Gifted Travel Network

08/20/2024

: Gifted Travel Network ranked at no. 773 on Inc. Magazine's 2024 Inc. 5000 List!

Inc. revealed this week that with a three-year revenue growth of 631 percent, Gifted Travel Network (GTN), the premier host agency for luxury travel advisors, ranks No. 773 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list.

08/19/2024

08/16/2024

WELCOME TO TRAVEL MBA ✈

Meet Elisha Pursley, one of our newest Travel MBA members who joined our August cohort! Elisha primarily has a background in B2B sales, and currently is working for a Financial Technology company. Elisha has always loved to travel, and the most thrilling for her is the planning and research that is involved. She realized that is not true for majority of people, and thought, "Why not do that part for them and make this a career?"

Elisha traveled from Louisburg, KS to join us in our office for her three-day Jumpstart orientation, and was most excited to meet our team and her fellow cohort members!

Interested in starting your own travel business? We are now accepting applications for our October 2024 cohort, visit https://www.giftedtravelnetwork.com/travel-mba to learn more and schedule a call!

08/15/2024

Once again, GTN is very well represented by our team and advisors at Virtuoso Travel Week in Vegas! We have had an incredible week so far, networking with other advisors and partners from across the globe!

08/15/2024

Gifted Travel Network is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Tern, the all-in-one platform revolutionizing the travel industry.

Gifted Travel Network (GTN), the premier host agency for luxury travel advisors, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Tern, the all-in-one platform revolutionizing the travel industry

08/13/2024

We are so proud to announce that Gifted Travel Network is No. 773 on Inc. Magazine's 2024 Inc. 5000 list! GTN ranked at No. 14 in the Charlotte area, No. 23 in North Carolina, and No. 25 in the travel and hospitality sector.

See the full list here: inc.com/inc5000

08/09/2024

GTN will see you at Virtuoso Travel Week! Seven members of our team, plus several of our advisors, are heading to Las Vegas for one of the biggest travel event of the year!

08/08/2024

Our ten newest Travel MBAers are heading back home after three busy days of our Jumpstart in-person orientation!

08/07/2024

In a strategic collaboration within GTN, Sandy Lipkowitz of We Make Travel Easy has joined forces with Lise-Marie Wertanzl and her daughter Sterling Wertanzl of Sterling Journeys. This merger marks a significant step in what is described as one of the first iterations of succession planning within the travel industry.

In a strategic collaboration within the Gifted Travel Network (GTN), Sandy Lipkowitz of We Make Travel Easy has joined forces with Lise-Marie Wertanzl and her daughter Sterling Wertanzl of Sterling Journeys.

08/07/2024

Today we welcomed our August 2024 cohort for their first day of Jumpstart! This 3-day, in-person orientation kicks off our award-winning Travel MBA program.

08/05/2024

Our training room is all set-up and ready to welcome the ten new travel advisors joining our August 2024 Travel MBA cohort!

08/04/2024

Please join us in wishing a very happy birthday to Sandy Saburn, our Chief Strategic Alliances Officer!

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08/02/2024

GTN advisor Lou Borrego (Fresi Travels) just returned from an amazing FAM trip in Australia, hosted by The Langham Hotels and Resorts and Qantas!

Special thanks to Amanda Boller, CMP (Director of Travel Industry Sales - North America for Langham Hotels), and Victoria Ferguson (Sales Account Manager, North America at Qantas Airways) for their efforts in organizing and coordinating this trip.

Lou also expressed his gratitude to Amanda Frack (Director of Sales) and Shane Jolly (General Manager) at The Langham, Sydney, as well as Nick Clarke (Director of Sales & Marketing) at The Langham Gold Coast. Their hospitality and attention to detail were instrumental in making this trip a success!

07/30/2024

Our Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Vanessa McGovern, was a recent guest on the Shift with Elena Agar Podcast! They had a great conversation about the non-linear journey of entrepreneurship, the crucial role of a strong support system, and the importance of mindset!

Welcome to another episode of the Shift with Elena Agar Podcast. Today, we have an enlightening conversation with Vanessa, a seasoned travel advisor and entr...

