Centrum Travel

Whether its business travel or a dream vacation, Kanata’s Centrum Travel American Express is there to ensure your journey is everything you want it to be.

Centrum Travel (www.centrumtravel.ca) prides itself on superior service and knowledgeable staff with a wealth of experience in both the corporate and leisure sectors.

“We do about 60% corporate and 40% leisure travel,” says Carolyn Pernari, who owns Centrum Travel. “On the corporate side we have been quite successful and have several major accounts. We also cater to vacationers, particularly in the high end leisure market.”

Carolyn has 24 years travel industry experience. In fact, she worked at American Express earlier in her career, left to open her own travel business, and three years ago returned to purchase Centrum Travel American Express.

“So it all came full circle,” says Carolyn. “I think it really helps that I have familiarity with this agency as well as experience running my own business.”

Centrum Travel American Express, located in the West end of Ottawa, provides professional and efficient travel arrangements for business clientele across North America at competitive rates. Their established customer base includes small businesses to large corporations.

The travel agency also has expertise in group packages and cruises. They can assist in booking major cruise lines, escorted coach holidays, group travel and honeymoons.

Carolyn used Allstream Small Business as the telecommunications provider at her previous travel agency, so after purchasing Centrum Travel American Express, she made the decision to switch the company over to their service.

“The pricing is better and the service is ten times better,” she says of Allstream Small Business. “My previous provider was driving me crazy. I had so many issues and could never get anyone on the phone to help me deal with these problems.”

Centrum requires reliable phone service -- people are constantly calling to book, change or confirm travel arrangements and the staff of four liaison with people all over the world checking on hotels and packages.

“Once, with the previous provider, our service went down and that totally shut us down,” says Carolyn. “When we can’t connect with our clients we lose money.”

Keeping costs down is also critical for the small company.

“Travel agencies have to keep overhead and expenses low because the margin of profit isn’t high,” explains Carolyn. “With Allstream Small Business I am saving money every month. That’s important because these days in the travel industry you have to work harder than ever before to make money.”

Allstream Small Business offer a range of phone and phone/Internet bundles that are designed for the communications needs of companies with fewer than 50 employees.

Every small firm has different requirements so Allstream Small Business makes it easy to customize the bundles by adding on individual phone or fax tools, long distance or Internet services. This way you pay only for the services you need.

For example, Centrum Travel American Express purchased a customized package giving the agency nine phone lines to deal with their high call volume.

The bundles include long distance minutes, so phone, Internet and long-distance can be conveniently rolled together into one monthly bill.

The long distance minutes offer substantial savings, notes Carolyn.

“We get enough free minutes that I don’t have to pay for long distance calls,” she says, noting this gives her the predictability of a stable monthly bill with no surprise charges. “It’s one cost I don’t have to worry about.”

Making the service switchover from the previous provider to Allstream Small Business was “painless,” adds Carolyn. The travel agency kept its phone number and the sales and support staff are available 24/7 in case issues arise.

“The sales representative was great and ensured everything happened smoothly,” says Carolyn. “They were also really good about after care service and follow up. I don’t have anything bad to say.”

Carolyn also likes the fact that she didn’t have to sign a long-term contract.

“But ultimately it’s about the service,” she says. “With Allstream Small Business I don’t have to worry about anything. It’s hassle-free.”