The Travel Business Unpacked

Erin Cohen has been an entrepreneur for 30 years, building successful real estate businesses in multiple cities. When she and her husband moved from Raleigh to a small town in Washington State in the middle of the pandemic, she knew her next business had to be one she could run from anywhere. In this episode, Erin joins Meredith Calloway to talk about the workshop that convinced her travel was the answer, why she joined GTN’s Travel MBA program in 2021 to launch Personal Touch Travel Design, and the five-year plan that has her on the verge of $1 million in sales.Erin has built her business entirely on referrals, and she shares the two habits behind it: a weekly newsletter she hasn’t missed in five years, and a client process that lives up to her company’s name, from walking clients through every itinerary on Zoom before sending it to mailing a blue folder of hard-copy documents before every trip. She and Meredith also talk about why travel is so much more collaborative than real estate, and how she’s growing as a solo advisor through her latest move to Denver, CO.-📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU-🖥️ Personal Touch Travel Design: https://www.personaltouchtraveldesign.com/👤 Erin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinwcohen

Stephanie Mack spent nearly 12 years as a corporate Communications Manager, leading internal and external communications and serving as spokesperson for large manufacturing facilities. In this episode, she joins Meredith Calloway to talk about how that career led her to Brava Adventures. Stephanie joined GTN’s Travel MBA program just two weeks before the pandemic began, right as her corporate role turned into 16 to 20 hour days, and shares how pacing the program on her own terms set the tone for the business she built.She explains how her communications and project management background shows up in her business today, from drawing out what clients really want on discovery calls to keeping every detail of an itinerary on track. She and Meredith also talk about her decision to retire early and go full time in travel and why she chose to build a solo business instead of a large agency. Along the way, they bond over their shared love of river cruising and the luxury travel experiences that have caught their eye, from barge cruises to around-the-world private jet tours.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU-🖥️ Brava Adventures: https://bravaadventures.com👤 Stephanies LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/mspx53m8

Alex Smirnov came to the United States from Russia in November 2019, just months before the pandemic kept him here for good. Alongside his wife and dance partner Daria, he spent over a decade as a competitive ballroom dancer, traveling to nearly 30 states for competitions before retiring from competing this June. In this episode, Alex joins Meredith to talk about how a family reunion in Dubai, and watching his parents experience travel for the first time, led him to join Gifted Travel Network’s (GTN) Travel MBA program in the February 2026 cohort and launch AD Luxe Escapes.Alex and Meredith explore what choreography and itinerary design have in common: pacing, rhythm, and the understanding that no single move, or hotel, works for everyone. Alex explains why the best advisors listen for what clients actually want, not just what they say, and how that mindset shaped his business. He also shares how he and Daria built their brand with help from Motive through GTN’s branding lab, why Thumbtack has become their biggest source of new clients, and how defining a clear avatar helped them focus on couples 50 and older who travel multiple times a year.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU-🖥️ AD Luxe Escapes: https://adluxeescapes.com/👤 Alex's LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/3ju5883f

In this special solo episode of The Travel Business Unpacked, host Meredith Calloway breaks down a recent article she wrote, "I Don't Need Your Apology for My Setback, I Was Never Meant to Trust the Branch" and why she believes a setback, in business or in life, is one of the biggest opportunities for growth you'll ever get. She shares how Gifted Travel Network leaned into the pandemic, the hardest setback the travel industry has ever faced, and came out of it with roughly five times its pre-pandemic sales.From there, Meredith walks through the mental muscles that become your wings when the branch breaks: trust, curiosity and compassion, and self-love, along with the exercise that builds each one. She also explains why she'd skip the "I'm so sorry you're going through this" response when someone is facing hardship and what to offer instead, what a bow and arrow can teach you about letting go and moving on in life, and the clarifying moment she experienced while raising her children that showed her exactly who she's here to be.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU🖥️ Meredith's Article: https://tinyurl.com/ynw6jbs9

Veronica Gonzalez spent years promoting tourism in McAllen, Texas, and working in her father's pharmacy before she let herself build a business around what she loved most: planning travel. In this episode, Veronica joins Meredith Calloway to talk about how Delighted Designs grew from a destination event business into a luxury travel practice that does both. That growth started with a villa owner in Turks and Caicos who asked why she wasn't already doing this for a living, and continued with a referral from another host agency that led her to GTN's Travel MBA program in the October 2022 cohort.Almost four years in, Veronica is honest about a growth curve that was anything but linear, including losing both of her parents a year apart and learning to give herself grace while running a business. She and Meredith talk about the emotional fitness that came out of that season, why this year is when everything opened up, and how GTN's community and partners gave her the confidence to book her first African safari. Veronica also shares her knack for knowing what clients want before they say it, why she always asks partners what they can do to surprise her travelers, and why she tells families not to wait on the trips that matter most.-📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU-🖥️ Delighted Designs: https://delighted-designs.com/

