and organizations in the business.
If you want to see a bit of the history of our company, you can check out our About Us page: https://www.premiercustomtravel.com/aboutus.html
Personally, I was born in Dallas but raised mostly just outside New York City and in East Texas. I graduated from Lufkin High School and attended college in Boston. I spent 25 years in the radio industry, mostly as an on-air personality. I worked in East Texas, Houston, Boston, and Las Vegas. I played all types of music but primarily top 40 and country. For the last decade of my career, I was part of The Hudson & Harrigan Show on KILT radio here in Houston.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
COVID-19 has been our biggest struggle. In the past year plus, we have canceled well over one year’s worth of revenue. In the travel business, we work on 100% commission with zero salary. When a booking is canceled, we may not get paid the commission, so we lost a lot of revenue through those cancellations. Then, if a customer does choose to cancel and re-book later, many times that second booking isn’t commissionable since we were paid on the first. So in the past year, we’ve probably done three to four times the normal amount of work we’d do for a small percentage of the revenue that would be generated if those were all new reservations during normal times.
Beyond the pandemic, our road has been relatively smooth. Any business will have growing pains, but ours have been the typical new-business struggles and nothing overwhelming or surprising.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m most proud of this company that we’ve grown from the ground up and of my reputation in the industry.
It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch Premier Custom Travel grow. We’ve had record years each of our first ten (COVID obviously put a halt to that) but the growth is there. I’m extremely proud of that.
Personally, I’ve worked very hard to become an industry certified expert. I am a CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) certified Elite Cruise Counsellor (ECC), which is the cruise industry equivalent of a doctorate degree. I am also a CLIA-certified Luxury Cruise Specialist (LCS), Travel Agency Executive (TAE), a Travel Institute Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), a Sandals & Beaches Certified Specialist (CSS) and a Special Needs Group Certified Accessible Travel Advocate.
I also hold a seat on the CLIA STARBoard, an advisory group to the industry consisting of key agency leaders from around the world. I’ve also been Carnival Cruise Line’s Travel Agent of the Month and our company has earned the Better Business Bureau’s Awards for Excellence “Award of Distinction” for the last five years running.
What I think sets us apart is our expertise and our reputation. We work hard and attend many conferences and educational seminars to make sure we’re up to date on the latest industry happenings and protocols. We also deliver unmatched customer service, returning phone calls, emails, and texts the same day, often within a few minutes to a couple of hours. We often hear from new customers that we were the only agency that actually called them back.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
When I was six or so, my parents bought me a large globe. My dad traveled a LOT for work and often my mom would go with him. They got me the globe so I could keep track of their worldwide journeys from home. I think that’s where my love of travel began, long before I ever left the house.
Another favorite childhood memory is the weekends we’d spend in New York City. I think that’s where my love of musical theatre and great restaurants/fine dining came from.
Contact Info:
- Email: chris@premiercustomtravel.com
- Website: www.premiercustomtravel.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/premiercustomtravel
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/premiercustomtravel
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/customtravels
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/premiercustomtravel
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/premier-custom-travel-sugar-land
