If you don't know me, hi! I'm Bethany Atkinson, and I absolutely love travel. Whether it's finding the "off the beaten path" places in my hometown, planning a weekend getaway, an anniversary trip, or a trip to Europe, I love it all.
I've been a professional musician for the past 20 years (sheesh that's a long time), and done a little bit of everything: performing, teaching, scoring music, and writing curriculum for myself and others to name a few. For me, music is like a big puzzle, and the more I learn, the more ways I see the pieces fitting together. I love that about travel too: piecing together all of the elements to create an unforgettable trip.
About two years ago, my husband and I were planning a trip to Europe (which was an AMAZING trip. More details on that in another post), and my sister asked me where Ryan (my husband) and I went on our honeymoon. She and her husband were planning an anniversary trip and we rave on and on about Seaside Suites (it's basically my favorite place on earth). Ryan and I usually alternate between an all inclusive resort and a regional trip for anniversaries, and theoretically this was to be a resort year; however with our trip to Europe we didn't think we could do big trips in one year. I was doing some research (as I often do—I'm pretty sure I have a little OCD) on the resort to send my sister and found "Two for One" rates through a travel agency. I had never used a travel agency before, priding myself in not needing to use one because I could always find better deals—or so I thought.
Knowing that Ryan and I weren't planning on going to Mexico that year because of the Europe trip, I reached out to the agency "just to check" and see what the rates were. I was, after all, doing research for my sister, not myself...😇
I heard back from the travel agent and the rates/amenities were INCREDIBLE. Too hard to pass up, we ended up going to Mexico that year because the fares were so good and were far less than anything I could book on my own. My sister and her husband ended up going to the same resort for their anniversary and booked with the same agency, and she gave us even more amenities as a thank you for the referral.
From that trip on, I never turned back. I continued to use Sarah as my travel agent, and then I had the thought...what would it look like if I became a travel agent? It wouldn't interfere with the music opportunities I have, it satiates the OCD research desire I have, I save money on trips, AND I'd get to do the same for other people! I mean, it checks so many boxes of things I love to do, so why not?
So I did my research (surprise) and then became a travel agent and launched Simple Travel Co. I've had so much fun learning more about the travel industry, planning trips for people, and being able to explore even more places than before! So there you have it—that's my story and I'm sticking to it. And my husband even wears the tshirt. 😬✈️🌎
