TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Astro Travel and Tours is more than a motorcoach company. It is a family story built on passion, hard work and a commitment to service that spans generations.
The business began in 1970, when Hurley Rudd and Frank Hazelton founded Astro as a full-service travel agency. They specialized in airline tickets, cruises, hotel bookings and international travel.
At the same time, Charlie Hunter, a former high school football player turned radio DJ, followed his high school sweetheart, Rachel Martin, to Tallahassee. The two married, and in 1976 Hunter was working at a local radio station owned by Rudd and Hazelton.
The partners saw potential in Hunter and offered him the job of general manager at Astro Travel and Tours. Under his leadership, the company grew.
Hazelton died in the late 1980s and, with no children, left most of his shares to Hunter. That gave Hunter minority ownership. In 1996, as his daughter Brandi graduated from high school, Astro purchased its first bus — a 24-passenger Turtle Top. The purchase marked a major shift toward motorcoach operations.
By 1997, Hunter had become sole owner. He began expanding the fleet with the help of salesman Dan Wiltgen, who helped Astro acquire several Prevost Le Mirage models and the company’s first H3-45 coach.
As the internet, changing consumer habits and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks reshaped the travel industry, Astro phased out its travel agency services to focus solely on motorcoach transportation. That same year, the company moved from downtown Tallahassee to a four-acre facility to house its growing fleet.
In 2013, Brandi and her husband, Matt Brown, took over the company. At the time, they operated 12 Prevost coaches. Today, the company runs 26, including two 2024 H3-45s and two 2025 models. Two more coaches are scheduled for delivery in September 2026.
Partnership with Prevost
Astro has stayed loyal to Prevost for decades, citing the quality of the vehicles and the company’s customer support.
“Prevost is a step above in the industry,” said Matt Brown, president and CEO of Astro. “Our drivers enjoy driving a Prevost coach. The ride is stable. The driver’s area, with lower, more separated consoles and modesty panels, makes the drivers feel comfortable and focused. For them, it’s not just a coach; it’s their office.”
Astro serves college and professional sports teams, school field trips, and the U.S. military, among others. The company depends on reliable equipment and responsive service. While breakdowns are unavoidable, Prevost provides replacement coaches or dispatches service vans to resolve issues quickly.
Prevost customer support managers Eric DeGeorge and Robert Hitt have become key partners. DeGeorge visits often and calls Astro’s head technician, Luke Moyer, every Monday to check on weekend performance.
“The call is automatic,” Brown said. “It’s the kind of after-sales support that is hard to live up to.”
A 100-year experience
“Astro’s partnership with Prevost has been a gigantic part of what has made us one of the elite motorcoach providers in the Southeast all these decades,” Brown said. “It’s allowed us to be as good as we are.”
That relationship came full circle at Prevost’s 100th anniversary celebration in Canada.
“It was our first time visiting Prevost and our first time in Canada,” said Brandi Brown, chief operating officer. “We got to see our brand-new coach roll off the line and even got a picture with it. We got to attend the parties and loved the celebrations. It was such a cool experience.”
From its start as a travel agency in 1970 to its position today as a premier motorcoach provider, Astro Travel and Tours remains driven by family and fueled by excellence.