Sylvia Sulkes knew for years that her work wasn't fulfilling her anymore, but it took a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro with her husband to make the decision clear. A month after coming down the mountain, she joined GTN's Travel MBA program and launched Sol Kiss Escapes, a luxury travel business built around soul-stirring journeys that give clients what they actually need, whether that's rest, a reset, or more time with family. Before even finishing her first year in the program, she crossed seven figures in sales.In this episode, Sylvia joins Meredith to talk about how she got there. She shares the story behind the name Sol Kiss Escapes, the last-minute festive request that became her first big booking, and how GTN's Circle community helped her land the perfect stay at Cap Juluca in Anguilla. She explains why a fast response and a thoughtful, visual proposal won the client over, how that one trip turned into a year-long retainer, and why she's choosing to keep her client book small. She and Meredith also get into the mindset that keeps her steady during slower stretches, her first National Geographic expedition cruise, and the role her husband plays in the business she's building.-📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU-🖥️ Sol Kiss Escapes: https://solkissescapes.com/👤 Sylvia's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sylviasulkes

This week on The Travel Business Unpacked podcast, Meredith Calloway is joined by Laura Gonzalez, founder of Vacation Artisans Travel Agency, to talk about knowing when it's time for a change and starting fresh after a decade in the industry.Laura shares her journey from nonprofit event planning to ten years as a travel advisor, including the slump that made her decide whether to recommit to her business or step away. She talks about choosing to double down, what told her she had outgrown her previous host, and why she approached her search for a new one like an interview on both sides. Meredith and Laura also discuss the tradeoffs between large hosts and smaller boutique agencies, why being part of a Virtuoso agency mattered to her, and what it was like joining the Gifted Travel Network community.Throughout the conversation, Laura offers an honest look at building a business while raising a family, from working during nap times when she first started to making the most of the time her son spends at extracurricular activities. She explains why she's comfortable passing on clients who aren't the right fit, and how asking clients why they're traveling shapes every trip she plans. Laura also shares why she loves the challenge of planning for multigenerational families and how she's encouraging her cruise clients to arrive a few days early and explore beyond their cruise itinerary.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU-🖥️ Vacation Artisans Travel Agency: https://vacationartisans.com/👤 Laura's LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/4fkkt2ka

Julie and Alex Ott are the mother-son team behind Triple Play Vacations. In this episode, they join Meredith Calloway to talk about what it looks like to build a business together while specializing in one of travel's fastest-growing niches: sporting events.Julie's path into travel started during the pandemic, right after wrapping up 25 years in the apparel and footwear industry, including years living abroad in Hong Kong, Switzerland, and France with her family. She went through GTN's Travel MBA program in 2020, and Alex followed a year later in 2021 before eventually leaving his corporate job as a credit analyst to join her full time.They open up about how they divide and conquer, with Julie focused on cruise, river cruise, and adventure travel, and Alex leading the charge on sporting event trips, from fan bases and stadium culture to how the name Triple Play came to be. They also talk candidly about what it's really like working as mother and son, staying close while living in different cities, and how they've leaned on the right partners to help pull off major event trips like the US Open.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU-🖥️ Triple Play Vacations Website: https://tripleplayvacations.com/👤 Julie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-ott👤 Alex's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexjott

Lucie McLaughlin spent over two decades as what she calls the "family CEO," and when her kids grew up and life took an unexpected turn, she found herself searching for a new sense of purpose. In this episode, Lucie joins host Meredith Calloway to talk about trading the family-planner role for a career as a luxury travel advisor, and how a conversation with her mother-in-law led her to research host agencies and ultimately choose Gifted Travel Network.Lucie opens up about the emotional side of building her brand, Lucie's Luxury Travel, and how the process brought her back to childhood memories of her family's wine business and cross-country road trips. She and Meredith also dig into her Travel MBA cohort's tight-knit support system, her first Collette tour experience in Portugal's Douro Valley, and the unexpected way an Instagram connection turned into a recurring women's group-travel business, taking her from Charleston to Italy to a planned trip to Greece.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU🖥️ Lucie's Luxury Travel Website: https://lluxurytravel.com/👤 Lucie's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucie-mclaughlin-1698a7340

Nicholas Dintelmann spent over a decade in corporate retail before he let himself pursue the international, travel-focused career he'd wanted since childhood. In this episode, Nicholas joins Meredith to talk about the deliberate process of unraveling his corporate life before joining GTN's Travel MBA program in the February 2026 cohort and launching CARTE ATLAS, his luxury travel business built for servant leaders who've built full lives but haven't made space to explore them.Nicholas is honest about what those first few months in the program actually look like: building a brand from scratch, navigating the gap between booking travel and getting paid for it, and learning to trust himself when the certainty of a corporate paycheck disappears. He and Meredith dig into the emotional fitness required to run a business, where the name CARTE ATLAS came from, his FAM trip to Grace Bay Resorts in Turks and Caicos, which was his first time traveling internationally for work, and the honeymoon trip where he circumnavigated the world in two and a half weeks.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU🖥️ CARTE ATLAS Website: https://CARTEATLAS.com/👤 Nicholas' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-dintelmann