07/26/2024

We are thrilled to be bringing back our award-winning Symposium for the third year in a row, this time with a new itinerary, new theme, and new river cruise line, Avalon Waterways!

Gifted Travel Network (GTN) is pleased to announce its third annual Symposium will take place March 26 – April 1, 2025 aboard the fully chartered Avalon Poetry II.

07/25/2024

There's a lot to love about GTN Preferred Partner, Holland America Line!

✈️Holland America Line has been a recognized leader in cruising for over 150 years, and their fleet of 11 modern classic ships offers more than 500 sailings a year visiting all seven continents. HAL sets themselves apart with their carefully crafted itineraries, exciting destinations, spacious and elegant ships, and unmatched hospitality!

✈️They have amazing offers for their 2025 Grand Segment sailings, including a $400 air credit, reduced single supplement, prepaid crew appreciation, and more, plus these offers combine with their early booking benefit! Grand Segment Sailing offers end on August 19th, 2024 - don't let your clients miss out!

07/23/2024

Last week, GTN advisors Kim Este Campbell (Besté Travel Design) Susi Afemui-Pittorf (Ta'ahine Travels), and Shannon Kruse (House of Travel Design) traveled to Cabo where they experienced a few different resorts as part of a FAM trip with Classic Vacations!

07/23/2024

Our Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Vanessa McGovern, was recently invited on the WINGS of Inspired Business podcast to talk about entrepreneurship. Listen to the full episode now!

Often, the most successful businesses prosper simply because they dare to be contrarian, zig when others zag, spot opportunities others miss, and get too rigidly attached to any specific desired outcome or “how” something has to be done. It’s all about getting into the right mindset of resilience, adaptability and abundance.

Listen to Wings of Inspired Business to learn how a travel agency remained profitable and grew during Covid, supporting its team and 200 independent contractors along the way, teeing up 400% growth year-on-year post pandemic.

>> Listen link: https://bit.ly/Wings887

Vanessa McGovern is co-founder and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Gifted Travel Network, a fast-growing luxury travel business that empowers small travel vendors, supports independent advisors, and curates authentic and memorable travel experiences. An award-winning industry educator and a sought-after speaker, Vanessa innovated a unique approach to empowering other travel entrepreneurs and uniquely helping women team members, vendors and partners as well as travelers.

🔑Key Takeaways🔑

🚀✨ Travel as Empowerment: How travel unites and heals people, and why Gifted Travel specifically focuses on empowering its partner businesses with resources, education and opportunity across its growing network.

🌱🤝 Mindset for Success: Why an “everybody wins” abundance mindset is the secret of entrepreneurial success, along with resilience, adaptability and optimism.

🌸👩‍🔬 Women Supporting Women: How Gifted Travel creates supportive environments for women team members, business partners and travelers alike, including amenities for female travelers in hotel rooms and a company culture that supports working parents.

🚀✨ Dare to be Contrarian: Why the best entrepreneurs ‘zig while others zag’, and how Gifted Travel defied the challenges of COVID-19, supporting their whole team and 200 independent contractors during lockdown and achieving 400% year-over-year growth post-COVID by continually supporting and training their travel advisors.

🔥🛠️ Tech in Travel: How AI is changing the travel industry, and how agencies and travel businesses can increase efficiency while maintaining the essential human touch in travel planning for unique luxury experiences.

🌎✨ The Magic of Cultural Storytelling: In our fast-paced disconnected world, travel brings families together and creates moments of connection. Vanessa shares how a trip to Spain was transformed by visiting with a woman whose grandfather saved 5,000 Hungarian Jews during World War II.

Create and share clips of your favorite moments on Podopolo.

07/23/2024

WELCOME TO TRAVEL MBA ✈

Meet Tami Moscatiello, one of our newest Travel MBA members who joined our April cohort! Tami comes from a medical background, previously working in Hematology/Oncology. While her career was financially satisfying, she never felt like it fed her soul. She has always had a passion for travel, and now felt like the perfect time to take the leap and make a change. Her goal is to find success as a travel advisor by creating impactful and memorable travel experiences for her clients.

Tami traveled from Apollo Beach, FL to join us in our office for her three-day Jumpstart orientation, and was most excited for the new knowledge, mentorship, partnerships, and friendships that come with this journey!

