Alex Smirnov came to the United States from Russia in November 2019, just months before the pandemic kept him here for good. Alongside his wife and dance partner Daria, he spent over a decade as a competitive ballroom dancer, traveling to nearly 30 states for competitions before retiring from competing this June. In this episode, Alex joins Meredith to talk about how a family reunion in Dubai, and watching his parents experience travel for the first time, led him to join Gifted Travel Network’s (GTN) Travel MBA program in the February 2026 cohort and launch AD Luxe Escapes.Alex and Meredith explore what choreography and itinerary design have in common: pacing, rhythm, and the understanding that no single move, or hotel, works for everyone. Alex explains why the best advisors listen for what clients actually want, not just what they say, and how that mindset shaped his business. He also shares how he and Daria built their brand with help from Motive through GTN’s branding lab, why Thumbtack has become their biggest source of new clients, and how defining a clear avatar helped them focus on couples 50 and older who travel multiple times a year.

📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7

🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU

-

🖥️ AD Luxe Escapes: https://adluxeescapes.com/

👤 Alex's LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/3ju5883f

In this special solo episode of The Travel Business Unpacked, host Meredith Calloway breaks down a recent article she wrote, "I Don't Need Your Apology for My Setback, I Was Never Meant to Trust the Branch" and why she believes a setback, in business or in life, is one of the biggest opportunities for growth you'll ever get. She shares how Gifted Travel Network leaned into the pandemic, the hardest setback the travel industry has ever faced, and came out of it with roughly five times its pre-pandemic sales.From there, Meredith walks through the mental muscles that become your wings when the branch breaks: trust, curiosity and compassion, and self-love, along with the exercise that builds each one. She also explains why she'd skip the "I'm so sorry you're going through this" response when someone is facing hardship and what to offer instead, what a bow and arrow can teach you about letting go and moving on in life, and the clarifying moment she experienced while raising her children that showed her exactly who she's here to be.📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU🖥️ Meredith's Article: https://tinyurl.com/ynw6jbs9

Veronica Gonzalez spent years promoting tourism in McAllen, Texas, and working in her father's pharmacy before she let herself build a business around what she loved most: planning travel. In this episode, Veronica joins Meredith Calloway to talk about how Delighted Designs grew from a destination event business into a luxury travel practice that does both. That growth started with a villa owner in Turks and Caicos who asked why she wasn't already doing this for a living, and continued with a referral from another host agency that led her to GTN's Travel MBA program in the October 2022 cohort.

Almost four years in, Veronica is honest about a growth curve that was anything but linear, including losing both of her parents a year apart and learning to give herself grace while running a business. She and Meredith talk about the emotional fitness that came out of that season, why this year is when everything opened up, and how GTN's community and partners gave her the confidence to book her first African safari. Veronica also shares her knack for knowing what clients want before they say it, why she always asks partners what they can do to surprise her travelers, and why she tells families not to wait on the trips that matter most.

-

📖 Free Chapter: https://tinyurl.com/GTN-Chap7

🎓 Travel Business University: https://tinyurl.com/Learn-More-TBU

-

🖥️ Delighted Designs: https://delighted-designs.com/