You’ll never have another friend like CIRE Travel. Besides possibly your parents, no one goes that extra mile or takes that extra step for you like we do. World events and such have sucked a lot of the ease out of corporate and leisure travel today. So when you have a chance to make travel just a little (or a lot) easier on someone, you take it. Nothing causes stress like an impossibly tight connection… so imagine one of my executive client’s surprise when Lufthansa personnel escorted him off the plane to a Mercedes waiting on the tarmac. He was whisked away to his next flight in plenty of time. Any travel planner can book flights and hotels, but I’ve developed a staff of compassionate travel allies, not simply planners. That’s something I’m really proud of. And it’s something you can rely on again… and again… and again. I understand the timely demands of corporate executives while traveling. Diane Sawyer, if you’re looking for a travel planner, just let us know.

All hail “the Waiver Queen!” Knock on wood, but I’m pretty successful at getting fees waived even in unforgiving environments… like canceling Manhattan hotel reservations last minute over the holidays. Vanity Fair Oscar parties. GQ’s Men of the Year (MOTY). Glamour’s Women of the Year (WOTY). Golf Digest Masters’ events. Bon Appetit’s Uncorked – Vegas. And stars gracing the covers of Vanity Fair and Vogue… I’ve booked a lot of celebrity and entertainment travel over my 18 years with Conde Nast Travel, and I’ve known Eric just as long. When he started CIRE Travel in 2013, Eric wanted me on the team, but the timing wasn’t right. Five years later Eric texted, “It’s time!” It was the right time for me, too. Like the entertainment industry reboots the classics, I’m glad to be at an agency that has brought back personal relationships… Somewhere I can look 10 steps ahead for clients to create the best experience, where satisfaction and service reign, and I can focus on consulting with clients on how to travel well. I’ve visited Italy (my 2^nd favorite place), Israel, Greece, China, Mexico and more. Anguilla is my favorite destination on earth… My husband and I were married there. He’s been a rock since our dating years, thoroughly unfazed by celeb photographer, Annie Leibovitz, shooting Paltrow, Aniston, Dunst, Hayek and others, on a Vanity Fair holiday issue photoshoot with me. Celebrity or not, everyone deserves star treatment when traveling. I make that happen with my experience and CIRE connections.

“Let’s make it happen.” A motivational phrase my personal training clients heard me say many, many times. Now I use it in a different context with CIRE’s clients and travel industry connections, but it still applies. Me? I’m a trainer. Business owner. Entrepreneur. I motivate, diffuse situations and am great with people – or so I’m told. Eric said he could use my help answering phones. So I took him up on his offer. I support corporate travelers. I was one. Checked in and flown in their shoes. I get that business travel looks cool from the outside, but know the hiccups and snafus that can ruin your day. Avoiding them: goal #1. Solving them is #1 when you’re in a jam. Native New Yorker in a love affair with the outdoors. Earth is a big place, but accessible. Lived in Australia. Drawn to Paris. Iceland on the bucket list. Left my heart in Seattle. (Sorry, Mr. Bennett.) Point and click DIY travel planning lands you at Dulles when your hotel is near Reagan. I know. It happened to me. It won’t happen to you with CIRE Travel. Psst! Iceland on your bucket list too? Fly out of Boston. It’s cheaper than New York for now.

Thirty-nine countries and counting… and I recently went to Idaho, which means I have visited all 50 states in the U.S. My absolute favorites have got to be South Africa and Ireland abroad, and Montana, Alaska and New Mexico closer to home. Booked my first client trip domestically to Oklahoma City and internationally to Abu Dhabi. Believe me when I tell you that Iguaçu Falls in Argentina is nothing like Niagara Falls. I took the boat through the Falls and it’s definitely no Maid of the Mist tour. You literally ride underneath the Falls and it’s a crazy ride. I’m used to asking for (and getting) what I want because I worked for eight years as a fundraiser for nonprofit organizations across New York and New Jersey. Talking to hotel and airline reps on behalf of my clients for little perks is nothing compared to asking for money to support a cause. Trust me… I can be very persuasive on your behalf. But what stumps me most is cooking. I’m taking culinary classes.

A couple was thinking the Canary Islands, Maldives or Seychelles for their honeymoon. No. No. And no. Mauritius has the exact feel and experience their hearts desired. mawr-RIH-shuhs – I’m a pronunciation whiz. Tell me what you want to feel. What photos you want to post. What experience you want. Rely on my knowledge to make it happen. Another couple dreamed of riding elephants in Tahiti and over-water bungalows. They’d have to take an elephant in their luggage for that to happen. Sent them to Bali where elephants live. My family didn’t have money for much, but family vacations? Always. We Brits fly. It’s what we do. My first memory is chasing lizards on our patio in Malaysia where my dad worked. My mum took photos of washing me in a bucket. Still break into a rash when a camera points at me. I have a theater degree, yet prefer dramatic trips. Became an expert in U.S., Caribbean and Canada travel. After that, I mastered exotic long-haul destinations. Took a job in America and moved from the U.K. to LA. Why LA? The Kings, Ducks and best weather.  LAX was behind my first apartment. I reenacted “Top Gun” racing my motorcycle against A380s. If the Qantas flight landed already, I knew I was late for work. I get lost in a paper bag in LA, but navigate Bangkok like a champ. Traveled six countries in five years to scout destinations for my clients, but taken only one vacation. Honeymoon and leisure travel are my labors of love. Where are you sending me next? That’s what I want to hear from clients.

With almost 3 decades of experience in client service and a passion for travel, being CIRE’s Chief of Staff is my dream job! Not to mention a position unheard of at other agencies. I worked my way up from tour guide (an NBC Page…like Kenneth on 30 Rock!) to executive-level positions in marketing and sales at NBCUniversal, Lifetime Television, Turner Broadcasting, A+E Networks and CBS. I use everything I learned to enhance the CIRE Travel client experience. Annoyed with the time it takes to book travel through other agencies? That doesn’t happen at CIRE. Tired of fluff travel reports? CIRE’s reports are as sexy as numbers get. The “Tiffany-level” of service I learned from my first boss stays with me. Never late. Answer every message. Return every phone call. It meshes with CIRE’s philosophy and aligns with our brand. Oh, I also can tell you how to get crisp, new $100 bills in Bangkok before heading to Myanmar, the best Michelin-starred restaurants in San Sebastián, Spain, and where you can find thatched-roof huts for your own Gilligan’s Island-style retreat. Among my most notable #traveltriumphs: a three-month, five-country, solo “jobbymoon” before they were called “jobbymoons” and an “Around the World in 42 Countries in 14 Months” with my husband. We’ve karaoked on five continents, bowled on six continents and ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Not bad for a Philly kid whose family’s idea of traveling was to the Jersey shore. #Futuretravelgoal: Visit Antarctica.