Palms Travel Express

What Palms Travel Express does

Palms Travel Express, operating as Palms Travel Service, Inc., is a privately held, single-location travel agency headquartered at 77 Waiale Rd. Suite 101 in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. The company sells escorted tour packages, cruise vacations, and airline tickets to individual travelers and families, primarily serving the Maui community with personally escorted group tours led by named staff members (Charlene, Mikino, and Cathy). It functions as a traditional commission-based reseller, bundling air, hotel, cruise, and ground components sourced from partners including Princess Cruises, Viking Cruises, Collette Tours, Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines; no proprietary technology or online booking capability is used.

The product portfolio is organized as a seasonal catalog of escorted tour packages spanning Alaska (10-Day 4th of July Cruise Tour from $6,995), Japan (Hokkaido Lavender Tour from $4,948; Culture Treasures of Japan from $8,549; new Tohoku Countryside Japan Experience), the Philippines (Very Important Pinoy Tour from $3,568), Las Vegas (Fall Las Vegas Package from $1,295), Southeast Asia multi-country itineraries, the Christmas on the Danube Viking river cruise, and a 2027 Northern Lights of Finland tour. Ancillary services include on-site TSA PreCheck enrollment at the Wailuku office and an affiliate referral to LoveMauiWeddings.com for destination weddings.

The business model is entirely sales-led and direct: customers engage via phone (808-243-3709), email ([email protected]), or in-person walk-ins, with no e-commerce or self-service booking. Revenue is generated through supplier commissions on tour packages, cruise bookings, and airline tickets, plus affiliate referral fees. Marketing relies on the company's website (palmstravel.com) as an informational brochure channel, BBB accreditation as a trust signal, and word-of-mouth within the Maui community. With only six employees and no disclosed funding, the firm is a micro-cap, lifestyle-scale travel business whose growth is bounded by local catchment and group-formation economics rather than capital deployment.

Name

Palms Travel Express

Legal name

Palms Travel Service, Inc.

Website

https://palmstravel.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Palms Travel Express is a privately held, single-location travel agency in Wailuku, Maui that sells personally escorted tour packages, cruises, and airline tickets to individual travelers and families, acting as a commission-based reseller for Princess Cruises, Viking, Collette, and major airlines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Agency Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Travel Agencies (56151)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cruise & Land Tour (Cruisetour) Package Operators (THAKADAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

River Cruise Booking & Distribution (Direct/Agents/OTAs) (THAEACAF)

Keywords

• Travel agency services
• Escorted tour packages
• Cruise vacations
• Airline ticket booking
• Destination wedding planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Wailuku

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tour Package Sales: Commissions earned on escorted tour packages sold to customers. Packages include airfare, accommodation, land tours, and sometimes cruise components sourced from tour operators like Collette Tours and Viking Cruises.
2. Cruise Bookings: Commissions from cruise bookings through partner Princess Cruises and Viking. Customers book complete cruise packages including airfare and optional land extensions.
3. Airline Ticket Sales: Commissions from airline ticket sales through partner carriers including Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines.
4. Wedding Services: Referral fees from wedding planning services through affiliated site LoveMauiWeddings.com.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Palms Travel Express is a local Maui-based travel agency that sells escorted tour packages, cruise vacations, airline tickets, and inter-island travel through direct customer consultation at its Wailuku office, by phone, and by email. Bookings are made with partner carriers and tour operators including Princess Cruises, Viking Cruises, Collette Tours, Alaska Airlines, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines, with revenue earned via commissions on each booking. The agency also offers ancillary services such as TSA PreCheck enrollment at its office and Maui destination wedding referrals.

