Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amber Rose Powers. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Amber Rose, thanks for joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
I started my boutique travel advising business one year ago, and truly feel like it was the right time for me to branch out on my own. I have worked for other people over the past 25+ years in supporting roles, and it was time for me to finally take the lead, whether I wanted to or not.
The pandemic was honestly the tipping point that pushed me into entrepreneurship. I had stepped away from my role as Chief Relationship Officer of Aparium Hotel group in late Spring of 2019 to take a 9 month sabbatical, and little did I know the world was about to shut down in March of 2020. I moved from Chicago to a tiny mountain town in Northern California called Redding, bought a house, got a dog and ended up taking about 2.5 years off of work during the pandemic to rest and refocus my life. I renovated my house, raised my puppy, wrote a lot, dove deep into nature and got super connected into the community around me.
In the fall of 2021, I knew it was time to get back to work and branch into a new season of my life, so I put my house on the market and made the move to Nashville, Tennessee. I had only visited once, 4 weeks before I moved, but felt excited at all the growth and opportunity happening in the city. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do work wise, but considered going back into hotel operations, as the industry was booming in Nashville and showed no signs of slowing down.
No opportunity presented itself immediately in the hotel industry, so at the beginning of 2022 I chose to jump right into getting my real estate license, which was something I had planned on doing when I lived in Los Angeles 15 years prior. Becoming a Realtor in Nashville helped me to get my bearings in the city, as well as to plug me into a work community, but I was definitely missing being in the hotel industry. By Fall of 2022, I wasn’t experiencing the momentum I had hoped for in real estate and so I was pleasantly surprised when a newer travel agency based in New York City, Fora, targeted me on Instagram to become a travel advisor.
Through an online application and series of phone calls with Fora HQ, it was clear I would be a great fit to build my own travel advising business with them as my host travel agency. I jumped right into travel advising in November of 2022, and the response from my sphere of influence and existing relationships cultivated in the hotel industry was incredibly positive. I immediately felt the satisfaction of helping others to travel well and to utilize my expertise in hotels to guide their trips, all while creating a profitable business on my end. It is still taking time to scale and build my business, but I’m so excited with the direction it’s heading and its potential growth.
I don’t believe I was ready to branch out on my own before I started this business last year. I’ve learned a lot on other peoples dimes over the years and I am incredible grateful for those experiences, even if many of the jobs I’ve had were challenging or unfulfilling. I believe I have finally hit the point where my passion and my skillset are converging beautifully as I’m building my travel advising business. I am incredibly thankful that I have the support system of Fora, as my host agency, as well as their travel advisor community, so it doesn’t feel like I’m building my business alone. Isolation and lack of support would make this industry really lonely, or any industry for that matter, so to be able to work remote from Franklin Tennessee but be connected to a global travel community is everything.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Originally from the Midwest, I pursued a career in the fashion industry which brought me to NYC and LA at an early age. I bounced between the two cities in various design, sales, branding and storytelling positions, until a critical accident in September of 2014 brought me back home to Michigan. I spent about two years recovering there and then decided to let go of the bi-coastal life and make Detroit my home base.
There wasn’t much of a fashion industry presence in Detroit back in 2016, so I made the pivot into real estate, working for Bedrock Detroit in their tenant development department. Within about 9 months I had a wide grasp on the community of Detroit and those who made up the pilars of society, so when Aparium hotel group asked me to help them open the first boutique hotel during Detroit’s recent renaissance, I couldn’t say no. I didn’t have any experience in running hotels per se, but I had worked in hospitality, fashion, entertainment and real estate industries and knew how to build relationships well. I became the Director of Lifestyle and Programming for Detroit Foundation Hotel, managing partnerships, press, programming, retail, local & global relationships and even helped launch a chef’s table with our Michelin-starred chef, Thomas Lents.
Within a year of helping to run DFH, I was brought to Chicago to become Chief Relationship Officer of Aparium hotel group, helping to orchestrate lifestyle & partnership related initiatives across multiple hotels in their portfolio. While working with Aparium, I learned the ins and outs of hotel operations, on property and while at headquarters, working with incredible executive teams. Both of my roles were unique, and I was given a lot of space to create out of the box experiences for guests staying in any of our one-of-one branded properties throughout the Midwest. I am still most proud of helping to open Detroit Foundation Hotel, in the city where both of my parents were born and my family carries a legacy.
I ended up stepping away from my role at Aparium in 2019 to take a little sabbatical and continue to heal from my accident and subsequent treatments, but it wasn’t easy as I loved what I was doing in hotels. Little did I know the pandemic was about to hit and disrupt the entire hotel industry as we knew it, so my timing to step away for a break couldn’t have been better.
