Barry and Julie Karp grew up within two blocks of each other in Milwaukee. They didn’t date—in fact, Julie said her mother warned her to stay away from him—and they took different career paths.

Barry worked in advertising with a high-profile firm in Milwaukee while Julie forged a career as a high-end interior designer, where she learned about customer service.

Eventually, Barry took over his mother’s travel agency, and Julie found herself looking for a change and enrolled in a travel course. She ended up working with Barry, and love took its course.

That’s when the story of ShoreTrips begins.

Creating Memorable Excursions

The idea came to them after Julie, who was then selling cruises, set up activities for families traveling over spring break. “We recognized people on cruises were not necessarily remembering where they had been,” she recalled. “When families traveling together asked me to handle all their activities, I did it, but I didn’t know who I was working with at the destinations. I didn’t know what was going to happen.”

In the end, families loved it, so Julie and Barry did some research and discovered there were no companies offering land opportunities for people on cruises independent of the lines. “Agents were selling excursions for the cruise lines and making nothing,” she said.

Out of the blue, Carlson Wagonlit made an offer to buy the travel agency, which they accepted to start the new excursion business. “We sold it to them in July 2001 and left the next day” on research trips to seek out and meet local tour guides and companies in several destinations, Barry said. On Jan. 1, 2002, ShoreTrips officially opened for business with excursions to approximately a dozen Caribbean islands.

Portfolio of 500-Plus Destinations

Today, ShoreTrips sells commissionable shore excursions and land tours independent of the cruise lines to more than 500 destinations around the world—with business doubling in the past two years.

The Karps believe they, or staff members, must travel to every destination in which they offer excursions. “Our philosophy from the beginning was about experiences,” Julie said. “We are travelers who like to walk the streets, eat the food, talk to people. As more people cruised and the ships got bigger, it became harder to do something special or in smaller groups.”

And that’s what ShoreTrips always tries to offer—authentic, unforgettable experiences that explore popular sites when they’re less crowded and go to lesser-known places. “From the very beginning, we’ve been hiking, biking and getting people away from touristy crowded stuff,” Barry said. “Our basic philosophy is to remove the cruisers from the crowds to give them a chance to breathe during their vacations.”

Commissions From 10 to 15 Percent

More than 90 percent of the company’s business comes from travel advisors. It pays agents commissions of 10 to 15 percent and has special agreements with various consortia and host agencies, including Signature Travel Network, Ensemble and Virtuoso.

The Karps and their staff—whom they credit for much of the company’s success—offer several forms of agent assistance. They’ll gladly discuss the options with advisors or conduct conference calls with agents and clients. For groups of 10 or more, ShoreTrips will conduct evening webinars—Webinars with Wine—for travelers. “We’re essentially like a concierge service,” Julie said.

ShoreTrips also offers its services in many languages, including French, Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, German and Spanish.

Additionally, the company rewards agents who refer clients who register with ShoreTrips. Once the client has an account, if they book direct, the agent will still receive the commission. It’s that kind of travel agent-friendly policy that leads to loyalty.

Portrait of the Client

—Is there a typical ShoreTrips client? “We have a range,” Julie Karp said. “It’s typically a person who’s not afraid and who wants something more than being in a larger group.”

—Excursions run the gamut from more budget-friendly to upscale offerings that appeal to the luxury traveler, she said.

—“There may not be a ShoreTrips product for every client, since some people truly have budget constraints,” said Donna Evans of Exceptional Adventures in Denver. “The ShoreTrips client is almost everyone, though. When you want something special—or everything special—the only answer is ShoreTrips.”