About Us
@EliteTravelGal
The founding Editorial Director of Elite Traveler Magazine, Stacy Small is an award-winning, luxury travel expert. Prior to launching Elite Travel International—the go to luxury travel firm for high-end business and leisure travelers worldwide-- in January 2005, Small spent 15 years traveling on assignment to hundreds of destinations worldwide, visiting hotels, sampling cruises, reviewing airlines, previewing new spas, and interviewing travel industry executives about new properties, emerging destinations and the latest, greatest trends in luxury travel.
Small's unique background led to the formation of Elite Travel International in response to the growing demand for a unique type of luxury travel firm -- one run by a new generation of luxury travel consultants who specialize in evaluating, personalizing, and planning clients' travel experiences based on their own personal knowledge & understanding of luxury travel.
Often found engaging with her 30,000+ followers on Twitter as @elitetravelgal, Small has written about travel trends for Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, the New York Times T Magazine and Agent@Home. She is often quoted as an expert source on luxury travel in Smart Money, Forbes, Sunset Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and is regularly tapped as a speaker on topics from luxury travel to social media success.
@LuxTravelErika
Erika Neto, formerly a hotelier for the most prestigious luxury hotels in the world; Ritz Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, Starwood’s Luxury Collection has joined Elite Travel International based out of Palm Beach, Florida. Born in Peru but daughter of an American father and Brazilian mother, Erika has been exposed to many different cultures and lived amongst them. Places she has traveled and lived in include but are not limited to Rome, Milan, Formentera, Nairobi, Lisbon, Porto, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Cusco, Kauai, New York, Miami, DC. She is fluent in three languages and is all about creating memorable experiences and luxury travel clients for life.
@BethLovesTravel
Beth Friedman’s passion for seeing the world goes back to her first trip abroad studying in London when she was 18 years old. Since then, travel has been a huge influence in her life and has taken her all over Europe, the US, Mexico, South America, the South Pacific and beyond. Her interest in travel flourished into a love affair with all things culinary and is an ambassador of experiencing different cultures through food. Beth has had her hands in the travel industry for 15+ years, spending many years wearing a suit in the world of publishing. Her impressive resume includes top luxury and travel magazines like Elite Traveler and Robb Report, along with several print and online media related to the industry. She shed her corporate attire and partnered with Elite Travel International so that she could share her love of travel with clients sending them off to have fantastic vacations and adventures around the globe. Check out www.YourJourneybyBeth.wordpress.com to learn more about Beth's journeys - plus ideas and opinions about everything from hotel and sightseeing options to restaurant recommendations.
@GetLostTraveler
Taegan Walker was born in the travel and tourism industry as a member of the Sons and Daughters of the Montana Pioneers. She grew up in the mountains of Montana as the granddaughter of John R. Quigley, the founder, creator and builder of Frontier Town, (http://www.helenahistory.org/frontier_town.htm). She was fortunate enough to have been bitten by the travel bug as a young child during month-long business trips to inspect other resorts and restaurants in Mexico, Hawaii and other destinations during the winter months when Frontier Town was closed. For her senior trip, her parents took her on a “heritage tour” to trace her Irish and Estonian roots. She has also lived in Metlakatla, Alaska, and has also spent her adolescent years in the panhandle of Nebraska. Taegan studied communications and public relations at The University of Wyoming, and has more than 10 years’ experience in sales and marketing. After spending eight years living in the mountains of Wyoming, Taegan and her family relocated back to Montana where she owns and operates “GET LOST Travel.” She specializes in destination weddings and honeymoons as well as family travel, leisure and luxury travel packages, and cruises. For more information go to www.get-lost.org
@CrankyFlier
Brett Snyder, a Southern California native, is an air travel expert and the founder of Cranky Concierge air travel assistance. After working in pricing, marketing, and strategy for several airlines, Brett went on to create a travel search site for PriceGrabber.com. Today, besides running Cranky Concierge, he is the author of the award-winning air travel blog, The Cranky Flier (crankyflier.com). Cranky Concierge provides air travel planning and assistance to all travelers and is proud to be affiliated with Elite Travel International. Brett graduated from The George Washington University with his Bachelors in business in 1999 and from Stanford University with his MBA in 2004.
@SoloTravelGal
Alyson Nash brings more than 20 years experience in marketing, event planning and promotions to Elite Travel International. An outdoor enthusiast with strong sense of adventure, recent travels satisfying curiosity about destinations around the world have taken her to the glaciers in Iceland, surfing in Nicaragua, hiking, biking (and eating) through Argentina, exploring and camping remote areas in Chile; trekking (and fighting altitude sickness) through Peru; visiting the rainforest, beaches and casinos of Puerto Rico, salmon fishing in Alaska; navigating the jungle and diving in Belize, sightseeing (and shopping) through Sydney, and relaxing in Fiji.
@EliteTravelDude
No one knows the airline industry better than in-house "AIRLINE GURU" John Dekker. With over 27 years in the travel industry world, John always know who flies where, the best possible fare options, the best planes and the best seats on the plane. John stopped counting how many return trips over the Atlantic ocean he’s made once he hit the 100 mark.
Diane Weidenbaum is a life long travel enthusiast who is always dreaming of her next adventure. Her career in travel has spanned over 20 years working mostly in hotel public relations for luxury properties and trains around the globe. Some of her favorite destinations include, Vietnam, South Africa, Australia and the South of France and next on her bucket list is India. Diane holds and BA in Communications from Denison University and a Masters in Journalism from Temple University. Today, she also works as a freelance travel public relations consultant and lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, two daughters and badly behaved lab mix Daisy.
@TraveLuxeGirl
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Carolyn Bird has two decades of travel, hospitality, and sales and marketing experience that she brings to Elite Travel International. Stunning scenery, close proximity to nature and high-packed activity have driven her to live and work in places around the map from Chamonix, France, to Crested Butte, Colorado, and a couple of exciting cities in between. Carolyn launched her travel business three years ago to offer a very personalized approach to travel planning, as it is always the people and connections which have turned her and her clients’ trips into a great adventure. She specializes in ski and cycling vacations (any sport, really!), tropical getaways, small ship adventures, family travel and of course, the beautiful and diverse coastline of California! Personally, she has traveled to 14 countries, 48 states and lived a year on a boat. Warm weather destinations are her current passion.