Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelley Lord.
Hi Kelley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Kelley Lord. I am a proud military spouse of a retired Army officer and avid cruiser with over 50 Disney cruises and counting. My husband and I have 5 children between us ranging in age from 15 to 29. We love to travel! My youngest son has already been to 31 countries with more on the schedule for this summer. I own Vacation Ever After, a full-service travel agency that has received high levels of recognition with many travel companies including Gold Earmarked status with the Walt Disney Company.
While attending the University of Central Florida to study engineering, I fulfilled my dream of working for Walt Disney World in 1987 in attractions and later as crew on the Mickey Mouse Club. I quickly realized that the world of entertainment was much more fun than engineering and after working on several television shows and movies in Florida, I headed to Nashville in 1993 to work in the music industry and eventually managed some of the former Mouseketeers in their musical career. I absolutely loved being in Nashville working as one of the few female managers in the country music business but the job required an extraordinary amount of travel and I was constantly gone on tours far away from home. Fast forward a few years when I met and married the love of my life who just happened to be in the Army suddenly my old career didn’t fit my life anymore and I needed to reinvent my work life.
Military life is quite a challenge so I needed to find a career that worked with the constant moving around to different places. Combining my Disney knowledge from my time as a cast member with my travel experience booking entire tours in the music business and a career as a travel agent seemed to be a natural fit. I started selling leisure travel for a Disney-focused agency and then opened my own full-service travel agency in 2017. Vacation Ever After specializes in military discount vacations but we can book travel for everyone whether they have any ties to the military or not.
My goal for the agency is to provide a supportive, collaborative environment for anyone that would benefit from a fully remote career. We have several military spouses in our agency that are able to thrive in a career that allows them to work remotely from anywhere in the world. Vacation Ever After has grown tremendously and our amazing team is the reason. We strive to provide excellent customer service to every single client. We can book vacations all over the world – every cruise line, all-inclusive resorts, custom itineraries to Europe, ski vacations, Hawaiian getaways, guided tours, destination weddings, honeymoons, group travel, and of course, theme park family trips.
Our agency has grown tremendously and we now have 30 agents on the team that consist of men and women and a good mix of civilians and military spouses. Our diverse team is incredibly well-traveled and can help with travel to any destination in the world!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Owning a travel agency is the toughest job I have ever had but also the most rewarding. Being a part of creating lifetime memories for our clients is truly an honor. Seeing the smiling faces in photos of the travels we booked never gets old. We are in the business of making memories and take that responsibility very seriously.
No one knew that a pandemic was coming and Covid wreaked total havoc on the travel world. Vendors were constantly changing policies and canceling trips right and left. Every single day was something new. Our team worked tirelessly to make sure that we advocated for our clients to get their refunds or travel credits so that they didn’t have to worry. We worked for little to no pay for the most part as many vendors recalled paid commissions or direct solicited our clients out from under us.
When cruise ships and countries finally started lifting vaccination requirements, the onslaught of business was intense. We are going to have the biggest year ever because everyone is ready to get out and see the world! We are truly blessed to have survived Covid as a business and are poised to succeed by leaps and bounds going forward.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Vacation Ever After is a full-service travel agency owned and operated by a military family. Our team consists of 30 agents from various backgrounds, both civilians and military spouses, that are all well-traveled and ready to help plan a memorable vacation anywhere in the world.
We have agents that specialize in various types of travel including military discounts, food allergy friendly, and special needs accommodations. Vacation Ever After would be happy to help with any cruise line, all-inclusive resorts, guided tours, ski vacations, destination weddings, honeymoons, group trips, and theme park vacations. Our agency does not charge any planning fees at this time. It doesn’t cost a penny more to use a travel agent but by doing so you support a small business and have an advocate to help with every aspect of your trip. Let our experts help with all of your travel needs.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Personally, I am a very headstrong female which I think comes from my years in the male-dominated music industry. I had to fight constantly for equal treatment among the good ole boys but I succeeded in holding my own with everyone and earned the respect I deserved. I am always trying to grow our business through new relationships with vendors and bringing on new team members with the potential for success. I try to get along with everyone but I’m also not going to let anyone walk all over me. I am incredibly selective with whom I bring onboard and strive to have a drama-free, supportive work environment. I want the team members to encourage each other and collaborate to bring out the best in each other and provide the best service to our clients. I truly value my relationships with other agents and agency owners that build each other up. They are my sounding board when things go wrong and the first ones to cheer when I succeed. I would be lost without the supportive friends I have made in this job.
My father was an entrepreneur and I definitely inherited his work ethic and drive to work for himself. He owned several businesses including skating rinks and restaurants in both Florida and my hometown of Charleston, SC. I grew up watching him constantly strive to make his business ventures successful and that has absolutely rubbed off on me. My oldest daughter has inherited these qualities as well and I am incredibly proud of her success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vacationeverafter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vacation.ever.after/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vacationeverafter
