Speak with a Travel Consultant
Irma Randall
My career in the travel industry started out as a promise to my mother 30 years ago. She told me get a job so you can see the world, so I figured I would go to school to become a travel agent. I attended Academy Pacific where I completed my travel education and when I graduated I got a job working with a travel agency that a very close friend of the family owned. She taught me more there than I learned in all the time I was in school. HANDS ON IS BEST. I went on to work for her for many years and then together we joined the Plaza Travel family. I left to start a family of my own and then continued to dip my feet in the travel business. I worked for several different companies including Princess cruises for almost 5 years. I also worked at a cruise-only agency for several years. I decided to be closer to home and worked at a small agency in my home town. I did that for a few years but I just felt something was missing so I took a job at another agency further from working with outside agents, but it just didn’t feel like it was where I needed to be. One day I got a call from Steve Orens, President of Plaza Travel, offering me a position in his entertainment division. I was excited and nervous as it was something I had never done before. To make a long story short, I am back with my Plaza Travel family GOING ON 3 YEARS NOW after being gone for over 15 years. I am where I belong and work with a great bunch of people. Our entertainment department is one of the best group of ladies I have ever worked with. I get to work on some amazing shows. THIS IS WHERE I WILL BE UNTIL I RETIRE!!!!!!
THE GOOD STUFF
What’s your travel style?
I prefer warm weather — tropical beaches and warm clear waters.
What travel experience did you have that outdid your expectations and completely surprised you?
Any time I do a helicopter adventure it just blows my mind...you see things very differently from up above. My favorite was in Alaska. The pilot took us to a remote glacier (we were supposed to land at Mendenhall, but he took us over to Herbert Glacier). It was a great surprise. There was no one there, and it touched me because my dad's name was Herbert, so I got a bit sentimental.
If you could have one meal again from a past travel experience, what would it be and why?
I would have to say I was in the Bahamas and this local had just caught some fresh conch and made the best conch salad I had ever had — it truly tasted like a vacation.
Tell us about a travel experience that you'd highly recommend to ALL your clients?
I highly recommend swimming with the stingrays in Antigua. A truly beautiful experience and well worth the time and money. The guides were very knowledgeable about these beautiful creatures and we really had hands-on with them.
