BWJ Travel Company Overview – 30 Years of Family-Owned Travel Expertise

It all started with a simple Saturday routine: brothers Edwin and Jacob Sarkisyan headed to their father’s small travel office in Glendale, California, to help organize old brochures, toss out trash and watch as he showed homemade camcorder videos of Cancun resorts to eager clients.

The trio closed out their workday by grabbing a spicy chicken combo with curly fries for $5 before heading home.

“That was one of the best parts,” Edwin recalled. “It felt like we were accomplishing something together, even if all we did was file paperwork. Those moments helped us understand how hard work leads to opportunities.”

Today, that modest office and father-and-sons routine has blossomed into BWJ Travel, a nationally recognized host travel agency. The top-rated agency believes every journey should be as unique as the traveler embarking on it. 

From luxury getaways to once-in-a-lifetime adventures, their team of knowledgeable agents handles every detail with care and expertise. Drawing on strong relationships with premier suppliers, BWJ Travel secures exclusive deals and insider opportunities that elevate each trip from ordinary to unforgettable. 

The company traces its roots back to the early 1990s, when Vic Sarkisyan immigrated to the United States and founded SVH Tours & Travel. 

After three decades of determination, strategizing, and a deep love of bringing people closer, the Sarkisyan family is carrying the legacy forward with BWJ Travel—an enterprise built on transparency, perseverance and, perhaps most notably, the belief that everyone deserves a shot at building a meaningful career in travel.

A Spicy Chicken Combo and a Dream

Some of the best companies grow from the seed of a simple dream. In BWJ Travel’s case, that seed began with a father who had just enough money to pay $100 in monthly rent and who juggled shifts valet-parking cars or waiting tables to make ends meet. 

“Vic’s determination to build an opportunity for his family was the factor that allowed him to grow his business to become nationally recognized by the largest travel brands and partners,” Edwin said.

Vic’s journey exemplifies the American dream: He put down roots in Glendale, then slowly expanded the travel business to a corner office with a team of passionate advisers. 

Along the way, he instilled a culture of grit and service in his children. Edwin and Jacob started helping out long before they were old enough to handle bookings. On weekends, they would watch their father treat clients like personal friends—recommending destinations he had visited to get them excited about possibilities.

By high school, both brothers were eager to contribute more. Edwin put his passion for operations into motion: He introduced a custom-built customer relationship management system, replaced their basic spreadsheet tracking and created one of the first in-house cash-back rewards programs. 

“It was really rare at that time,” he said. “We decided to give back to the same loyal clients who kept the business afloat. Even if it cut into profits, it built trust and loyalty.”

Meanwhile, Jacob gravitated to relationship-building. After graduating high school, he was invited to become a consultant at SVH Travel—though at first, he wasn’t sure if higher education or an office job was his destiny. 

“It turned out to be my absolute natural calling,” Jacob said. “I love learning about people and creating unforgettable experiences for them. It’s what I was born to do.” Jacob’s knack for personalized client service quickly helped SVH Travel earn record high sales and customer service scores.

The Spark That Shaped BWJ Travel

Like many in the travel industry, the Sarkisyan family was hit hard by the pandemic. As the business grappled with flight cancellations, border closures and a steep decline in discretionary travel, the very existence of SVH Travel came into question. But they refused to give up.

“When COVID struck, we watched as hundreds of travel agencies went out of business,” said Edwin. “Yet, despite the millions of dollars in debt that stacked up to keep our company afloat for a year and a half, we never lost sight of our purpose. We told ourselves, ‘This is why we built a foundation on loyalty, relationships and trust. We’re not giving up now.’”

Eventually, when travelers began to dream again of tropical beaches and European excursions, the pent-up demand found its way back to SVH Travel. But something else emerged: a sense that it was time to take everything they had learned and help others find their own foothold in the industry. That was the genesis of BWJ Travel, a host travel agency launched by Edwin and Jacob to pass along their family’s expertise to new consultants.

“The idea was simple,” said Jacob. “If our father’s processes and brand could help us thrive after COVID, imagine what it could do if we empowered others. We created BWJ Travel to be a platform where anyone truly passionate about travel could leverage the same tools, resources and training that helped our family business become one of the largest agencies in the nation.”

Giving Everyone a Shot—and Why It Works

One of the boldest moves BWJ Travel made was to eliminate the standard multi-interview hiring process. Instead, Jacob proposed letting potential team members prove themselves. “We live in a world where people are often skeptical, and with good reason,” Jacob said. “They’ve been burned by pyramid schemes, MLMs or shallow opportunities. We knew we had to do things differently.”

The approach is straightforward: If someone is passionate about travel and wants to learn the ropes, BWJ Travel gives them access to training and an initial pool of clients. From there, performance is monitored based on client feedback, service quality and the ability to follow protocols. If it’s a good fit, the consultant continues to grow within the company. If it doesn’t work out, there’s an amicable parting of ways.

“It’s not that we have no standards,” Edwin clarified. “We just believe interviews can only show so much. Real success is revealed when someone starts doing the work—booking trips, resolving emergencies and delighting customers.”

This system has resulted in what Edwin calls “the best problem to have”: There are hundreds of clients awaiting service at any given time, and not enough consultants to serve them all. “We’re constantly looking to expand our team, but we’re discerning about it,” he said. “We want people who live and breathe travel the way we do—who see this as a calling, not just a job.”

Looking Ahead: The Next 30 Years of Family-Owned Travel

As BWJ Travel continues to scale nationwide, the Sarkisyans remain grounded in their original mission. “Our overarching purpose is to bring friends and family together through travel experiences,” Jacob said. “That might look different in 10 years—maybe it’s new technology, new ways of exploring, or new destinations—but that underlying goal will never change.”

For now, they are pouring their energy into building up what they call “the best platform possible” for both travelers and consultants. With the rise of remote work, digital bookings and the post-pandemic travel surge, BWJ Travel sees a bright future. Jacob believes the industry’s evolution actually opens new possibilities: “More people can pivot into the travel space if they genuinely love planning vacations and working with others. We’re here to make sure they have the support to thrive.”

Yet, despite the forward momentum, the family never forgets the little things that got them started. 

“Looking back at those Saturday routines with Dad, I realize something,” Jacob said. “The success we have now was born from simple acts of service—like picking up trash or sharing a quick lunch between father and sons. It was never about how fancy we could get. It was always about how much care we could give to the process.”

Those humble beginnings remain stitched into the fabric of BWJ Travel. 

With every trip they book, they’re not just providing a vacation. They’re continuing a family tradition of perseverance and heart, ensuring that each journey helps bring people closer—physically, emotionally and culturally.

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