Travel Essentials Celebrates 25 Years

On a chilly day in February 1994, the valley’s first and only retail store devoted entirely to outfitting travelers, Travel Essentials (now at 252 E. Main in Ashland) opened without fanfare—no press release, no balloons, no Grand Opening banner, and no employees other than its youthful owners, Bob and Nancy Bestor. They were in their mid 20s with zero retail or marketing experience and had just completed a six-month honeymoon tour of the U.S. in a yellow Volkswagen bus.

Here we are 25 years later, and Travel Essentials will host a 25-year anniversary celebration Fri-Sat-Sun, April 26-28, with a series of events, including an Anniversary Sale featuring a storewide discount and reduced prices on travel luggage, clothing and accessories from such popular travel brands as Eagle Creek (luggage), ExOfficio (clothing), Yala Bamboo (clothing), Baggallini (purses), Smartwool (socks and clothing), and other suppliers.

The store has also been named the Rogue Valley independent retailer for Patagonia outdoor clothing and gear. Customers are invited to visit the store late Friday afternoon, the 26th, for wine tasting, and on Saturday morning, the 27th, for coffee and cupcakes.

It’s been a long and rewarding 25 years for Bob and Nancy.

“We had no marketing budget but built our customer base through friendly, knowledgeable, personalized service and a newsletter that featured travel tips and advice, reports of our own adventures, and reviews of travel merchandise,” Nancy said. “We kept the overhead low and hung on. It was on-the-job learning, but it seems clear now that the right decisions were made regarding product selection, personnel, location, customer service and marketing.”

For sale in the early days were many shelves of travel books and maps, a few travel gadgets such as voltage and electrical adaptors, and a single line of inexpensive luggage. In 2002, the website travelessentials.com was launched.
“Over the years, our inventory was gradually expanded and now includes several luggage lines, travel clothing, and a large variety of clever travel items including sleep sacks, jet-lag prevention, toiletry kits and health and personal care products,” Bob said.

Available for purchase are such travel aids as leg compression socks ($29.95) to help prevent pain and swelling on long flights, and the “neat, discreet” Go-Girl ($12.95), a female urination device for use when the available bathrooms are crowded, disgusting, distant or non-existent.

As it was for many valley businesses, the summer of 2018 was not an easy one for Travel Essentials. Unhealthy air from many fires limited the number of customers. However, over 25 years, the business has weathered bad times, such as during the 2008-2010 economic downturn. Now, with the first quarter 2019 showing a healthy increase over the same period last year, a pragmatic, battle-tested Travel Essentials team approaches the next 25 years with optimism.