Last week, my three colleagues and I quit our jobs at a very large company and started working for a very small company. We are still doing the same thing, which involves a lot of complex travel in developing countries. Unfortunately, now we no longer have access to the very large company's very large contract with BTI Travel, which provided a pretty high level of service. We often need after-hours and emergency service from our travel agents, when we call in from overseas with a sudden itinerary change, etc.

Our new employer has told us to just use any travel agent we like. We are an office of four people, but we need the same level of service that a major corporate travel agency offers--24-hour access, visa support, agents that are well-trained for complicated international bookings, etc. Any suggestions?

After we've had a pretty good experience with a local travel agency for the last 1.5 years, they've now been bought out by Frosch (a national agency based in Houston) and the service level has suddenly fallen off a cliff. I am back to square one in the TA search and wonder if anyone has any ideas now!

are you looking for someone local to deleware?

It doesn't have to be Delaware--our last agency was in PA, and really it doesn't matter as long as they are answering the phone between 8-6 in our time zone. Most tickets are e-tickets these days, and if not, we're used to getting them by FedEx.

Try calling Casto Travel. They're a full service agency with a very good reputation for international tickets and good service. www.casto.com or their DOS is Mazie Rice 415 273-7418.