TravelOnly’s Bob Family Travel passes the torch to new owners

It’s a new chapter for one of Canada’s most successful independent travel agencies.

Bob Family Travel, a TravelOnly affiliate known for its fun-filled group bookings, has been acquired by travel professionals Marcia and Craig White, who have been with TravelOnly since 2017.

Long-time owners Pat Probert and Mary de Almeida officially shared the big news at a VIP dinner event on Friday (Oct. 17) at Toronto’s Woodbine Banquet Hall, where nearly 180 Bob Family supporters – friends, clients, suppliers and media – gathered to honour the agency’s legacy and exciting transition.

Bob Family Travel, which was founded in 1977, is now a division of Marcia Loves Travel Inc. and will continue to be a valued part of the TravelOnly network.

Holding back tears, Probert welcomed his guests at Friday’s gathering (which included a trade show, supplier presentations and giveaways galore) with gratitude

“Our success is owed to every one of you in this room,” Probert said. “You guys mean the absolute world to us.”

What is the Bob Family?

Hailing from Nova Scotia, Probert started Bob Family Travel in the late 1970s. “Bob Family” refers to Jim Bob from the Walton’s TV show.

“Whatever your name was, ‘Bob’ would be added to it, and all the group members would then become ‘Bobs.’ I became Pat ‘Bob,’ and if your name was John, you would be known as John ‘Bob,’ and so on,’” Probert told PAX in 2024, explaining the meaning behind the name.

In 2000, as Probert’s company grew, he began directing bookings to Mary de Almeida (then, a manager of a Toronto-based travel branch). By 2009, Probert was a member of the TravelOnly family, with de Almeida joining the Bob Family two years later.

READ MORE: Travel advisor Pat Probert celebrates 100th cruise

The rest, as they say, is history. Over the years, the duo has worked alongside (and travelled with) a team of six agents, who manage a valuable book of business.

Bob Family Travel has routinely made TravelOnly’s President’s Club. The agency has been named a top performer among many suppliers – by Celebrity, Norwegian, Regent and Uniworld, for one – and has been recognized by Manulife, annually, for its insurance sales.

Probert’s career, meanwhile, has taken him to more than 100 countries—many of the clients at Friday’s event have travelled with him—and, as previously reported, he recently celebrated his 100th cruise.

But beyond sales, staterooms and passport stamps, Probert and de Almeida have built a reputation that runs much deeper.

The pair are leaders in peer-mentoring, often seen on the sidelines at conferences, supporting travel advisors with valuable business tips.

“Mary and I do not believe that any other travel advisor is a competitor. This is why we continue to help all advisors who sometimes call from other agencies with questions or even requests to help them sell their own group space,” Probert once told us.

That family-focused philosophy is what drew Marcia and Craig White in, giving them the confidence to step in as Bob Family’s new owners.

“We’re hoping we can deliver the same service that Pat has always delivered and keep the family going,” Marcia told PAX at Friday’s event. 

It’s not goodbye for good

For the record, Probert and de Almeida are not retiring.

The two will remain part of the Bob Family Travel team to help with group trips, with Probert assuming the title of senior vice president of groups.

He’ll remain a key contact, and face, for clients, while the Whites (who are based in Delaware, ON, a township just outside of London) take over Bob Family’s backend operations.

“It’s going to be a two to three-year transition,” Marcia explained. “We’re going to work on building the business and bringing it into the future.”

With the Bob Family and Marcia Loves Travel teams now combined, the agency will now consist of ten affiliate travel advisors.

A genuine love for group travel—and the friendships it fosters—is what brought the two agencies together.

Probert revealed that he received multiple offers for Bob Family Travel, both from within and outside the industry, and chose to decline higher bids.

In some instances, prospective buyers proposed shifting Bob Family Travel’s operations to call centres, a move that conflicted with the agency’s longstanding reputation for personalized, open-door service.

“We did not believe it would be a good fit for you guys. It wasn’t right,” Probert told his audience on Friday, shedding some light on how the deal went down.  

A family affair

Several suppliers took to the stage to present on Friday, including Uniworld, Club Med, Manulife, Regent, Celebrity, Exotik, Oceania and Rocky Mountaineer. 

The night also doubled as a fundraiser for the Rainbow’s Bridge Animal Rescue. Guests were requested to bring non-perishable food, toys, and treats for cats and dogs, and to make donations.

Because that’s how the Bob Family rolls.

Craig White described Probert’s clientele as a “family environment that has snowballed into an entire community.”

“Look at all these people who showed up for this event,” he marvelled. “We plan to continue everything Pat’s doing. He’s done an amazing job.”

Probert’s dedication to client care echoes the White’s own approach to managing clients, which they also refer to as family.

“Our goal is to amalgamate the families and bring them all together,” said Marcia, a seasoned entrepreneur whose efforts have earned her a place on TravelOnly’s Top Ten list.

The acquisition could also result in a new name for Craig, who has long admired Probert’s leadership style.

“I look at his leadership and the mentor he has been to so many agents,” he said. “I want to be like that. I’m going to be Brother Bob.”

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