The travel bug bit Mike Putman when he was quite young, growing up in the Furman area in Greenville County. His mother was a travel agent, and the entire family enjoyed the perks of international getaways. Mike played soccer and pursued other interests in college, but as fate would have it, he prematurely returned home at 19 to help his ailing mother open her own agency—and he never left.
Although his mother passed too soon, that business effort evolved into Putman Travel, which grew into the largest travel agency in the state, guiding thousands on leisure and business trips. Today, after 60 countries, and almost 40 years in the industry, the 57-year-old is still committed to sending folks on grand adventures.
Putman Travel
What was it like traveling with your family in the early ’70s?
It was great. The cruise industry was just getting started in North America. These were the pre-Love Boat days. I remember taking a ship from Ft. Lauderdale to Freeport, Bahamas, and it seemed so exotic at the time; celebrities were there. Once, a movie festival was going on and somehow, we got into it and met Yul Brynner.
What year did you start working in the industry?
1985. Back then, things weren’t highly computerized. If you wanted to book a plane ticket, you had to go to the airport, or a travel agency, and we’d look up flights in these large schedule books and then write a six-layer carbon-copy ticket. I would go home with red carbon all over my fingers.
Wow. You’ve seen some changes.
Yep. I was taking a computer science class at Furman in the ’80s and realized early on how the flow of data could change the industry. It was a long learning curve. I was a pioneer in the online travel space. We came out with a website in 1996, when only 250,000 people in the U.S. had Internet access, and most were afraid to even buy a cassette tape online, much less an airline ticket.
You rode the wave and utilized the Internet to build, sell, and manage huge travel companies serving people around the world.
It’s been very rewarding. Today, I focus on Custom Travel Solutions and operate 40 travel websites. One of the sites we power is Insider Travel Club.
How does a travel club work?
For a monthly or annual fee, you gain access to significant savings at hotels, airlines, and excursions. For instance, membership in the club may cost up to $360 for the year, but it typically pays for itself if you travel more than one week a year because you can get up to 60-70% off room rates, car rental rates, and plane tickets.
Are there other perks?
Club members also get access to 1,300 airport lounges around the world. Travel clubs usually include medical evacuation service if you get sick or hurt. We once had to chopper someone off a small island in the Philippines when they fell off their scooter. We then had a private jet waiting to get them from Manila to London. Clubs also include travel agent access and concierge service 24/7. So, you could actually be home in Greenville and call the concierge to secure a reservation at Ristorante Bergamo.
So many folks now book their own trips on the Internet. When should someone consider a club or using a travel agent?
If you want the best experience and you don’t have experience in booking travel, using your travel agent is the right thing to do. Having someone to talk to who spends most of their time thinking about travel and moving people around is a wise decision. In most cases, it won’t cost you anything. Generally speaking, the commission is built into the supplier. There might be a $20-50 fee to plan a complex trip, but in most cases, they shouldn’t charge you anything.
Why is travel important?
Travel gets people thinking more openly. You understand that people have different skin colors, they’re shorter, or taller, or speak a different language, but they’re really not that different than folks who live in the Upstate. My favorite quote is from Mark Twain, who said, ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.’
Bon voyage.
