Today we’d like to introduce you to Maranatha Lee.
Maranatha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My passion for traveling started when I was three years old and has grown massively over the years. When I was a toddler, I begged my parents to take me on a plane after seeing a TV commercial! They purchased a flight from Dallas to Houston with Southwest Airlines just to take me on my first flight and I loved it! My father was also a pastor so every year we traveled to church conferences that were in different states. Because of those conferences, I’ve been to almost half of the United States.
My traveling adventures have now expanded from domestic trips to Caribbean cruises, European and Asian vacations with 26 countries and counting! My girlfriends have always encouraged me to become a travel advisor as I’ve always curated the perfect itineraries for our girl’s trips that allowed us to see all the top sites and attractions. I also pride myself on finding unique accommodations such as boutique hotels and selecting the best and most delicious restaurants to dine at – giving that added memorable touch.
My sole purpose for starting Travel Queen, LLC, is to share my love for traveling by creating personalized itineraries to make the most out of my clients’ vacations! I give a full-service experience by collaborating with clients to discover their travel needs and desires. I then use that information to select accommodations, tours, excursions, and restaurants catered to their interests for the best travel experience. I save my clients time on researching their dream destination and simply leave them to enjoy their fully planned vacation upon arriving!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It definitely has been challenging starting a travel business during a pandemic. I launched Travel Queen, LLC in January this year, and barely two months later, the travel industry was at a standstill. I knew this set back would only be temporary as other countries will and have started to open to tourists again. Slowly but surely, people are wanting to travel again rather if it’s locally in Texas or to the Caribbean. I have been lucky enough to book vacations for clients over the summer and I remain positive that my business will continue to pick up. I have clients that are already making plans for future travels for 2021.
It’s quite possible to think, “COVID-19 has affected the hotel and airline industry in a positive way.” Hotels and airlines have implemented new cleaning and social distancing protocols to make their customers feel safe and clean. Hotels have increased their level of sanitation, such as sanitizing guests’ hands, shoes, and luggage upon arrival. Accommodations have increased their frequency for cleaning high-touch point areas and provided social distancing rules in high traffic areas such as hotel lobbies, restaurants, bars, pools, gyms, and spas. Airline companies are making it a priority to sanitize after every flight. Other precautions that airlines are taking are requiring masks worn throughout the entire flight, leaving the middle seat open for social distancing, and adding filtration systems on planes to help filter and recirculate the air from the cabin and mix it with fresh air. All these best practices give jetsetters peace of mind while traveling during these not-most-ideal times.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Travel Queen – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The start of the perfect vacation begins with a travel expert who brings your travel dreams to life. At Travel Queen, I use my expertise and personal experience to curate custom packages that bring clients’ travel ideas to life for lifetime memories and priceless experiences. As a travel planner, I offer personalized travel planning and concierge services to give clients a full-service experience. This sets me apart from other travel advisors. I also save clients’ time and offer convenience leaving them to enjoy their adventures or relaxing vacation. Travel Queen partners with the best hotels, excursions, sites, and experiences that the selected destination has to offer, with the utmost consideration for clients’ specific needs and desires for traveling.
I specialize in creating personalized full-service itineraries that ensure clients have the best experience when traveling to their preferred destination. I provide three travel service packages to cater to clients’ vacation preferences at affordable prices. Each travel service package consists of hotel and flight reservations, booked excursions or tours, and restaurant reservations. Not to mention all of the extensive research that goes into each personal vacation, no matter how big or small. I also find it helpful to give clients vital information when traveling out of the country, such as embassy contact info, local pharmacy and hospital, cultural etiquette, and weather conditions before taking off. At Travel Queen, I do all of the research to ensure that clients have everything they need when vacationing to a new and exciting place!
What I am most proud of is pursuing my passion for travel and creating a company that assists travelers with having the most amazing experiences from itinerary planning to landing safely at home.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am excited to announce that sometime in the future, I will be adding additional services to assist my clients even more with their travel needs. These services will include pre-planned itineraries to popular destinations like New York City and Italy that are available for purchase. I know some travel addicts like myself love to plan their trips and this service will be perfect for them. These pre-planned itineraries will give guidance on the selected destination, such as how long to stay, the best area to stay in, local tips, favorite restaurants, and must-have tours and excursions. Plus, clients will be able to see how they should spend each day, realistically giving them a sneak peek into their vacation. I will also provide flight tracking services; I know it can be a pain to keep up with flight pricing and ensuring that you got a “good deal,” and I want to make this easy on my clients by doing it for them. Keep an eye out for these services!
I am looking forward to planning long-haul vacations for my clients once other countries begin to open to tourists again. Planning 10+ day trips are my specialty and I enjoy curating these vacations to European and Asian countries.
Pricing:
- Weekend Getaway $50
- Vacay Mode $100
- Extended Vacay Mode $150
Contact Info:
- Website: travelqueenusa.com
- Phone: 903.539.7516
- Email: hello@travelqueenusa.com
- Instagram: @travelqueenllc
- Facebook: @travelqueenllc
Image Credit:
Little Poppy by Heather LeeAnn
Luis Enrique
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