 One of the first travel advisors I met, shortly after joining Wanderlux Collection (WLC), was Cynthia Nerangis – owner of LemonLime Travel. On a dreary January Chicagoland evening, LemonLime Travel and WLC held a joint cocktail reception for her top clients. I observed Cynthia happily offering destinations in Italy and Greece, all based on the client’s desired experiences. After the successful event concluded, the Chief and I spent time with Cynthia learning about her fascinating background and business model. Leaving that evening I realized the immense trust in the advisor client relationship and better understood how all the experience offerings come into play. I am pleased to introduce Cynthia as our June #GuestWanderer. www.LemonLimeTravel.com and IG: @Lemonlimetravel
WLC: Why did you become a luxury travel advisor? Cynthia: I started my career working in five-star resorts in Greece. As my career progressed working in the US, I had multiple opportunities to travel and to work in both Italy and Greece. I developed a high level of expertise and knowledge of both countries because of my experiences. As a Greek-American and an entrepreneur, I enjoy combining the opportunity to promote and sell the Mediterranean to clientele and to fulfill my desire to continue to spend more time experiencing the beautiful countries of Italy and Greece. WLC: Do you specialize in one region? Cynthia: My area of expertise is the Mediterranean. LemonLime Travel provides customized luxury travel services for unique vacation experiences in Italy and Greece. We create customized itineraries for clients based on desired dates, budget, destinations, and interests for their dream vacation. Our services include:
WLC: What are the up and coming travel destinations? Cynthia: The up and coming destinations in Italy and Greece include the Lakes Region and Sicily in Italy and the islands of Naxos, Skiathos, and Zakynthos in Greece. WLC: What is your social media presence? Cynthia: LemonLime Travel has an online presence on our website - www.LemonLimeTravel.com , Twitter: @GoGreeceGoItaly, IG: @Lemonlimetravel, Facebook, and LinkedIn. We continue to expand our network through our travel photography and posts on social media. WLC: What advice do you have for new travel advisors? Cynthia: My advice for a new travel advisor would be to focus on a specific area of the world and become an expert in the countries of that region as they relate to travel and tourism. As a travel expert of the Mediterranean, it is vital for a travel advisor to experience the countries they are selling so sufficient time, research and in-country experiences is necessary to succeed. WLC: What trends do you see in the upcoming year? Cynthia: In regard to 2021 trends, I anticipate receiving an increase in client trip requests for more private experiences. The experiences will include private villa rentals with chefs, private tours for cooking classes, food and wine tours, museum visits, yacht excursions and more. WLC: Who is someone you would love to travel with? Cynthia: I enjoy Italian and Greek cuisine and I frequently use the cookbooks by Giada De Laurentiis. Giada is an Emmy award winning television personality of the Food Network Channel and she has published several cookbooks. I would love to take a food tour of Italian cuisine throughout Italy led by Giada! WLC: Where is your next pleasure trip? Cynthia: My next trip will be to the island of Paros, Greece. I will be renting a private villa at the sea during my stay on the island. When I travel in Greece, I strive to identify new locations, accommodations, and tour options for our clientele. I will be inspecting new villas on the island for our 2021 client bookings. Cynthia you have a wealth of knowledge and an absolute passion for curating the dream holiday for each of your clients. Thank you for spending time with us and enjoy your upcoming trip to Greece.
