We recently connected with Andrae Marable and have shared our conversation below.
Andrae, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
After planning multiple trips for friends and family, they encouraged me to become a travel agent. After seeing so many people share their frustrations about group trips being canceled or struggling to find someone to travel with, I knew something had to change and this is the space I wanted to be a part of. I started this The Pack Roadtrip Travel Club to create a space where people could explore the world together—reliably, safely, and with community.
The Pack Roadtrip Travel Club cultivates happiness, authentic experiences, and a supportive community through travel.
Additionally, The Pack Roadtrip Travel Club travel experience is not just about ticking off landmarks from a list before moving on to the next one. I seek to provide authentic group travel experiences for my members. When individuals travel with my organization, they are going to meet new people, expose themselves to new cultures, experience new things, and embark on a variety of adventures. I coordinate experiences that individuals would not normally receive if they were to plan the vacation themselves.
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 back background and context?
Here’s what sets my business a part from other group travel business:
1) Members Join A Lifelong Community. The Pack Roadtrip Travel Club is a social network that embodies a family-like ambiance. In addition to coordinating travel excursions, we host local social meetups in the Hampton Roads Virginia area. The meetups consist of attending local performances (plays, concerts, comedy shows), hosting brunch/dinner gatherings at local establishments, taking cooking classes, and attending local events. These gatherings allow members to further connect and get to know each other on a personal level. Members develop close friendships and take trips together outside of the club. The travel club is an extremely active community of individuals whom all share a common connection of travel.
2) We Are An Experience Company. Other companies pack 40-50 people on the bus and take them to major landmarks for a photo op. We provide authentic, cultural experiences with a focus on supporting the African American community. We plan/coordinate experiences that individuals would not normally receive if they were to plan the vacation themselves.
3) Market To A Younger Demographic: Motorcoach tour companies are known for catering to senior citizens or retirees. They are lower paced, non-adventurous trips with a canned, standardized itinerary. We cater to a younger demographic that is looking for fun, exciting, adventurous, and enriching travel experiences. Our itineraries change yearly based on our customers’ needs and desires.
3) We Handle Everything From Beginning To End: From hotel accommodations, to transportation, to meals, and knowledge of the best local spots, we give members everything they need. Before a trip, we assist members with any questions they may have and share resources that help them make the most of their experience.
4) Knowledgeable Tour Host(s): The tour hosts are experts in each location we visit. We have local contacts and provide our members with information about restaurants/sites off the beaten paths. We want our members to experience a destination like a local (not a tourist). Other companies have tour guides that handle the administrative activities on bus (i.e. hotel check-in/check-out, passing out water, etc…). The tours guides are not travel experts and have little knowledge of the destination.
5) Exceptional Customer Service: Customer service is an important aspect to our business. If we do not take care of our customers, someone else will. We create and maintain strong, trusting relationships with all customers and industry partners (hotels, venues, small businesses, etc..). Additionally, we go an extra mile to make our customers and industry partners feel special and appreciated. During each trip, guests are treated with a surprise/perk that was not advertised in the original promotion, such as a free buffet/meal, free tour, riverfront cruise, and/or an unique gift. Birthdays are celebrated during our trips by providing the individual with a special birthday gift on the bus. Thank you cards and New Year’s cards are sent out to customers and industry partners thanking them for supporting our business. Additionally, we will randomly call customers throughout the year to check to see how they are doing. We are the only company that goes above and beyond in maintaining a positive customer experience.
Successful entrepreneurs have the ability to change the way individuals live. I have accomplished that within my business. New experiences have become a commodity to my members. They crave new experiences because they know I am a gateway to new insights. When individuals travel with my organization, they are going to meet new people, expose themselves to new cultures, experience new things, and embark on a variety of adventures. The culmination of everything my members experience on my tours leads to personal growth and becoming a more well-rounded person.
Since our organization conception, I have exposed individuals to a lot of “first”. I have taken 52 individuals to their first basketball game, 246 people to the African American Museum in Washington DC for the first time, 65 people across the Canadian border for the first time, 121 people to their first winery, and 54 people to their first major music festival. We have visited a total of 22 states and multiple Canadian cities. These have all been life changing, memorable experiences that have resonated for a lifetime.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Consistency, trust, and genuinely caring about my travelers’ experiences. From day one, I focused on delivering well-organized, memorable trips and making sure every traveler felt seen and valued. Word-of-mouth has been a huge part of my growth—people talk when they have a great time, and I made sure they did. I also built a reputation for being reliable; if I say a trip is happening, it’s happening. That level of follow-through and personal touch has really set me apart in the group travel space.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Like many in the travel industry, COVID hit us hard. Trips were canceled, borders were closed, and everything came to a halt. But instead of shutting down completely, I looked for ways to keep the spirit of travel and connection alive—safely.
I began organizing small, socially distanced local events—outdoor picnics, private wine/spirit tastings, local tours —things that allowed people to escape their routine, connect with others, and still feel a sense of adventure. It wasn’t the same as traveling together out of town, but it gave our community something to look forward to when everything else felt uncertain.
Those moments reminded me why I started this in the first place. Travel is about connection, and even when the world paused, I found ways to keep that connection going. That season tested everything—but it also deepened our bond as a travel family and made us appreciate the journey even more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thepacktravelclub.com
- Instagram: thepacktravelclub
- Facebook: thepacktravelclub
- Youtube: thepacktravelclub
Image Credits
Headshot credit: Maria Grace,