Product overview

Palms Travel Express is a single-location travel agency based in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, offering a portfolio of escorted tour packages and cruise vacations rather than a unified software product. The core offerings consist of branded tour packages spanning destinations including Alaska, Japan, the Philippines, Finland, Southeast Asia, Las Vegas, and European river cruises. All tours are personally escorted by company representatives (Charlene, Mikino, Cathy). The agency also provides ancillary services including TSA Pre-Check enrollment at its office location and destination wedding planning referrals. Revenue is generated through package pricing, cruise bookings, and airline ticket sales rather than software licensing or subscription models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hokkaido Lavender Tour 11-day escorted tour package (July 1-11) priced from $4,948 per person via Japan Airlines, visiting Sapporo, Otaru, Asahikawa, Sounkyo, and Furano. Targeted at individual travelers seeking an organized Japan tour.
• Very Important Pinoy Tour 10-day escorted Philippines tour (July 11-21) priced from $3,568 per person via Philippine Airlines, visiting Manila, Dumaguete, Cebu, and surrounding areas. Targeted at individual travelers and families interested in a Philippines itinerary.
• Fall Las Vegas Package 6-day Las Vegas vacation package (October 7-12) priced from $1,295 per person via Hawaiian Airlines at the California Hotel. Personally escorted by Cathy. Targeted at Maui travelers seeking a short domestic getaway.
• Culture Treasures of Japan 14-day escorted Japan cultural tour (October 25 - November 7) priced from $8,549 per person via Collette Tours, visiting Tokyo, Hakone, Matsumoto, Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa, and Kyoto. Targeted at travelers seeking a culture-focused Japan itinerary.
• The Northern Lights of Finland 8-day Finland tour (February 19-26, 2027) visiting Helsinki and Kakslauttanen for Northern Lights viewing. Targeted at travelers seeking a winter Northern Lights experience.
• TSA PreCheck Enrollment Services TSA PreCheck enrollment services offered at the Wailuku office location. Customers can make appointments or walk in for enrollment processing. Targeted at local Maui residents and travelers needing TSA PreCheck enrollment.
• Maui Wedding Planning Services Maui destination wedding planning services referred through LoveMauiWeddings.com affiliate partner. Targeted at couples planning destination weddings on Maui.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Princess CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred cruise partner for Alaska itineraries. Palms Travel sells Princess cruise packages including the 7-Day Voyage of the Glaciers from Vancouver to Anchorage, combining cruise with land tours. Promotional materials featured on Palms Travel website.
• Alaska AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary airline partner for Alaska cruise tour packages. Included in the 10-day 4th of July Cruise Tour package from $6,995.
• Japan AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAirline partner for Japan tour packages including Hokkaido Lavender Tour. Provides international air transportation for Japanese itinerary tours.
• Philippine AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAirline partner for the Very Important Pinoy Tour to Philippines visiting Manila, Dumaguete, and Cebu.
• Hawaiian AirlinescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAirline partner for Fall Las Vegas Package, Tohoku Countryside Japan Experience, and various inter-island services.
• Collette TourscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTour operator partner for Culture Treasures of Japan 14-day escorted tour. Palms Travel promotes and sells Collette tour packages with booking links to gateway.gocollette.com.
• Viking CruisescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRiver cruise partner for Christmas on the Danube cruise (Dec 11-18) visiting Budapest, Danube Bend, Vienna, Krems, Wachau Valley, Passau, and Regensburg.
• LoveMauiWeddings.comminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate partner for Maui wedding services. Cross-promotional relationship directing customers to wedding planning services.
• TSA PreCheck EnrollmentminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTSA PreCheck enrollment services offered at the Wailuku office location for customer convenience. Customers can make appointments or walk-in for enrollment.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cruise Planners: American Express-affiliated travel franchise network specializing in cruise and vacation package sales through independent agents. Directly comparable to Palms Travel's model of selling cruise (Princess, Viking) and tour packages to consumers via personal-agent relationships.
• Avoya Travel: Independent travel advisor network with a host-agency model similar to Palms Travel's traditional agency approach. Both rely on commission-based travel sales and personal-advisor relationships rather than purely online booking.
• Liberty Travel: Long-standing brick-and-mortar U.S. travel agency chain selling escorted tours, cruises, and vacation packages. Comparable traditional travel agency model with a package-tour focus similar to Palms Travel's escorted tour offerings.

Regional players

• Roberts Hawaii: Hawaii-based tour operator offering guided tours, inter-island packages, and excursions across the Hawaiian Islands. Comparable in Hawaii tourism focus and tour/package offerings, though larger in scale and operating its own tours rather than reselling third-party packages.
• Polynesian Adventure Tours: Hawaii-based tour operator offering inter-island tours, day excursions, and vacation packages. Comparable as a Hawaii-anchored tour business selling packaged travel experiences, though more focused on in-island activities than Palms Travel's international destinations.
• Skyline Hawaii: Hawaii-based tour and activity operator offering experiences on multiple islands. Comparable as a Hawaii-rooted tour operator serving local and visiting customers, though focused on activities rather than international escorted tours.

Broad incumbents

• AAA Travel: Established travel agency services arm of AAA, selling tours, cruises, and vacation packages through a network of regional offices. Comparable in selling escorted tours and cruises, but with a much broader geographic footprint and brand recognition than Palms Travel.
• American Express Travel: Premium travel agency services tied to Amex cardholder benefits, offering escorted tours, cruises, and vacation packages through both online and agent channels. Comparable in selling high-end package tours and cruises, though with much broader brand reach and resources.
• Expedia: Major online travel agency with broad consumer reach for booking flights, hotels, cruises, and vacation packages. Indirect competitor to Palms Travel—the DIY alternative that traditional agencies must differentiate against to retain customers.

Emerging players

• Fora Travel: Modern travel advisor platform connecting consumers with independent travel agents for personalized booking of hotels, tours, and cruises. Comparable in emphasizing expert-advisor service over self-service booking, though using a digital-first model rather than a walk-in office.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/palms-travel-express

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Palms Travel Express