Ever dreamed of transforming from a mere tourist to an authentic traveler? Our guest, Lisa Gneo, founder and CEO of Rockstar Luxe Travel, will guide you on this exciting journey. Her philosophy is to provide one-of-a-kind travel experiences, taking you beyond the typical tourist traps and into hidden local gems. Lisa's wealth of knowledge and industry connections ensures your vacations become unforgettable experiences.
Lisa shares her successful travel tips and a personal narrative that truly underscores the beauty of local travel experiences. She also opens up about how the COVID pandemic brought challenges and opportunities, and how she used this period to deepen her passion. Get ready to be inspired as Lisa also discusses her ongoing projects and introduces her website, RockstarLuxeTravel.com. If you're seeking travel advice or simply yearn for some escapism, this episode is your passport to a world of luxury and unique travel experiences!
Reach out to Lisa at: https://www.rockstarluxetravel.com/ lisa@rockstartraveler.com
Local Living is a community podcast for Palm Beach to Parkland. Are You A Local Business, Resident, Leader or Non-Profit? If so, we would love to have you on the podcast! Go to www.locallivingpodcast.com for all of the info.
Ever dreamed of transforming from a mere tourist to an authentic traveler? Our guest, Lisa Gneo, founder and CEO of Rockstar Luxe Travel, will guide you on this exciting journey. Her philosophy is to provide one-of-a-kind travel experiences, taking you beyond the typical tourist traps and into hidden local gems. Lisa's wealth of knowledge and industry connections ensures your vacations become unforgettable experiences.
Lisa shares her successful travel tips and a personal narrative that truly underscores the beauty of local travel experiences. She also opens up about how the COVID pandemic brought challenges and opportunities, and how she used this period to deepen her passion. Get ready to be inspired as Lisa also discusses her ongoing projects and introduces her website, RockstarLuxeTravel.com. If you're seeking travel advice or simply yearn for some escapism, this episode is your passport to a world of luxury and unique travel experiences!
Reach out to Lisa at: https://www.rockstarluxetravel.com/ lisa@rockstartraveler.com
Local Living is a community podcast for Palm Beach to Parkland. Are You A Local Business, Resident, Leader or Non-Profit? If so, we would love to have you on the podcast! Go to www.locallivingpodcast.com for all of the info.
Speaker 1:
Welcome, welcome everyone, to Local Living, a community podcast for Palm Beach to Parkland. I'm David Conway, your host for today's episode, and if you are like me and you love to travel, love to find your next exotic destination, if you are like me and you are planning your next vacation on the way home from your current vacation, then you are in for a treat. Today we have the founder and CEO of Rockstar Lux Travel, lisa Geno. Lisa, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:
Hi, david, thank you so much. I look forward to being here and speaking with you.
Speaker 1:
And I am so happy to have you. So let's get right into it. Why don't you tell me and our listeners a little bit more about Rockstar Lux Travel?
Speaker 2:
Sure David. We specialize in curated luxury travel and lifestyle experiences that take you on a journey of a lifetime. Our goal is to provide customized and unique travel experiences some of the most desirable destinations across the globe. Our focus is to transform tourists into travelers and offer them personalized experience that will remain with them for a lifetime.
Speaker 1:
So you just said transform tourists into travelers.
Speaker 2:
Correct.
Speaker 1:
I love that. Tell me a little bit more about what that means.
Speaker 2:
Well, you know, when you travel to a new place, you're just a tourist. You're looking around, you're at odd everything. But we want to make those experiences that you're going to be the traveler, you're going to be in the know every time you go. Because I'm going to help you create that journey, I'm going to send you the places that are really special, I think are unique hidden gems. You know how do you get that local experience?
Speaker 1:
It is about the journey, and tell us a little bit more about your journey. How did you get into the industry?
Speaker 2:
Oh, I started off in the hotel industry about 20 years ago and most recently I was working for a company called Rockstar Hotel and my job was to travel to Europe and curate boutique hotels for them. We were always looking for those really special, smaller properties, not as well known but definitely special in their own way. They kind of catered to the local experience.
Speaker 1:
So wait a second, you were getting paid to go explore in Europe looking for cool places to stay.
Speaker 2:
Yes, it was pretty great.
Speaker 1:
What an awesome job. So when did you start thinking about maybe creating your own business and starting up Rockstar Lux Travel?
Speaker 2:
Well, due to COVID, unfortunately and like I'm sure a lot of us experience hotels in New York City were shutting down. Travel was basically shutting down, so that position kind of was put on hold. And then during my time during COVID, I was really thinking about what I wanted to do and my passion was just travel. So I wanted to take the experience I learned from working with Rockstar Hotels and my knowledge and really start my own brand and my own company. So that's where I started Rockstar Lux Travel and I kept those connections and just wanted to bring it out again.
Speaker 1:
So you're using a lot of the connections that you created in your prior career to help you curate vacations for your current clients, then Absolutely.
Speaker 2:
That's exactly correct.
Speaker 1:
So you've seen the industry from a couple of different sides. Now, when someone comes to you to book a vacation, what might be a myth or myth misconception they may have with working with a travel agent.
Speaker 2:
Well, I think they're always thinking about I just want to book this hotel, this tour, this, you know. But it's more than that and again it goes back to turning a tourist into a traveler. There's so much more to see, much more to explore. So I take what they're looking for and I curate all that by putting a complete itinerary together for them and I try to find that local experience instead of just the tourist spots. I mean, if you want to go to the Coliseum, absolutely do so, but there's also things outside of the Coliseum that you can live and experience.