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 There are times in your business career when you meet someone and intuitively know you found your kindred spirit. That occurred for me during a Wanderlux Collection happy hour in February. Who was that person? None other than Oliver Banham owner of The Business-Travel located in Los Angeles, California. Oliver thanks for agreeing to be our #GuestWanderer for the month of May! Facebook thebiztrav IG: @thebusiness_travel WLC: Why did you become a luxury travel advisor? Oliver: I have worked in many avenues of the travel advisor role – from front line retail travel agent, to corporate travel manager, to entertainment travel specialist – all of which had the element of luxury travel sprinkled in. I am pleased to be able to offer our current clients all those skills rolled up into one neat service offering. We pride ourselves in partnership, product knowledge and making well informed, previously experienced offerings. I find building relationships with clients and vendors alike a real pleasure and take great pride in grooming those relationships accordingly! WLC: If you could go back in time and give yourself advice when beginning your travel advisor career, what would that advice be? Oliver: Do not over think it! I think we put ourselves under so much pressure, you have to understand “no one expects you to know everything and have been everywhere.” It is so important to rely on the industry peers for advice and recommendations, and not be shy about saying you are going to research personal recommendations from your team/peers/friends in the industry! WLC: What advice do you have for new travel advisors? Oliver: Have a plan! So many people come into this business and just treat it like a hobby. Consider yourself as a business from day one, set targets, set goals….and live and die by the business plan! There is nothing more rewarding than seeing you hit your goals and know you are on track to succeed! How are you supposed to understand where you are going, if you do not know where you’ve been? WLC: What trends do you see in the upcoming year? Oliver: For the Anti-Vax’ers to finally go back under the rock they emerged from. I jest - wait, do I? WLC: What is your social media presence? Oliver: Having had the Covid-19 effect on my business and clientele, I am trying to do a better job of refining my IG Social Media Presence. Is it where it needs to be? NO! Is it taking steps in the right direction to resemble something I am prouder of – absolutely! It is a journey, and I think your social media presence is an evolving task we can all do better at! You can be a professional, but the goal posts continue to move! WLC: What is your favorite 5-star destination? Oliver: MALDIVES MALDIVES MALDIVES. Having largely considered the Maldives a “once in a lifetime” destination (and not just due to price, but mainly due to the sheer distance from Los Angeles), I was so impressed by the unparalleled levels of customer service, food & beverage and hospitality; that it’s gone from being the other side of the world, to the other side of the coin. You simply cannot compete with the luxury of the Maldives when you travel to other tropical destinations within a 6-12 hour flying time. WLC: What is the wildest thing you have experienced while traveling? Oliver: The Wildest, literally – was a pack of wild dogs in Botswana stumble across Bambi while they were heading home for the night and Bambi was no more. I have NEVER experienced anything so wild: the bone crunching, the devouring, and the pure shock horror from the sights and sounds. While I know it is the circle of life, I am not sure anything prepares you for the emotion of a kill. I am just glad I don’t live on the savannah’s (although after COVID-19, it might be my best option!) Where every day could be your last… you better live you little life Bambi! R.I.P! Sage business advice for new advisors. Oliver thank you for being the May #GuestWanderer. Better days are ahead for the luxury travel industry!  When you are hit with life-disrupting events, you will never be the same again. You either cope or you crumble; you become better or bitter; you emerge stronger or weaker. - Al Siebert
The Chief and I hope you, your family and friends are well. Our hearts go out to those who suffered a personal loss or face other challenges during this global pandemic. Normally during this time of the year, Angelique and I are traversing across North America to participate in dynamic in-person agency visits and tradeshows, while working to add new properties to the Wanderlux Collection. Like many of you in the U.S., our high-flying plans have been grounded. We’re under “shelter in place” orders here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. So, what are these home-based wanderers doing instead? We’re reaching out to our travel advisor partners across North America. With every hello and check-in phone call, our respect for your resiliency and positivity grows. Economically, the global pandemic’s impact on the travel industry is indescribable. We are encouraged by the advisors who continue to rebook travelers for later this year versus canceling. Based on those conversations, we worked with our properties to implement rebooking incentives for travelers to preserve advisor commissions in 2020. Stayed tuned for additional agency and advisor incentives for select properties in the Wanderlux Collection. We are in this together, and we are committed to partnering with you to weather this storm and emerge stronger. As always, if there’s any way that we can assist you, please contact us. Until our paths meet again in person, stay safe and be well. The Executive Wanderer  This month we are excited to kick off a new series at Wanderlux Collection (WLC) - #Guest-Wanderer! Intended to provide additional perspective/insight other than our own, this series will feature luxury travel advisors and partners presenting their points of view: on current events, advice for newbies and veterans alike, as well as personal travel stories. Our inaugural #Guest-Wanderer is Esther Klijn from CIRE Travel in NYC. Thank you, Esther! @ciretravel @estherklijn
