History
of Lawton's Travel Service, Inc.
The concept of establishing a travel
agency was initiated in January 1977. The agency's original purpose was to
provide motorcoach tours throughout the United States, including Hawaii, Alaska
and Canada. Being an active military officer and a military dependent, the
owners were concerned about the quality of motorcoach tour service. Their
worldwide travel experiences provided the owners with the knowledge of and the
sensitivity to the needs of travelers. Determined to provide efficient,
economical, and dependable service to their clients, the owners submitted the
initial application for a travel brokerıs license to the Interstate Commerce
Commission in April of 1977.
The basic
requirements for the Interstate Commerce Commissions approval of a travel
brokers license were many. Three of the essential requirements were:
- The new service in motorcoach travel had to
surpass the services that were currently being provided by other tour
brokers within the area.
- The management of the new agency had to be
sound, professionally trained in the management of financial matters,
Personnel matters, and have an unusual ability to attract clients from all
walks of life.
- The new agency must be able to have a strong
financial base to operate.
Along with the application, the owners of Lawton's Travel
Service submitted to the Interstate Commerce Commission (I.C.C.) an in-depth
justification statement for establishing a new travel agency. After receiving
and reviewing several rebuttals from local competitors, and after requiring the
owners to make several additions and deletions to their application, the I.C.C.
granted the new agency a tour brokers license in June of 1978. After eighteen
months of proving to an agency of the federal government that motorcoach tours
originating in Hampton, Virginia, would surpass those services that were being
offered, Lawton's Travel Service became a reality.
Although a brokers license was granted in 1978 by the I.C.C.,
it was not until September 1979 that Lawton's Travel Service began its
operation. (During the period between 1977-1979 the owners were assigned to the
United States Army element in Turkey.)
The new travel agency's beginning was
small and compact, occupying only a cubicle on the first floor at 34 West
Queens Way in Olde Hampton, Virginia. With a desk and a telephone, the agency
conducted its business. From this small but convenient workplace, Lawton's
Travel Service developed its motto:
Dependable, Economical, Excellent Service. This motto has remained the
rally point from which the agency takes its direction, gains its strength, and
moves to new ventures.
MISSION
To provide a highly effective and
efficient full service operations to accommodate our clients within the local
area, across the country and around the world.
To provide the leadership necessary for
steady growth, staff development, seeking out new business, and establishment
of mid and long-range goals to support these commitments.
In 1981, Lawton's Travel Service
expanded from conducting motorcoach operations to becoming a fully-computerized
service agency.
Our services include:
-Airline Ticketing -Travel
Agency Training
-Amtrak Ticketing
-Passport/Visa Processing
-Conference Planning/Evaluation -Passport
Pictures
-Rental Cars -Tour Escorts
-Cruises -Vacation
& Business Insurance
-Hotel Accommodations -Notary
Public
-Professional Travel Counseling -Nationwide
Toll-Free Telephone
-Counseling-After Hour Emergency Service
-Sightseeing Planning/Guides
To secure
any of the above listed service, call our toll-free nationwide number
1
(800) 346-6383 or 757-723-0701 or fax 723-2477 or email lawtons@pilot.infi.net .
To conduct its daily business operations
effectively and efficiently, Lawtonıs Travel Service Corporate office is
located at:
1006 N Settlers Landing Road
Hampton,VA 23669
in The Hampton Harbor Shopping Center across
from Hampton University.
The Accounting
Department is located at
28 West Queens Way,
Hampton, VA 23669-
757-727-0201
or fax 757-727-0805
email lawtons@pilot.infi.net.
On 30 June 1983, Lawtonıs Travel Service was incorporated and
re-designated Lawtonıs Travel Service, Inc. Today the agency possesses the
latest state-of-the-art ticketing and back office accounting systems.From its inception through its continuing
stages of growth, Lawton's Travel Service, Inc. works diligently to provide
dependable, economical, and excellent service.
Goals
1.
To
consistently provide high quality service to all clients.
2. To seek
new business ventures in order to ensure continued growth.
3. To
establish branch offices to accommodate client needs not located in the general
area.
4. To seek
and maintain highly qualified employees within the agency.
Our Services
Airline
Ticketing
Airline ticketing is a key element in any full service agency.
Ticketing may range from a simple one-way non-stop flight, to a complicated
arrangement of many segments of international flight utilizing several carriers
or Electronic ticketing (E-ticketing). Lawton's Travel Service, Inc. has the
latest state-of-the-art equipment, and it has the experienced personnel to get
its clients to all major points within the state, across the country, and
around the world. Every effort is made to search and find the best available
fare for each client, along with the best available travel schedule.
Amtrak Ticketing
As a full service agency, Lawtonıs Travel can provide its
clients with a variety of modes of travel. Amtrak, an economical, convenient,
and pleasurable way to travel, provides one of these modes. The agency will
provide schedules, fares, connection points, and free ticket delivery.
Hotel Accommodations
Arrangements for hotel accommodations can be made with ease
and to the satisfaction of each client. Whether you desire to be booked on an
exotic island in the Caribbean, an intriguing hotel in Paris, a hotel where
east meets west in Istanbul, Turkey, Lawton's Travel Service, Inc., will do it
for you with the confidence and assurance of a professional.
Rental Car
Lawtonıs Travel Service, Inc can provide all major rental car
bookings. Whether it is a local, national, or international request, we will
accommodate your needs.
Motorcoach Tours
Motorcoach tours can be a bundle of fun. We can plan your trip
around your budget, and the time and places you want to go. From a single
individual to a group, the same care and professional counseling is offered. An
attractive feature of all motorcoach tours conducted by Lawton's Travel
Service, Inc. is providing a tour escort to handle all of the small worries, so
that our clients are free to enjoy their tour.
Cruises
Let us plan that vacation that you have been thinking about
taking. Let us introduce you to the exotic world of a South Sea island, or the
magnificent sandy beaches of the Caribbean, or just a cruise to nowhere. We can
do it all. Try us.
Counseling
Professional counseling concerning travel planning, Lawton's
Travel Service, Inc. provides vacation sites, sightseeing, attractions, and
educational tours.
Ticket Delivery
We use electronic tickets to eliminate the worry of picking up
your ticket. Fee based overnight delivery service available for paper tickets.
Your electronic ticket will be printed at the airport for travel.
ı
Organization Affiliations
-ıııııııı
Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC)
-
International Travel Association Network (IATAN)
-
Inter American Travel Agents Society (ITAS)
-
Institute of Certified Travel Counselors (ICTC)
-
American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)
-
Society of Government Travel Professionals (SGT-G)
INSURANCE
Lawtonıs Travel Service, Inc. is a
licensed Insurance agent. Individual or group insurance can be written to
accommodate all of a clientıs needs.
As an added insurance coverage, Lawtonıs Travel Service, Inc.
provides $150,000 free insurance for those clients purchasing Amtrak or airline
tickets.
CONFERENCE PLANNING
Conference planning has been an important
aspect of Lawton's Travels full-service capability. Primarily, this planning
has centered on the following broad areas:
1. Air and
Amtrak Ticketing
2. Hotel
Accommodations
3. Rental Car
or Shuttle transportation
4. Chart Bus
transportation
5. Conference
support
6. Cell
phones and optional requested services
