Elevate Your Escapes

09/04/2026

I'm going on a group trip in a few weeks and was reading through the company's Traveler’s Pledge, and one point immediately stood out to me (it was in capital letters):

📵 “I WILL NOT USE MY CELL PHONE AT THE TABLE DURING MEALS"

And honestly? I’m completely on board with this one.

Travel is one of the few times we have an excuse to really disconnect. You’re sitting in a restaurant somewhere new, trying local food, sharing a meal with people you traveled across the world with — or maybe meeting people you never would have met at home.

Take the photo. Capture the moment. But then put the phone down.

It’s such a simple piece of travel etiquette, but I think it matters.

Being a good traveler isn’t only about respecting local customs, learning a few words of the language or understanding cultural etiquette. Sometimes it’s as simple as being present with the people sitting across from you.

09/02/2026

I just wrapped Future Leaders in Travel, an event that brings together a selected group of travel advisors under 40 alongside leaders from across the travel industry. ✈️

For me, the biggest value wasn’t simply learning about new hotels, cruise lines, destinations, and travel trends. It was having conversations that will directly shape how I plan travel and run Elevate Your Escapes.

Over the course of the conference, I met one-on-one with representatives from 35+ cruise lines, hotels, tourism boards, tour operators, and destinations around the world. Those relationships give me more people I can reach out to when I’m researching the right fit for a client, looking for an experience that isn't obvious online, or trying to solve a problem.

I also came home thinking a lot about how travelers are changing. People increasingly want trips that feel personal and worth their time — not simply a checklist of places they’ve visited. That reinforces where I’ve already been taking Elevate Your Escapes: more thoughtful recommendations, more firsthand knowledge, and a continued focus on luxury cruises, river cruises, small-ship travel, and customized trips around the world.

So what am I actually bringing back for my clients?

✨ More industry relationships. I now have even more direct connections with the people behind the destinations and travel experiences I recommend.

✨ More ideas. I learned about destinations, properties, cruise experiences, and itinerary possibilities that I’m already thinking about for future client trips.

✨ New friends/connections. One of the most valuable parts of being surrounded by other successful travel advisors is learning how they approach their businesses and their clients. I came home with new ways to think about everything from trip design to communication.

08/31/2026

My feature on Travel Time Stories with Shannon!

Travel isn’t just about visiting new places or staying in five-star hotels; it’s about how a destination makes you feel. This post dives into a conversa…

08/26/2026

A fun surprise while I’m at a different travel industry conference this week! ✨

A friend attending another industry event shared this photo — and there’s Elevate Your Escapes on the big screen as a Top 150 travel agency! 🥹

Pretty surreal to see the business I built up there. So proud of how far Elevate Your Escapes has come — and even more excited about what’s ahead.

08/25/2026

I’m headed to Future Leaders in Travel 2026! ✈️🇲🇽

I’m off to Riviera Maya, Mexico, after being selected to attend Future Leaders in Travel, a TravelAge West event bringing together a small group of travel advisors under 40 and travel industry partners from around the world.

And I’m pretty excited about this one.

Future Leaders in Travel isn’t a typical travel conference. Advisors have to apply and be selected to attend, and over the next few days, I’ll have one-on-one meetings with representatives from cruise lines, hotels and resorts, destinations, tour operators, travel insurance companies and other travel brands.

For me, these relationships are a huge part of being a travel advisor.

Yes, I spend a lot of time researching hotels, ships, destinations and experiences. But there’s a major difference between knowing what you can find online and knowing who to call, what questions to ask and which travel partners are actually the right fit for a particular client.

I’m heading into the week with a LOT of questions—and I’m hoping to come home with new ideas, new industry relationships and some new travel experiences and destinations to share with all of you.

I’ll also be experiencing El Dorado Royale in Riviera Maya, our host resort, while I’m there.

If there’s a travel brand, destination, hotel, cruise line or tour company you’ve been curious about, drop it in the comments. There’s a decent chance I may be meeting with them. 👀

08/25/2026

🇹🇭 Talking Thailand travel, trip planning & what makes a truly great vacation — Part 2!

Part 2 of my conversation on the Thailand Adventure Secrets podcast is now live!

I joined host Bill Mullen to talk travel, Thailand, and some of the lessons I’ve learned from traveling to 70+ countries and now planning trips professionally through Elevate Your Escapes.

One of the things I love most about Thailand is just how many different trips you can have within one country. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui, the islands, incredible food, cultural experiences, luxury resorts, adventure — there is SO much more to planning a Thailand vacation than simply picking a few places on a map.

And that’s a big part of what we get into in this conversation: how to create a trip that actually fits the traveler, rather than simply checking off a list of the places everyone says you’re supposed to visit.

If you’re planning a trip to Thailand, dreaming about Southeast Asia, or just love talking travel, give Part 2 of Thailand Adventure Secrets featuring Elevate Your Escapes a listen! 🎙️

And if you missed Part 1, you can catch that one too.

🎧 Listen to Thailand Adventure Secrets on Apple Podcasts:

Places & Travel Podcast · If you want to be inspired or you are planning a life-changing trip to Thailand, this is the podcast for you. We help you plan your trip of a lifetime to the land of smiles. Learn more at www.Thailand…

08/24/2026

We're live! I joined Travel Time Stories with Shannon for an episode all about what it means to travel beyond the checklist — and how I built Elevate Your Escapes around creating more meaningful, personalized travel experiences.