Speaker 1:
I know, when I'm traveling, one of the things I like to do and don't get me wrong I like to go to the tourist destinations. There's a reason they're tourist destinations because they're cool, right, they're significant, they're beautiful or they're historical. But getting more to the traveler type thing that you referenced, I love mixing a little bit with the locals and hoping I can see the world maybe a little bit through their eyes and share an experience that they might have had.
Speaker 2:
Well, exactly, and that's what you know I try to do for my clients. You know I've experienced a lot of the things that I advise for my clients, but I also have a great network of local contacts that I work with that they keep me up to date on what's happening and what the latest things are to do. But again, if you know we talked about that go to the Vatican and go to the Coliseum, but just know there's other places outside those touristy spots that you can experience a local flair. And that's why people come to me, because I know those things and I can help you find those things without you having to sit on your computer for, let's say, hours and hours trying to research all this and looking at reviews but really still not knowing what the right thing to do is in place to go.
Speaker 1:
So with you they're getting little nuggets, right, Little golden travel nuggets.
Speaker 2:
Exactly.
Speaker 1:
So give me an example of a nugget, travel nugget, one of those golden nuggets, something you may have experienced, which you want your clients to experience.
Speaker 2:
I mean when I was traveling for business and this is what was so great about what I was doing, so I'd walk to all my appointments so I made sure to really like look around and see what was going on. And this was in Rome at the time. And as I was walking I saw this gorgeous like cobblestone street off to the right and I thought, oh, I just want to venture down that way and see what's around the corner. And as I was walking I saw this beautiful jacket in the window and I thought, oh, my gosh, I have to get that. That's so cool.
Speaker 2:
So I walk in the store and who's there? But the owner and the designer? And that ended up being his shop and factory and showroom. All in one. It was about 500 square feet and I and I had walked in, I said I really want that jacket in the window and I tried it on and it wasn't my size and I was really disappointed. And he said to me don't worry, come back in two days. And I go two days, he goes, trust me, come back in two days. So of course I said, all right, I'll do it. I did come back in two days. He handed me the jacket, put it on and it fit perfectly like it was custom made. Now, he didn't take my size, he didn't do anything, he just like looked at me and knew what size I was and he made the jacket. It was perfect and of course I bought it and I love it. And you can't find that piece anywhere unless you go to his store.
Speaker 1:
So am I right? Whenever you wear that jacket, it brings you back, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:
Absolutely, absolutely. It brings back amazing memories.
Speaker 1:
That's awesome. So I know you're working a lot. You're building a business. When you're not working, what do you like to do for fun? What sort of things do you like to do for recreation?
Speaker 2:
I still love to travel. I mean, travel is just in my blood, it's my passion. So, even living down here in South Florida, I try to go to a lot of different places outside and you know Bokeh, miami and experience things. But I do love living down here, going to the beach, relaxing, just enjoying the sound of the waves at times, finding new restaurants here, things like that, and, of course, enjoying time with my friends, my family, going boating and all the fun things you get to do down living in Florida.
Speaker 1:
Yes, we are lucky, aren't we yes. So you're living a good life. Any challenges or times of life that were a little bit more stressful that you think are benefiting you now or maybe have changed the way that you look at things.
Speaker 2:
Excuse me? Well, yeah, of course. I think COVID was definitely a big challenge, a learning experience, and it really kind of shows you how you can survive things, no matter how tough and how dark it can get. You know, there's always a way to survive something. And that's just like keeping the faith and going after what you love and just continuing in that way and believing in yourself. So when you looked at COVID during that time, it was very much like is the hospitality or travel industry dead because nobody could move? And it was a very scary time. But I thought this is what I love, this is what I want to share. I want to share my stories, my passion and the understanding of how travel should be experienced. So that's why I continued on what I was doing and started Rockstar Lux Travel.
Speaker 1:
Now, did you travel at all? I took a trip during somewhat early COVID where you could travel, but it was a little wacky out there and I went to Vegas and I was walking down Las Vegas Boulevard and it was empty. It was surreal. Did you travel at all during COVID?
Speaker 2:
You know what I did not, but I had friends, of course, that were in New York, and they would send me pictures of Times Square at all hours of the day and there was nobody, which is the most eerie thing to think about New York City being so silent. I mean not a person in Times Square. It's something I don't think we ever could imagine or dreamed of.
Speaker 1:
And hopefully won't have to see again.
Speaker 2:
Oh, I hope not.
Speaker 1:
So the travel industry now rebounded. Right People are getting out there.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. People are just dying to get out. I mean, especially after COVID and we opened up, it was like everybody wanted to travel and they're still doing it. I mean people are just getting so excited. They want to get away and do something different and start exploring again.
Speaker 1:
So tell us before we go something you want to leave our listeners with, about Rockstar Luxe Travel, what maybe sets you apart, or can you really tell them a little bit more about the experience they're going to get when they work with you?
Speaker 2:
Well, for me, it's more about customizing, personalizing your trip so it's uniquely yours. It's not something that I put on a program together and then I send it off to you and say, ok, here's something you can do, here's a suggestion. No, it goes strictly off of what you're looking to do, what your dreams are, and I help you curate those type of experience and then that way you can do it also on a local level. Again, it goes back to transforming tourists into travelers and creating unique experiences that will last them a lifetime.
Speaker 1:
So for somebody that wants to have one of those fantastic, memorable experiences, how can they reach you?
Speaker 2:
Oh, there's many ways. So you can check out my website, which is rockstarluxtravelcom. Email me at lisa at rockstarluxtravelcom, and you can give me a call at 561-306-7421.
Speaker 1:
That's great. It's been a great conversation. Thanks for coming on the podcast today, Lisa.
Speaker 2:
David, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:
And to all of our listeners. Once again, I'm David Conway, your host for local living. Hope you enjoyed the podcast and look forward to having you back real soon.
