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Lindsey Epperly Sulek is taking on the luxury travel market as the founder & CEO of Epperly Travel, a boutique travel consultancy with experts curating 4 and 5 star vacation experiences for clients year-round. She shares the daily life of a consultant (and balancing the CEO & Founder role), the perks, and the target characteristics of an advisor. We’re all asking if we have what it takes to live that travel-filled life!
We chatted live all about the travel consultancy world –and how it’s changed since the “old travel agency days.” She grew up in the industry, quickly learning as a one-woman show, and expanded to a team now with 13+ independent contractors. Lindsey is super passionate about growing the industry’s cache and standards to ensure clients get a custom and personalized experience with her agency. With that purpose, she has recently launched a training program to educate all types of agents on what creates a top-notch travel consultancy and client relationship.
She’s been in the travel consultancy space for over eight years, with three of them as the owner of her own firm Epperly Travel. Listed as the Caribbean expert on the renowned Wendy Perrin WOW List, she’s also part of Travel Agent Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30 and locally in Atlanta one of Jezebel Magazine’s Trailblazing 10. So impressive!
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Where Lindsey learned about the love of travel (she’s a cruise kid!)
- Getting the entreprenuership bug early and earning a “dinner table MBA”
- Entering into (and loving) the travel industry at 19
- Having the vision of running her own business from a young age
- The perks and not-so-perks of owning her own travel consultancy
- Key characteristics of an ideal Travel Consultant (are you a fit?)
- They partner often with Travel Beyond Safari Specialists who was featured in Episode 6* #SmallWorld
- Lindsey’s background and transitioning into the luxury side of travel
- The new fear: Not FOMO, but “fear of mismanaging your time & misspending your money”
- A big trend she’s seeing across the travel space around honeymoons
- Her personal mission: to pave a way for others interested in travel industry through education and mentorship
- What she’s building now: a training program for anyone interested in the industry
RESOURCES & LINKS
Website: Epperly Travel
Instagram: @EpperlyTravel, Personal @LindseyEpperly
*Check out that MTIL Episode #6 with Katie Blackstone about Safari Specialty Travel Consultants
