We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittany Palmer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brittany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Any thoughts around creating more inclusive workplaces?

Today’s workplace is incredibly unique, and HR leaders face challenges when attempting to create an inclusive work experience. Combining the complexity of balancing remote, hybrid, and in-office team members – with the needs of up to five generations of employees – companies and leaders are struggling to bring the team together while ensuring inclusivity. This challenge can be seen in an organization’s benefit and perk offerings. More and more companies are offering incentives and perks like student loan assistance, gym memberships, and childcare incentives. The issue is not every employee can take advantage of these perks for a plethora of reasons.

What we are doing at Beeyonder with virtual tourism, is creating an opportunity for HR leaders to get everyone in an organization involved. Virtual tourism is an alternative to traditional office perks that provides a readily available and inclusive, enriching experience. By incorporating Beeyonder tours into the workplace, organizations can boost team morale and build stronger relationships while improving inclusivity. On the tours, every member has the chance to ask questions and interact with the guide and their peers, all while taking in the sights of a new, unforgettable location. Interactions like this encourage team bonding while giving employees a break from the normal workday.

Brittany, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I founded Beeyonder in May 2020, shortly after the beginning of the pandemic. The idea came to me after seeing virtual experiences pop up in response to Covid-19 lockdowns. As a person with a disability who enjoys traveling, I experienced limitations in traveling and saw an opportunity to create a solution to my and many others’ travel challenges. The combination of pandemic lockdowns and traditional accessibility barriers led me to take the initial steps in founding Beeyonder with the end goal of redefining travel.

Beeyonder at its core is a customer-centric virtual travel company whose mission is to create opportunities to explore destinations around the globe. By employing local tour guides across the world, we take travelers on live, immersive and interactive adventures that allow them to experience their dream vacation spot or their favorite historic monument. With a computer, phone, or tablet, our users can book a tour, ask their guide questions, see beautiful destinations, and make new memories. With virtual tourism, we provide an accessible and convenient alternative to traditional travel while ensuring that each experience is unique and authentic.

There is so much to be proud of at Beeyonder. Simply providing people with access to experience the world and other cultures, when they may not have the opportunity to do so in any other way, is incredibly rewarding. Beeyonder also bridges many accessibility barriers in traditional travel. From people with disabilities, caregivers who can’t get away, those with agoraphobia or anyone who is unable to travel in the traditional sense, