Cain Travel explores new technology

Business Report Correspondent

BOULDER ? Linda and David Cain know what it takes to operate a successful travel agency.

For 25 years they’ve run The Cain Travel Group, which continues to thrive and grow. Prior to that, the Cains also owned Viking Travel. Recently, Cain Travel was ranked the largest Boulder County-based commercial travel agency in The Business Report’s 2000 Book of Lists. On the list of family owned businesses in Boulder County (page 24A), Cain Travel ranked No. 4.

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Cain Travel, with large and small companies as clients, specializes in corporate travel within the United States and abroad. The agency also has a separate division called Cain Holidays, which arranges leisure/vacation travel.

Cain Travel is a family owned business, with one of the Cains’ sons, Michael, also working there. While the majority of Cain Travel’s business comes from the Denver metro area, the agency also draws customers from cities throughout the United States and abroad, including San Francisco and London.

Last year, Cain Travel generated roughly $42 million in revenue, up from $37 million in 1999. The Cains said they expect revenue to increase by 15 percent again this year, reaching about $50 million by the end of 2001.

Cain Travel is counting on continued future success, and the agency is looking at possibly launching other domestic locations and expanding internationally, said Linda Cain, who serves as president of Cain Travel, while her husband and partner, David, serves as chairman.

Michael, who is the marketing director for Cain Travel, oversees the agency’s online services and said the majority of its online development has been corporate-focused. Corporate employees who use Cain Travel can book their business and non-business-related trips online at caintravel.net. Four thousand travelers are accessing the site, which provides several corporate services through use of GetThere technology. The system allows users to not only book their flights but to get travel profiles and reports of their travel arrangements. “Our portal is designed to be an end-to-end user solution, whether you’re a traveler, travel manager, or a person in the control staff of a company,” Michael said.

Corporations can enter travel policies for their employees. Cain Travel is one of only four U.S. agencies using GetThere technology; the other three are American Express, Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associate Division and Travel Inc. “Cain’s plan is to have the most user-friendly, most efficient and most powerful online purchasing system available,” Michael said. “In terms of when we will be there, we’re getting very close.”

Linda said Cain Travel’s goals include introducing the new GetThere technology in the marketplace, increasing sales and continuing to hire high-quality agents to be part of the team.

David emphasized that clients are always No. 1 at Cain travel. “We’ve always had the attitude that our agency is like an upside down pyramid,” he said. “Our clients and customers are up at the top.”

With 54 employees, Cain Travel is a medium-sized agency. David credited its success in low turnover rates to a team attitude.

“When we hire, we do the best possible job we can of hiring,” Linda said. “We like to find agents who are experienced, enjoy working with a team and enjoy the culture that we have in our agency.” Most agents have between five to seven years of experience and a strong corporate background when they come to Cain Travel. “We try to foster a good feeling, a family feeling. David and I have always recognized that our agents are really what holds our clients here. We empower them to make their own decisions.”

Many agents have been with Cain Travel for several years. Linda said there are at least five agents who have been with the agency for more than 10 years and two agents who have been with the agency for more than 15 years.

Jan Walden, director of leisure/vacation services for Cain Holidays, has been with Cain Travel for 21 years. “It’s a company with a lot of integrity,” she said. “It’s a company with a lot of compassion.”

Cain Holidays recently began working with Peggy Merkel’s Culinary Adventures, which provides cooking classes in Italy. “I have a real passion for Europe and a real passion for cooking, so I get to be involved with it on both sides,” she said. “That helps keep my job stimulating and interesting.”

Walden said Cain Travel employees always have a lot of flexibility. “While we take our business really seriously, and we’re very committed to doing an excellent job for our clients, it’s also true that there are times when your personal life has to take precedence. When that happens, you know that you have a support team here.”

Andrew Hohlfelder, director of business development at Cain Travel, said there’s not a

lot of micro-managing at Cain Travel, and everyone is encouraged to think outside the box. He agreed that Cain Travel is understanding when it comes to family matters and other non-work related obligations. “The Cains recognize that there’s more to life than a job,” he said.

Cain Travel has a reputation for being a family friendly business. Four years ago, the agency received the Five Star Family Friendly Business Award through the Denver regional office of the U.S. Small Business Administration for its family friendly practices. “It was a real honor,” Linda said. “I was just really happy for the company that we were able to take part in

that.”

The Cains were flown to Washington, D.C. Linda attended a breakfast with former President Clinton and then Vice President Al Gore, and she and David participated in a seminar with about 100 other business leaders from around the country who had won similar awards. “It was one of those special moments in your career path that you really don’t expect to ever have happen,” Linda said. “It was just a real honor to be there and to know that behind me at home in Colorado, I had such a good, progressive and strong company. It was a moment of great pride.”

In addition to being honored by the SBA, the Cains also were nominated for the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1999 by Ernst & Young.

Linda said it hasn’t been difficult to separate family from work. “If we have particularly difficult business times, then we talk about it off hours,” she said. “Otherwise, it just has become part of our lives.”

The Cains also own Scuba Joe, a dive and travel shop in Boulder. Before launching Cain Travel, Linda worked as a travel agent in Boulder for a number of years, and David had a financial background. David said he didn’t have much trouble switching from the financial industry to the travel industry. “It’s been very enjoyable,” Linda said. “I plan to be here for a long time.