As a young woman for whom geography was not a strong point and who had barely travelled, since becoming a travel agent Kay Rogers has navigated her way around nearly 70 countries and enjoyed a career spanning more than 25 years.
She and business partner Catherine Membery book thousands of exciting adventures each year for Bay residents.
Previously operating under the United Travel umbrella, this month marks a bold new direction for the company - independence and a relaunch under the name YOU Travel.
Kay says YOU Travel better reflects their brand: modern, vibrant, local and, as always, customer-focused.
Together, Kay and Catherine own three travel agencies in Bethlehem, Katikati and Mount Maunganui, employing 28 people.
"Despite the digital world we live in, the travel industry remains a wonderful career option. Some of our team at YOU Travel have been with us for over 20 years and they simply love helping people book and plan their holidays all over the world."
Despite the proliferation of online booking websites, it seems an agent's skills are still in hot demand.
"With the recent Turkey situation, for example, we had to redirect clients on a cruise to another country," Kay explains. "This took a lot of work at our end and people don't want to be doing this from their phone in a foreign country. And often they don't have the connections we do. This scenario happens a lot more than you would think."
You also can't beat a travel agent's first-hand experience on where to go and what to spend your hard-earned dollars on. High on Kay's list of favourites are cruising to exciting new destinations, African safaris and small group adventure-style touring. On her bucket list are the Arctic and Antarctica.
"There is so much on offer in terms of cruising but my favourite was sailing through the Baltics out of Copenhagen and disembarking in Stockholm."
She is very passionate about Africa and says there is "no other continent like it. To sit quietly in an open safari vehicle and watch the animals wild in their natural surroundings is just amazing."
Kay and Catherine's journey to becoming the Bay's most awarded, largest and longest-serving travel company starts where most business stories start - at the bottom. By her late 20s, Kay had been overseas to only Fiji and Sydney.
She had a job doing the accounts at a travel agency when, following the departure of a front office consultant, management moved her into the hot seat. "They said I might as well try and sell some travel while I did my accounts."
Meanwhile, Catherine left school with aspirations to get into the travel industry and enrolled in a travel course, initially working for an agency before eventually buying her own. With a major shift by the airlines affecting the way future business would be transacted, she recognised the benefits of amalgamation and growth and approached Kay (then a competitor), with the belief they were a stronger team together than as opposing forces.
Catherine's astute move turned out to be a winner and later this year the two will celebrate their 10-year anniversary in business together. They have continued to take brave moves, rejecting an Australian buyout and choosing instead to be part of a 100 per cent New Zealand-owned and operated co-op which now has 71 stores nationwide.
"Supporting our local economy and giving back into the community that has supported us is a huge focus for both of us," Kay says.
"We have sponsored Homes of Hope, and for the last 15 years the Westpac Business Awards (Team Local) and the BOP Export Awards for 21 years."
The women are strong believers in balancing work with play, with Catherine being a motor racing mum and Kay a keen golfer. Success hasn't gone to their heads, either, with them crediting their many accomplishments to hard-working staff and loyal clients.
"We are very accessible and both of us are in-store every day. Our staff are like our family and we offer a flexible workplace and great support. We hope we'll be employing more travel agents here in the Bay for many years to come."