About Us For more information or to get a personalized travel quote, call 1-800-451-4321 or email travel@siemerhand.com When we first opened our doors back in 1959, we were communicating around the world by telex and hand writing tickets for airlines and cruise ships, the names of which have long since been forgotten. We joined other high-end retail agencies in San Francisco to form a guild, called the Carriage Trade Association. We were charter members of this professional organization, to which we still belong. We built a thriving business serving the vacation traveler and the corporate traveler. Back in the days of paper tickets our volume was such that we employed a full-time delivery person to distribute tickets to the law firms, public relations firms and other clients in San Francisco’s financial district. About 30 years ago Siemer & Hand began creating custom-designed itineraries for local museums, alumni associations, and foundations, making us among the pioneers in developing the concept of educational travel as a member benefit for non-profit organizations. We worked with curators of the California Academy of Sciences and with leaders at the World Affairs Council, and others, to create worldwide itineraries providing an enriching travel experience in the name of the sponsoring organization. Our current president, Robert Roy, joined the company in 1995 bringing more than 20 years experience working with university alumni associations and museums all across the country. Evolution of the Industry When the airlines stopped paying commissions to the agencies that did their ticketing, the travel industry was forever changed. While continuing to serve our Carriage Trade vacation traveler, we expanded our educational group client base by creating international trips for the alumni associations of Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Smith, Vassar, UC Berkeley and many others, as well as many natural history and fine art museums. Our most recent evolution involved creating a new market of domestic travel. Staying within our core competency of developing educational programs for non-profit organizations, we have become Elderhostel’s provider for San Francisco. Our goal has never been to be the biggest, but rather to be the best in providing advice, logistical arrangements, and service. We consider ourselves to be a boutique provider of a quality product delivered to individual and group travelers, by an experienced and service-oriented team, averaging over 12 years employment with the company.