Bell strives to make your trip the best

For 30 years, Jan Bell has been the person to see if you’re trying to escape the everyday in exchange for volunteer work overseas, an adventurous vacation or just lounging on the beach.

Bell, owner of Journeys by Jan, first got into the travel industry shortly after getting married, in 1985.

“I traveled a lot with my family growing up, mostly pulling our camper, and I think I grew up with a travel bug,” she said. “The agent that helped me plan my honeymoon, I mentioned that if he ever had an opening and needed someone to work, to please get a hold of me. A month later, there I was.”

Although Bell is a Bloomfield native, her husband has lived in Sidney all his life, she said. In 1998, Jan bought the travel agency and moved it to its current location on S. Central Avenue in Sidney.

When she first opened, she had five in-store agents and three outside sales agents. However, the procession of technology that started in the mid-’80s has drastically changed the travel industry. She now has only one employee, who works from her home in Beulah, N.D., so she can be home with her two young boys, Bell noted.

“In the beginning, there weren’t any computers or electronics. We had to look up all the airline schedules in a big ol’ book that was about a foot thick,” she said using her hands to demonstrate the thickness of the schedule. “When we found something that our client would want, we’d have to call the airline directly on their 800 number, book the flight with the airline, then hand write out every flight on a paper coupon. After a couple weeks of working I had most of the airlines’ 800 numbers memorized because you lived on the phone.”

Things changed slowly in the early days, she said. First, the airlines came out with reservation computers that made the process a bit smoother. Then, ticket printers replaced the hand-written tickets. As things progressed, so did the pace of change.

“With the internet, now everything is electronic,” Bell said. “There’s no printing tickets. Everything is stored in the airlines’ reservation systems. We can work off smartphones, iPads, as well as desktop computers, anywhere there is internet access.”

In fact, most of the time Bell doesn’t even need to be in the office, she said. Most of her clients prefer to contact her through phone or email, which she doesn’t mind. Although, she still will meet up at the office for appointments, the internet has allowed her to be free from the chains of the nine-to-five, and allowed her to spend more quality time with her family.

“I’ve embraced it as another tool to use,” Bell said, noting that the internet had also increased competition in the market. “Yes, people can make reservations and do their own thing, but nine times out of 10 I can match the price they’re getting or beat it, and I can probably do it in two minutes.”

Of course, planning your own trips can be a bit risky, Bell warned. She recalled one such incident where a man called her from the Richland Airport. He had intended to travel to Sydney, Australia, and was more than a little surprised when his plane landed in eastern Montana. So, Bell got him fixed up and back on his way Down Under.

Working in the travel industry brings in a fair share of interesting characters. One man, Bell recalled, tried to pay for his entire trip in counterfeit cash.

“I’m a very trusting person, but for some reason I just had a crazy feeling about this guy. After he left I used one of those marking pens to check the bill and it came back as counterfeit,” she said. Bell then called the airport to stop the man from boarding, and the police to meet her there.

“I jumped in the car and ran out to the airport,” she continued. “I confront the guy just in time, I hear the sirens coming, and I’m just in  fog. I’m sure the people in the waiting room at the airport thought I was crazy, hearing me scream at this guy.”

The majority of her customers, however, are good people, and she enjoys working to get them to their destination. She works a lot with missionary and volunteer groups, she said, and it astounds her when these people are willing to go to dangerous areas such Iran and Afghanistan to help those in need.

Another downside of the evolving travel industry, is that travel agents don’t receive all the perks they used to from the airlines, she noted. No more free airfare or Caribbean stay packages now that the airlines are not dependent on agents. But Bell still loved the Caribbean and makes it to Jamaica when she can.

“It was beautiful today with the fresh, white snow and the sun, but at this time of year I’m just done with it,” she said. “I’m ready to go sit on a beach, not have to put wood in a fireplace, not have to wear all these layers of clothes. I just want to put on my flip flops and go sit in the sun.”