11/10/2026
Five years in the travel industry!
Five years ago, I started booking travel with a simple plan: make a little extra money doing something I loved, then return to my 5th grade classroom once my twins started school. Well, things moved faster than expected! A year later, I packed away my teaching bins, and Destination Days Travel was born.
Within two years, I’d crossed $1 million in annual travel sales and built a six-figure business. Today, I’m booking multiple millions of dollars in travel each year.
But the numbers are only part of the story. Owning a business has meant long days, late nights, and moments when a regular 9-to-5 sounded easier. I started because I loved travel. I had no idea how much I’d need to learn about marketing, sales, contracts, managing people, and taxes (so many taxes!).
The trips have gotten bigger, too. I’ve gone from booking simple vacations to planning 100+ guest destination weddings, African safaris, corporate incentive trips, private yachts, and complex luxury itineraries around the world. Some requests still have me wondering how on earth I’ll pull them off!
During my second year, I attended my first luxury travel event and was so intimidated that I actually cried. I remember thinking, “I don’t belong here. I’ll never be one of them.” Today, luxury travel is a huge part of my business. Sometimes you just have to stay in the room long enough to realize you belong, too.
I’m usually so focused on what’s next that I rarely stop to look back. But five years feels like a good reason to appreciate how far I’ve come. Some things that terrified me five years ago are things I barely think twice about today.
To everyone who trusted me when I was new, referred a friend, shared a post, or trusted Destination Days with your travels, THANK YOU!
