Exclusive: Interview with Sara Ryan-Duffy of "First Class All the Way"
Last week, I talked with Sara Ryan-Duffy, luxury travel agent and star of the new Bravo show, "First Class All the Way" (every Monday at 7/6c). Though Sara has been everywhere and knows everyone, I was struck by how down-to-earth she is about life and travel. Read on for my interview with Sara:
Jane: So I watched “First Class All the Way” and really loved it. I love that you seem like a real person, that you lie awake at night and worry about all the little details. That made me think, ‘Ok, she’s one of us.’
Sara: Well, I grew up in Minnesota, so maybe it’s the Midwestern work ethic thing. I just think if you’re going to do something, you have to give it everything you’ve got. If that means sweating the little stuff, you sweat the little stuff. It’s the little stuff that makes the big picture work.
Jane: Now that the show’s been on a few weeks, are you really busy with new clients?
More after the jump…
Sara: I’m busy most of the time. It gets really busy through the summer season, which starts at the end of April through the first week of November. I’m back and forth between here and Europe about every three weeks or so, and it’s crazy. With the TV show coming out, I think it’s going to be a busy couple of months. So, we’ll see what happens.
Jane: Talk about the economy. How do you think that’s going to affect the travel business?
Sara: Between commission caps and 911, the travel business has had many setbacks over the years. Now it’s a question of people feeling like can they afford the extravagance of travel. But we all need a mental break, and travel is a terrific mental break that helps us to bond with our family and the people in our lives. And it doesn’t have to mean getting on a plane and going halfway across the world. When I first started out in this business, I didn’t have a huge amount of money. I would drive down to Santa Monica and check into a hotel at the beach. It was seven miles from where I lived, but it felt like I was a world away.
Jane: I love that you are all about the details, like in the premiere episode when you bought the chocolates for the girls, or when one lost her passport, you weren’t about to accept her traveling coach to get there. How important are those little details when it can all fall apart so easily?
Sara: I always say to people, “Travel ensues drama.” Back when I first started this show, the producers were worried that there wouldn’t be enough things that would happen, but on most trips, something goes wrong. It’s the little things that make people feel like they’re special. Yes, they saw the Eiffel Tower and went to the palace, but sometimes it’s the tiny touches that make them feel like, “This person cared enough about me to remember that I love chocolate.”
Jane: Is it weird having the cameras there, or are you pretty comfortable with that?
Sara: After about the third day, you kind of forget because you’re just doing your job. The only time it becomes an issue is because I deal with a lot of high-profile people. So I had a separate office set up to handle the calls for those people that didn’t want their name on TV.
Jane: What’s your favorite travel spot?
Sara: It depends on what my focus is. If I just want to sit on the beach and decompress, one of my favorite beaches in the world is in the Philippines, this little obscure island in the Sulu Sea. If I wanted to put things back into perspective, I’d go on safari in Africa. If I wanted history, I would go to Egypt in a heartbeat. If I want a mindless vacation where I can just eat and drink, I always go to Italy. Good food, good fashion, good wine … what else can you ask for?
Jane: Do you handle only luxury travel?
Sara: There’s a big trend in travel of charging very expensive retainers - anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 per year just to have the luxury of your phone number. That’s fine if you want to do that, but it keeps me sharper as an agent to have a wide variety of clientele. If I only dealt with people who are spending half a million dollars on a vacation, it’s just too much. It’s nice to have faces that are more down to earth. It’s a nice balance.
Jane: Well, thank you so much for all your time. I look forward to seeing more of the show. From the previews, it looks like there will be some drama!
Sara: Well, it takes all kinds of personalities to cater to the clients. So when you have that many personalities in one space at one time, things are bound to happen. Not everyone gets along all the time.
Jane: Absolutely. Thanks again, Sara.
Sara: Thank you very much.
Images: Bravo, 2008
Tags: Bravo, Bravo TV, First Class All the Way, Interview, luxury travel, reality shows, Sara Duffy, sara duffy interview, Sara Ryan-Duffy, travelRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Bravo Programming, Bravo Stars, First Class All the Way, Interviews
1 opinion for Exclusive: Interview with Sara Ryan-Duffy of "First Class All the Way"
“First Class All The Way” Goes Italian; Season 1, Episode 5 [Recap]
Dec 2, 2008 at 7:08 pm
[...] with the high drama of the office and the soothing presence of Sara-Ryan Duffy (check out the interview my colleague Jane Boursaw did with her a few weeks [...]
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