Interested in starting your own travel business? The deadline to apply for our August 2024 cohort is almost here, visit https://www.giftedtravelnetwork.com/travel-mba to learn more and schedule a call!

07/22/2024

This Wednesday (7/24) at 3PM ET, Sandy Adcox Saburn (Chief Strategic Alliances Officer) will be presenting virtually at the Travefy New Agent Bootcamp! She will be discussing how you can master the art of converting inquiries into bookings by establishing rapport, asking the right questions, and showcasing your expertise!

Register for her session here: https://tinyurl.com/5dfvhsbj

07/20/2024

We are proud to announce that these 35 agencies within GTN crossed over $1M in sales by June 30th of this year. Please join us in congratulating them on their incredible momentum so far in 2024!

07/19/2024

A huge congratulations to our top agencies who closed out Q2 with the highest sales!

07/19/2024

GTN Top Producer Lisa Reich of Majestic Getaway and her family were among the first to experience the newest Royal Caribbean ship, Utopia of the Seas! This Oasis class ship is sailing out of Port Canaveral, and promises to be "The world's biggest weekend!"

07/18/2024

Thank you to The St. Regis Toronto for welcoming our GTN advisors last week!

07/18/2024

In this week's edition of her LinkedIn newsletter, Vanessa McGovern (Chief Sales & Marketing Officer) shares some helpful mindset advice for travel advisors who feel overwhelmed by the need to share and post about their travels.

Each month at Gifted Travel Network, we hold educational “IQ” calls with our advisors. The call I host each month, Sales IQ, is driven by advisor questions that all center around sales, marketing, business development, etc.

07/15/2024

GTN advisors Jen Campbell Boles (Explore More Family Travel), Anna Harrison (Travel Observations), and Lisa Reich (Majestic Getaway) were recently invited to the Virtuoso Family & Celebration Communities FAM at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando!

07/12/2024

This week, Vanessa McGovern (Chief Sales & Marketing Officer) and Shannon Cunningham (Director of Engagement) hosted a group of advisors on a GTN-exclusive FAM with Marriott International Luxury Brands in Toronto, Canada. The first part of this trip took them to The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Toronto and The St. Regis Toronto, and this weekend the group will enjoy cottage country in Muskoka with Jayne's Luxury Rentals, repped by Dominique Debay!

07/11/2024

WELCOME TO TRAVEL MBA ✈

Meet Shelley and Alberto Benitez, two of our newest Travel MBA members who joined our April cohort! Shelley and Alberto are a husband and wife team who are starting their business together. This power couple brings a combined professional background in sales, banking, and finance, and they are excited to use their skills to become a team of luxury travel advisors!

Shelley and Alberto didn't have to travel far for their three-day Jumpstart orientation, they both live around the corner in Charlotte, NC. They were both excited to create a roadmap for success and leave with the proper tools to help them reach their business goals.

Interested in starting your own travel business? The deadline to apply for our August 2024 cohort is approaching, visit https://www.giftedtravelnetwork.com/travel-mba to learn more and schedule a call!

07/09/2024

Last week, Vanessa McGovern (Chief Sales & Marketing Officer) and GTN advisors Sandy Lipkowitz (Sterling Journeys), Elaine Chiu (Modern Journeys Travel), and Aileen Agricola (EscSeekers Travel) were hosted for lunch at Meadowood Napa Valley.

Thank you to Cynthia Cohen, Danielle Lucas, and Sarah DeVore for your hospitality, and to Rebecca Recommends for connecting us with this gorgeous property!

05/22/2024

✨SPOTLIGHT: RENTAL ESCAPES

There's a lot to love about GTN Preferred Partner, Rental Escapes!

✈️ They create personalized holiday experiences for discerning guests in luxury villa rentals around the world. Rental Escapes works with the most reputable property management companies in each destination, and their homes are personally inspected to meet a high standard of luxury.

✈️ Travel Advisors - In addition to offering support such as training resources and a dedicated reservations manager and concierge, they are also coming out with additional marketing resources to help you market and plan the perfect holiday for your clients! Plus, Rental Escapes is offering up to $5000 in bonus commission through the end of May!