I am now back in the hotel industry but on the other side of operations as a travel advisor. I specialize in boutique luxury & lifestyle hotels. Anyone who knows me knows the aesthetics & atmosphere of the environment around me are super important, as well as hospitality and service. It’s not about booking the most expensive hotel, but more about finding well-thought-out properties in unique destinations. I tend to choose smaller properties (100 rooms or less) as I want to feel at home while I’m traveling, but I’m not opposed to the bigger hotels that still manage to maintain a boutique feel. Health and wellness are a big focus in my life, so when I book hotels for clients I want to know if the bed & bath linens are quality, the rooms are quiet and light-filled, there won’t be a lot of noise to disturb their sleep, and whether there is some sort of wellness component on property or nearby. Bonus points if a hotel has a sauna for clients to use! I love it when a hotel has great food & beverage with local purveyors as well. I tend to find properties that locals love to frequent – whether to stay or to play (drink/dine/spa) – as it’s usually a sign that the hotel is well received in each destination and has a good buzz.
What sets me apart from other travel advisors, is that I’ve worked in the hotel industry – on property as a Director of Lifestyle & Programming in a boutique hotel, as well as in an Executive role (Chief Relationship Officer) on a corporate headquarter level. I understand how hotels operate as well as the roles within the hotel, so I am well-versed when reaching out to VIP clients or in asking for anything. I have learned that a simple phone call to the right person can work wonders, and most situations can be taken care of quite simply. I am not afraid to ask for what my clients need, and at the same time I have the utmost respect when speaking to hotel team members.
I would describe my travel advising style as boutique, quiet luxury, off-the-beaten-path, under the radar, lifestyle driven, aesthetically pleasing, minimalist designed and locally loved. I will tailor any hotel or trip to the preference of my clients, but often clients come to me to help them design their trips based on my style and expertise.
I put a lot of thought and care into each trip I design for my clients, however I don’t only book leisure trips. I can help clients book business trips, large room blocks, honeymoons, excursions, transportation, restaurant reservations and more. If clients are only booking hotel rooms through me and they know what they want, there is no charge and I will add my perks to their reservation if booked with one of our preferred partners. If clients are wanting help deciding on where to go, where to stay or they want a custom itinerary, then I will charge a planning fee based on the complexity and length of their trip.
I am incredibly passionate about helping others to have great experiences especially while traveling, so travel advising doesn’t really feel like work to me. It’s an honor to play a small part in my clients life milestones and special occasions, and I’m continually grateful for their trust in me.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
The story that comes to mind when I think about resilience, is how I was run over by a bus as a pedestrian and didn’t let it stop me from pivoting careers and reinventing myself. When a 33,000 ton bus hits you, it can be pretty easy to want to give up especially while dealing with chronic pain, surgeries and having to be your own advocate. I had a choice to make shortly after my accident whether I would allow it to make me a victim, or whether I would fight to be a victor and get past what happened to me. The bus hitting me completely changed the trajectory of my life geographically and career wise, but even more so physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I would not be the woman I am today if I hadn’t gone through the trials that came from the bus hitting me, and I certainly would not have the same perseverance as I do now. I could have fought to live my bi-coastal life and hang onto my career in fashion, but after the accident my desires began to change and my priorities shifted in my life. It became more important to me to be closer to family and to build businesses that had a deeper meaning beyond the surface. I would never have expected I would fall so in love with hotels and creating memorable experiences for others through travel. My biggest takeaway from being hit by a bus, is that you don’t know what other people are going through and you should never assume you know based on the way things appear. Compassion, kindness and generosity go a long way when it comes to building your business, and the most important thing is loving people well.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
When I announced I was starting my own travel advising business to my network and sphere of influence, it was a resounding positive response, since they pretty much all know me as the girl who loves to stay at aesthetically pleasing hotels. For years I have been everyone’s go to guide when it comes to hotels and traveling, now I’m actually getting paid for it. Having a background and career in hotel operations has certainly helped build my reputation within the travel industry. I have first hand experience operating boutique hotels, so I know who to talk to at each property and how to speak with them. I’m not afraid to ask for specific rooms, floors, lighting, bathtubs, tables in restaurants, and other VIP type treatment for my clients when traveling. I personally have a high standard for what a great experience feels like staying at any hotel, so my clients know whatever property I’ve chosen for them will be well vetted with my stamp of approval. I love to stay at beautiful hotels in unique destinations as well, so I am on the ground experiencing destinations and hotels for my clients on their behalf. I just returned from an incredible FAM (familiarizing) trip to Portugal with a handful of amazing Fora Pro advisors, our head of Travel Operations, Leslie Overton, and a local destination management company, Tempo VIP. I now have an even better understanding of the country, the best hotels to stay at and the best experiences to tailor for my clients. I am actively traveling to learn and experience more of each destination as much as I can, all while running my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.foratravel.com/advisor/amber-rose-powers
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amberrosepowers/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberrosepowers/
Image Credits
Amber Rose Powers, Jaclyn Yost