Meet Glenn and Amanda Goring and their two daughters, Brooklyn and Lexington, the owners/operators of a successful luxury travel business called In-Style Travel. Mom and Dad book the accommodations, curate travel itineraries, and serve as travel concierges for the luxury travel packages offered. Meanwhile, the two daughters serve as travel influencers and video bloggers for their company’s YouTube channel, LittleMissTravelers. Together, this family travels in style and aims to show the world that luxury travel can be a wonderful experience for everyone including Black families with small children.
Both licensed pharmacists, Amanda from New York and Glenn, originally from Canada, met while attending the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. The couple has been married for 13 years.
They were travel enthusiasts and enjoyed traveling together before becoming parents. To their dismay, the travel agent they first encountered after their first daughter, Brooklyn, was born tried to discourage them from traveling with their two-month-old baby. The travel agent immediately informed them of the services the resort would not provide to accommodate the new parents. Undeterred, the couple took it upon themselves to plan their itinerary and enjoyed a life-changing travel experience.
When thinking of all the other Black parents who may have been similarly discouraged, Glenn and Amanda became inspired to officially launch In-Style Travel to curate luxurious travel packages intended specifically for Black families, looking to enjoy international and domestic travel with children of all ages.
Amanda, a professional speaker and seasoned thought leader on self-care, planned many of the family’s travel destinations to keep up with her speaking engagements. Understanding this niche has led the family to begin customizing premium luxury experiences and curated retreat packages for healthcare entrepreneurs, as well as Health & Wellness coaches under their In-Style Travel brand. Amanda has even become a certified member of CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association), Disney, Marriott, ACCOR hotels, among others.
After having launched their In-Style Travel brand full-scale, the global pandemic challenged the family’s best intentions in 2020. The dramatic decline in worldwide travel hurt profits for the family’s travel business. However, they continued to keep up with their travel commitments. With laptops and Wi-Fi connections, the family could adhere to what was required to travel the world, document, and report how the pandemic was affecting excursions and travel experiences, if at all.
They’d return to questions; the same questions were usually on everyone’s mind. How do you travel the world with such small children? How is this possible? The family launched the #LittleMissTravelers video blog and Social Media presence, featuring their little Black girls, traveling the world in braids and ponytails, as a way of reporting back and sharing details of their experiences on YouTube for their clients, followers, and subscribers.
Amanda explains, “Their education is always a priority. So, amid nationwide school closings during the Pandemic, we ensured the girls kept up with their assignments. Plus, as part of every trip, we schedule time with a local educator who can teach our girls about the local culture. In the Maldives resort, their Kids Club teachers taught the children the language, and we scheduled and assigned a Thai teacher to our villa for instruction in Thailand. Travel is one of the best forms of education. The girls now attend a mixed culture school that encourages our family’s travel schedule and prepares lessons for them to take when traveling abroad.”
In-Style Travel provides premium luxury accommodations at exclusive, exotic 6 and 7-star locations and 5-star vendors around the world. “We understand this is your dream vacation,” says Amanda. “We set up your itinerary, and provide your driver. We also brief you on the information you need. We let you know who the US consulate is, and connect you with the concierge at the destination. We are an on-demand service. We aim to offer families a completely hassle-free experience. We require flight travel protection with your booking. So, hypothetically, if you miss your plane, you receive a credit toward the next flight. We are there for you before the journey. While you are there, we are there with you every step of the way. And we send you gifts! We don’t just send you invoices and tickets; we customize your excursions and offer a premium, high-touch experience. And that’s why 4 out of 5 of our clients return as repeat business.”
And, according to Amanda, In-Style Travel emphasizes their travel accommodations are luxury because there’s a misconception that luxury travel experiences are not for kids. “We are here in business because luxury can be for anybody,” she comments.
Learn more about In-Style Travel services and plan your next retreat, visit the website InstyleTravelLLC.com
Also, be sure to follow the brand on Instagram and join its Facebook group.
