Original article written by Emmett Fitzpatrick and published in the July 2022 issue of the Irish American News.
Ask Pam Carroll, owner of Gadabout Travel in Palos Hills, to share the secrets of her company’s success, and she will go out of her way to mention its previous two owners (with whom she remains close friends), her family members, employees, and clients. Left unsaid are the remarkable
passion, vision, and persever- ance that she has displayed to sustain the business and keep her and her colleagues busier than ever as the world opens up to travel again.
How It Came To Be
Pam began working at Gadabout in 1987, a decade after Rose Lynn, a Belmullet native, founded the company, which originally focused on booking clients travel to Ireland on Aer Lingus. Pam helped to expand its offerings to in- clude cruises and vacations, and she bought the business from its second owner, Marie O’Donnell, in 2000. In 2010, Pam took over Gaffney Travel, based in Oak Lawn, when its owner – another Belmullet native named Kathleen Gaffney – wanted to sell.
Today, while Gadabout still specializes in travel to Ireland, Pam and her team have expanded their areas of expertise to include intricate European itineraries, Hawaii, River Cruises, Caribbean/Mexico getaways, Disney, and cruises. They also specialize in group travel offerings like destination weddings, family reunions, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and Gadabout’s own yearly group cruises.
Challenges And Opportunities
Few industries have undergone more disruption than travel over the past forty years. For all of the challenges, however, Pam has kept her business thriving and in many ways sought out opportunities to grow. First, the rise of the internet provided individuals the chance to book travel on their own, leaving many travel operators without a steady stream of business. Facing this, Pam has evolved her strategies, crediting her employee Felicia Garcia for building the company’s presence on social media so that they now service clients from across the world. Then there was 9-11, which caused many travel agencies, including local Irish agencies, to close. Thanks to Gadabout’s strong financial footing, Pam was able to weather that disruption.
“I didn’t think anything could be worse than 9/11,” she said, until COVID-19 hit.
While the pandemic tested Gadabout as it did any other travel agency, Pam was able to draw upon her reputation and strong personal relationships with her clients to keep the lights on. She recounted one story of successfully securing a refund for a client who had booked a major Scandinavian cruise prior to the pandemic, only to have that client drop off a check for $3,000 in gratitude for her efforts.
Now, business is booming, and once cost-conscious clients are willing to pay top dollar to travel again, with Ireland being what Pam describes as an “ideal, comfortable destination.”
Irish Community
With a company with such deep roots to Ireland and the local Irish community, it is no surprise that Pam credits this community as a major driver of her success. She remains active at Gaelic Park and maintains close relationships with Paula Curtain-Svedlana at AerLingus, Siobhainn O’Connor at Chicago Irish Radio, and Cliff Carlson here at the Irish American News, among many others.
Hers is a true small business, and over the years she has relied on her family members to pitch in to help in ways big and small. This
helps to explain why she tries to support other small businesses, in any industry, and encourages others to do the same.
The Future
“I tell my daughters that few people really love their jobs,” Pam said, “but I am one of them.”
With this passion still going strong, Pam is aiming to keep the business running for another 20 years before selling it to another owner who will keep the tradition alive as she did. In the meantime, she will continue to provide the “personalized service and experience” that has come to represent the hallmark of Pam – and her small business – for such a long time.
Gadabout Travel, located at 10552 S. Roberts Road in Palos Hills, is open Monday-Friday from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm and Saturday by appointment. For more information, visit www.gadabouttravel.com or call 708-974-1300.