WLC: Why did you become a luxury travel advisor? Esther: I graduated from college with a BS in Wine and Viticulture in California and I knew I wanted to live in New York City. I always enjoyed travel but never thought I could turn it into a career. My roommate’s mother is an independent contractor at Tzell and the only adult I knew in New York. She introduced me to the co-president at Tzell who introduced me to the owner of CIRE Travel, Eric Hrubant. Eric doesn’t hire travel agents; he hires smart businesspeople with chutzpah. He asked me marketing and customer service questions and hired me on the spot. While I fell into the industry by accident, I cannot imagine doing anything else. Being able to work with like-minded people each day and talk about dream destinations is nearly unbelievable; from the clients, to the partners, to my colleagues, nothing gets me more excited and out of bed on Monday. WLC: What advice do you have for new travel advisors? Esther: Meet everyone! You will excel if you know everyone and everyone knows you. Follow-up, send thank you notes, reach out, be visible. WLC: How do you get most of your clients? Esther: We get a lot of clients through referrals, happy honeymooners who refer other newly engaged couples our way. CIRE Travel also does a lot of corporate travel planning and sometimes those clients ask for help with their vacations, too. And finally, the web. We have great reviews on Google, Facebook, and The Knot, so when people are looking for a travel advisor, they see our great reviews and reach out. WLC: What trends do you see in the upcoming year? Esther: In light of the occurrences with Covid-19, I think it’s wise for advisors to anticipate which destinations got a handle on the virus quickly and efficiently or were virtually untouched. I speculate that those destinations will be where people want to go first. I also anticipate a lot of domestic travel for the US traveler as going far from home may be a bit more daunting than it already was. WLC: What is the one item you cannot travel without? Esther: After trying various neck pillows, I stumbled upon the ridiculous looking Trtl brand that is unbeatable. Got me through the true middle of middle seats on an 11-hour flight from Istanbul to New York. WLC: What is you dream vacation? Esther: I’d like to take my 10 best friends to Sicily for 10 days. We’d rent vintage Fiats and drive around the whole island! Perhaps tack on a few extra nights in Malta on the end. WLC: What is the wildest thing you have experienced while traveling? Esther: We were leaving the anti-poaching unit on our final evening on safari. This was my first time to Zimbabwe and first experience on safari. We pulled out of the trees and came upon a sundowner set up by the lodge. While we were drinking and chatting away, we heard sticks snapping behind us. A massive herd of water buffalo were staring at us as if we owed them money. We sat between them and their watering hole, so we grabbed our chairs and moved a couple feet back. They trotted along for their evening drink. At this point the sun was finally set. One vehicle headed back to the lodge and the second dallied a bit—I’m very glad we did. Out from behind the tall grass come two lionesses, stalking the water buffalo. The herd took off and gathered the calves in the center. We lost sight of one lioness but noticed two adult and two baby elephants emerge from the same tall grass. We did not know what to focus on! At one point the lions retreated to the edge of the watering hole, the herd continued on their way, and the elephants disappeared back through the grass. The whole time, there was a hippo in the watering hole who I imagine was very annoyed by the disruption of his peaceful evening. Esther thank you so much for taking the time to let us get to know you. We love hearing how others can create success within this industry that we adore, and the unique experiences we all have while traveling! Until next time Wanderers!  Normally, the Wanderlux Collection blog is about our latest trip or property highlight. Today the focus is you. As the Chief Wanderer and I crisscross North America making connections with you, we have seen all of you deal with ambiguity.
The beginning of 2020 has been a roller-coaster ride for the travel industry. It seems each morning we are greeted with unforeseen travel related challenges – calls from panicked clients, geographic travel restrictions, and a bevy of cancellations. The Chief Wanderer and I empathize with all you are contending with during these chaotic times. While we love seeing each of you in-person the current situation has made this challenging. Instead, during the month of April, we will be conducting 20-minute interactive webinars to keep you apprised of the latest updates from our collection. At Wanderlux Collection, we are passionate about people and creating meaningful partnerships. Reach out to us anytime, as we are here to support you and your clients during this tumultuous time. Regards, The Chief Wanderer and Executive Wanderer
When I told my friends and family, I was jet-setting to the Maldives for a second time in less than 18 months, I instantly received a slew of questions from my curious peers:
I’ll do the math for you—it’s 8,991 miles from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City to Malé, the capital of the Republic of Maldives. I’ve taken two routes on my travels to the Maldives, both of which get you to awe-inspiring beaches in less than 24 hours.
So, what makes nearly one day soaring through the sky worth it? There are few places in the world as beautiful as the Maldives and even fewer places with the same level of luxury, privacy and service. At both the five-star Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa and Lily Beach Resort & Spa, the general manager and team leads greet every guest on arrival. The staff makes every trip memorable, letting you leave any stress behind as you walk onto the beautiful property. Whether you opt for the famous over-the-water villas or the ocean villa with a pool, serenity overflows on this tranquil island. Be adventurous and snorkel with whale sharks and manta rays. Broaden your horizons and try traditional Maldivian handline fishing. Simply lounge with a refreshing beverage poolside. Soak in the spectacular sunset. Then go enjoy five-star, exquisite, culinary delights. No matter how or when you journey to the Maldives, I know you will find authentic, awe-inspiring experiences that will have you and your clients booking your next trip before you depart. Happy wandering!
It’s confession time. Even though I’ve worked in the travel industry for more than two decades, I use a travel advisor! Why? I collaborate specifically with hotels and resorts, which is just one aspect of the travel industry. There’s so much more to know about this always changing industry, and a travel advisor will be your go-to resource for the latest documentation requirements, complimentary upgrades, must-see destinations and more.
Here’s the top five reasons I use a travel advisor to plan my trips and why you should, too:
Looking for a top travel advisor to plan your next adventure? Head to Travel and Leisure’s A-List Travel Advisor Search or to Travel Leaders Find an Advisor Site.
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ANGELIQUE JOHNSChief Wanderer Archives
June 2020
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