After traveling to 70+ countries, I’ve learned that the trips that stick with me most aren’t necessarily the ones with the fanciest hotel or the longest list of sights. They’re the ones with incredible food, meaningful cultural experiences, unexpected moments, and enough time to actually enjoy where I am.

In the episode, we talk about:

✈️ What “elevated travel” actually means — and why it isn’t always the same as traditional luxury travel
🌍 What traveling to 70+ countries has taught me
👩 Why I think everyone should experience solo travel at least once
🍷 Food, culture, slow travel, and creating more meaningful trips
📱 My thoughts on viral TikTok and Instagram travel trends
🧳 Why trying to cram too many destinations into one trip can actually make the experience worse
💼 How I went from passionate traveler to luxury travel advisor and founder of Elevate Your Escapes
💫 A few destinations that have surprised or changed me along the way — including Vietnam, Greece, Costa Rica, and Slovenia

We also get into one of my favorite travel-planning topics: luxury doesn’t mean the same thing to every traveler. Sometimes an elevated trip is a beautiful five-star hotel. Sometimes it’s an incredible local food experience, the right private guide, a perfectly paced itinerary, or simply having someone else handle the details so you can enjoy the trip.

If you’re interested in luxury travel, solo female travel, meaningful travel experiences, travel planning, or becoming a travel advisor, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation.

🎧 Listen to “Elevating Travel Beyond the Checklist (feat. Eleanor A.)” on Travel Time Stories with Shannon: Real Journeys, Real Stories, Real Healing:

What happens when travel becomes more than a vacation?In this inspiring episode of Travel Time Stories, Shannon and Ann sit down with Eleanor A., founder of Elevate Your Escapes, to talk about meaningful travel, cultural connection, emotional tran...

08/21/2026

I was recently a guest on The Human Adventure Podcast 🎙️✈️

And we got into something I think about constantly as both a traveler and a travel advisor: What actually makes a trip memorable?

It usually isn’t how many landmarks you checked off a list.

It's the neighborhood you wandered into without a plan. The meal you’re still talking about five years later. The moment you did something slightly outside your comfort zone and realized, oh—I can do this.

In Episode 242, “Meaningful Travel That Sticks,” I joined host Jake Bushman to talk about:

✈️ How I went from loving travel to building Elevate Your Escapes as a full-time travel business
🌍 Why I’ve become such a believer in meaningful, experience-driven travel
👩‍🦰 Solo female travel—and why combining group travel with solo days can be such a great way to start
🥂 Why I love both luxury travel and getting out into a destination for the food, culture and local experiences
🚢 How working as a travel advisor has completely changed the way I travel
🧳 What good travel planning actually looks like behind the scenes
❤️ And why the trips that stay with us are usually the ones that make us feel something

We also talked about Costa Rica, Europe, Greece, cruising, food tours, travel insurance, building a travel business, and plenty more.

If you’ve ever wondered how Elevate Your Escapes came to be—or you simply love talking about travel as much as I do—I’d love for you to listen.

🎧 The Human Adventure Podcast — Episode 242: Meaningful Travel That Sticks with Eleanor from Elevate Your Escapes

https://thehumanadventure.net/episode242/

And now I’m curious: What’s one travel experience you still find yourself talking about years later?

The trips we remember aren’t always the ones with the most landmarks. They’re the ones built around culture, connection, and stories you can’t stop telling when you get home. Travel advisor and blogger Eleanor, founder of Elevate Your Escapes, explains how “meaningful travel” happens when ...

08/14/2026

My expertise centers on Mediterranean and Caribbean luxury travel. My 70+ countries of experience includes Thailand — and it taught me something crucial: Thailand requires a fundamentally different approach than European destinations.

I just discussed this on the Thailand Adventure Secrets podcast. How to actually slow down there. Where the real food is hiding. Why some regions fit some travelers and not others. Solo travelers especially need a different framework.

Most people plan it wrong their first time.

Part one is live. Part two drops soon.

Podcast Episode · Thailand Adventure Secrets · August 10 · 42m

08/06/2026

𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬 -

The takeaway:
-While onboard, you need to buy your own MNVV
-PLEASE book your add-ons by emailing me

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Today, First Mates (travel advisors) received unexpected news from the brand. They are now prohibiting MNVV transfers and are rescinding our ability to earn commissions on add-ons booked by clients themselves on the app or online.

Over the years, Virgin Voyages has been an incredibly difficult brand to work with, not only with their growing pains but really ineffective technology and inept customer service. They have put me in unbelievably bad situations with clients, and I have spent my own money trying to make things right with my clients. Because, I understand what is right.
The thing is - I love the Virgin onboard experience. Clients love the onboard experience. They have the best crew at sea, outstanding food, and modern amenities that blow competitors away. I’ve paused promoting Virgin at some points, but always came back to selling the brand.

Today is different.
Virgin Voyages is impacting my livelihood in a drastic way.
The money that I earn from add-ons pays my life expenses. It’s a full-time career. This isn’t a “hobby” for me.

To date, I’ve been able to offer my services at no cost. That will change.
I’ve spent countless hours scouting the web to pull real reviews on excursions (“Shore Things” as VV calls them), and talking with my clients about various add-ons to boost their vacation experience. I’ve hired VAs to help me piece this all together, investing hard dollars in my clients’ experiences.

You’re going to see me deepen my partnerships with other cruise lines and tour operators.
You’re going to see recommendations from local operators and third-party excursions.

I wish it didn’t come to this, but Virgin has basically used travel advisors to grow their business, win awards, and is now cutting our income because they don’t “need” us anymore.