Business
News
The
business of travel:
A ‘grand view’ of God’s creation
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD — Suzanne Hoffman had such a stellar reputation for
successfully organizing trips for people on her own that Grand View Tour
and Travel, Inc. recently booked her as its director of tour and travel.
Italy. Alaska. Ireland. Mexico. The Caribbean. Helping people plan trips
and taking away their uncertainty of where to go and what to do gives
her great joy, said Hoffman, 30, a member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish
in Springfield.
A full-service travel provider, Grand View offers an array of customized
group tours and travel options, as well as individual trips.
Trips to Italy are particularly popular, Hoffman said, adding that St.
Francis of Assisi Parish has booked a trip there for October through Grand
View.
The company also specializes in educational travel and for that component,
numerous Catholic schools in the Archdiocese are among the company’s
clients, she said. New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore
are popular bookings for the schools. Grand View is also expanding its
market to colleges and universities.
Hoffman, who began her job at Grand View in February, also takes pride
in personalizing getaways. In May, for example, she’s coordinating
special travel packages for mothers and daughters — or mothers and
sons — for Mother’s Day.
The company was founded in 1980 by Denise Hay, a member of St. Thomas
the Apostle Parish in Glen Mills. Hay, formerly Quinn, is a 1975 alumna
of Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield.
Denise Hay & Company, which operates under the auspices of Grand View,
provides corporate event and meeting planning and travel.
A 1993 alumna of St. Francis of Assisi School, Hoffman holds a master’s
degree in management from Rosemont College and a bachelor’s degree
in business from Pennsylvania State University.
Honesty and integrity are business musts to Hoffman. “I live by
my practicing of my faith,” she said.
Helping others plan their vacations also hones Hoffman’s appreciation
for “the beauty of God’s work,” she said of the variety
of scenery that exists around the world.
“This is amazing, what God has done for us in creating these scenes
that are just so indescribable. You’re just in awe.”
Hoffman, formerly McManus, said she never realized how many shades of
green existed until she took a recent trip to Ireland with her father’s
family of origin. The purpose of the trip, she said, was to reconnect
with the family’s roots and, as a family, to reflect on life.
Fond memories of other family vacations — including Disneyland in
California and Disney World in Florida — are among Hoffman’s
childhood highlights, she said.
And Hoffman loves Hawaii. That’s where she and her husband, Jim,
vacationed for their honeymoon.
For those who cannot travel far, there’s plenty to see in Philadelphia
and its environs, Hoffman said.
For the past three years, Hoffman has, on her own, coordinated women’s
shopping excursions to New York City. “I sing on the busses,
‘New York, New York,’ as we pull in,” she said.
The annual getaway to New York — tea time and a visit to St. Patrick’s
Cathedral have also been on the itinerary — has grown by word of
mouth. The first two years, Hoffman booked one bus, but this year, she
needed two 54-passenger buses.
“The ladies just go crazy — they kick up their feet and they
just have a good time,” she said.
For more information, call Grand View Tour and Travel at (610) 328-6013
or access the Web site www.grandviewtours.com.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.