Making Waves In Travel ...

SARAH CUMBERLAND spoke to Mary Rossi, pioneering founder of a successful niche travel business, and her daughter, Claudia Rossi Hudson, its current managing director.

In the fifties, women were expected to stop work when they married. It was considered an insult to the male breadwinner to work outside the home. But Mary Rossi wasn't the stay-at-home type.

She completed an Arts degree with Honours, was a political speech writer for W.C. Wentworth and NSW Premier Sir Bertram Stephens, librarian at the Mitchell Library and a legal researcher for the Department of External Affairs, all before marrying in 1948.

While raising ten children she hosted her own television show, and then started a travel business. Thirty one years down the track, it's still going strong and is now run by one of her daughters, Claudia Rossi Hudson.

Claudia has four children and is still a working mum but, while it might not be any easier to juggle home and business commitments, it's the norm for women these days. A few decades ago, it was way outside the frame. When Mary had five young children, she was invited to anchor an ABC TV show called Woman's World in 1956, the beginning of Australian television. Husband, Theo, had a successful plastics business and, contrary to current expectations, he encouraged Mary to accept the offer.

The show was avant-garde for the 1950s, with an eclectic collection of guests including historians, novelists and musicians visiting from overseas. It also featured in-depth documentaries about health and social issues such as adoption. Claudia fondly remembers ABC TV's first outside broadcast being held at the Rossi family home in Strathfield, at which Mary hosted a discussion luncheon that went live to air.

Mary Rossi showed Australian women that they could be mothers and wives while also working and voicing their own opinion. She became a spokeswoman and role model for women. She was invited to represent lay people on the NSW Catholic Archbishop's Ecumenical Commission and in 1978 was asked by then Premier Neville Wran to join his inaugural Women's Advisory Committee. "Dad jokes that he's Mr Mary Rossi," laughs Claudia.

Special Tours
Inspired by the successful Women's Weekly Tours run in conjunction with the P&O shipping company, Italian shipping line, Lloyd Triestino, approached the Rossis to assist in setting up a business that could take Australian Catholics to Europe.

In 1971, the first tour kicked off with around 350 people. Mary began the tradition of hosting two major trips each year. Mary and Theo were passionate travellers who were able to give excellent advice - Mary's philosophy was to go the extra mile for her customers, although she was very particular that clients knew that she wouldn't be "holding their hands" the entire trip.

"Right from the beginning," says Mary, "we realised we had another business developing." Many customers were requesting Mary's assistance in organising their individual travel. And from that growing demand grew the business, Mary Rossi Travel, as it is today.

Broadening into organising travel for all kinds of special interests began when Leo Schofield approached the business to take gourmet tours to Europe in the 1970s.

Some of the interests it now caters for include music, cooking, language, gardening and history, as well as tours for people with special needs, such as a disability or those who want an active holiday. "We're getting older and more frail but, at the same time, active travel is becoming a real trend," says Claudia.

Claudia and some of her sisters worked in the business alongside their mother. She enjoyed business life so much more than "learning stuff to pass exams" that she never completed her science degree but instead worked at Mary Rossi Travel for almost 20 years, taking short breaks to have her children.

In 1992, approaching the age of 40, Claudia decided to return to tertiary education, having started, but not completed, three different degrees at three different universities. She took on the hard slog of an Executive MBA at Bond University, completing it in 15 months, while working part time. She then retrained as a Certified Financial Planner and worked in that industry until she started thinking about taking another change in direction. She thought she might start her own business. And when her mother wanted to sell her travel business, Claudia stepped in to keep it in the family.

"It was an opportunity to buy a business in an industry I knew and understood," says Claudia. "Both my parents have been very successful in building their own businesses. My siblings and I have been very privileged to have worked closely with our parents. Our parents couldn't afford for any favouritism when selling their businesses, and so I had to negotiate a fair market price."

Mary says she was "absolutely thrilled" when Claudia said she wanted to take on the business. "She knows the business so well. She has a very creative mind and has all this vitality. She understands people and is in touch with what they want from travel. Claudia will add so much to the business."

Custom Service
The business has a policy of maintaining an edge in technology and information. "Our definition of quality service is that we know how to find the information our clients want," says Claudia. "We spend a lot of time educating our staff, sharing customer feedback and looking at new websites. We subscribe to a lot of books and magazines and collect brochures on unique locations. This helps us to customise the itineraries of our clients, who are mainly well-travelled, sophisticated people who are willing to pay for quality advice. "We don't compete on price - we're not a discount travel agent. Anyone can purchase a cheap ticket on the internet. The internet is a fabulous source of information and it also means that people can purchase travel at very competitive rates. However, it's also an inefficient, unreliable and time-consuming way to research. Even the best search engine in the world won't get you within walking distance of the Musee D'Orsay. "Airlines and hotels are squeezing their margin by reducing the commission to travel agents, and so we have to get smarter about managing our costs and charging a fair price for our services.

"We commit a lot of resources to providing the best knowledge. No one questions the lawyer who charges fees for the knowledge that he or she brings to their client's situation. Some of our first-time clients are surprised that we charge fees for our expertise. Hopefully we can prove that we're worth it to them. We've always had a strong philosophy that we want to remain financially healthy and the fact that we're still here 30 years down the track is proof."

Around 75% of their time is spent looking after repeat clients. Mary Rossi Travel has become a brand. "Our clients feel they know the staff in the business. I continually get a buzz meeting our long-term clients now travelling to meet their grown-up children overseas," says Claudia.

"Many clients still phone the business and ask to speak to a Rossi. It's important to our clients that we are still a family- owned business," says Claudia. "For a while I dropped the Rossi part of my name when I was trying to establish myself in the finance world."

Family Friendly
The business has a strong philosophy that the workplace needs to be a pleasant place to work. Located inside the foyer of an office tower in North Sydney, the décor of the premises uses soft, beige tones and quality fittings to portray a professional mood.

Mary and Claudia both worked while their children were very young and so they have been mindful to develop family friendly work practises.

The business employs 15 people, four are job-sharing because they have young children. Two employees are planning to retire so have cut back to a four day week. The benefit of this is that the business doesn't lose good staff and the staff are happy with the flexible hours.

Training is of high importance. "We haven't yet hired someone who has the type of knowledge we need," Claudia says. "Our staff need to know where to find all kinds of information.

"One of my biggest challenges is building a technology infrastructure that captures our specialist knowledge and enables us to give better service. At the moment we're building a 'favourites' database and my husband, Roger, is helping us set up an electronic library." Roger runs his own successful timber business but has assisted at times in establishing systems at Mary Rossi Travel.

"We don't have a website yet. We're not ready for it and I'd rather have a decent site than launch a half-baked one."

According to Mary, Claudia's biggest challenge is not managing the technology but ensuring that the business continues to meet the needs of its clients.

"Mary Rossi Travel has earned a lot of accolades over the years," she says. "James Strong (Qantas CEO) said that we were one of the first businesses to professionalise travel agencies.

"The main aim for the travel industry is to give the client the experience they hope for. It seems a trite thing to say but it demands a lot of sensitivity. Claudia has that secret ingredient of understanding people's needs."