Petworth local turns her passion into a business and helps people travel around the world
/Beth Washington specializes in helping people have the best travel experience.
by Maya Gold
If your 2020 was anything like mine, travel was about the last thing on your mind. However, Beth Jenkins Washington saw an opportunity. The Petworth local quit her job as a travel agent and decided to strike out on her own. “During the pandemic, things changed in the travel world,” Beth explained. “It gave me a chance to reflect on the business and what I wanted. It was a great time to start fresh.”
Beth’s gamble paid off: she is now the owner of Getaway Guild, a luxury travel agency based in here in Petworth. While it started with just her, Beth now employs four other women, many of whom also live in DC.
Beth explains that business is booming for the travel industry across the board. She introduced me to the phrase “revenge travel,” which NPR describes as “a huge increase in people wanting to make up for time and experiences lost to the pandemic.” Research from the US Travel Agency reports that 2023 travel spending was 4% above 2019 levels in March.
The Getaway Guild is certainly seeing that, and Washington was uniquely prepared to dive in after spending 2020 thinking through the organizational development of her fledgling company. “It seemed a little crazy,” she said, “but it was almost just the right time.” The company started working on “creative ways to help people travel responsibly as much as they were comfortable doing.”
Now, Beth works with her clients – almost all of whom are American, with about half based in DC – to plan the leisure travel of their dreams. She focuses on the luxury market, with people who want special experiences: “Milestone and bucket list trips where someone is trying to knock it out of the park.”
However, Beth is also quick to note that they also do smaller trips. “We’ll book a one-night stay for a mom who just needs to get away, to a two-week safari in Africa.”
Getaway Guild’s business model is 100% referral-based, and many clients are new to working with a travel advisor. “Planning travel is something that can be done on your own if you want to and have the time and expertise,” she explains, “but you typically gain a lot of value by seeking a professional.” She also notes that Getaway Guild has partnerships with thousands of hotels worldwide, including local stops, which translates to perks and benefits for her clients.
“It’s important to me to use local small businesses,” Beth said. “We have a lot of opportunities to use local business, from professional services to getting a coffee. I love keeping it in the neighborhood when I can and have had really good experiences with that.”
She says that people should feel free to reach out even if they’re just curious about what it’s like to use a travel agent. “Find me at La Coop for coffee lots of mornings, ANXO for pizza on Friday nights, or at the Truesdell playground with my two toddlers!”
Learn more about Getaway Guild:
getawayguild.com
hello@getawayguild.com
Instagram: @getawayguild
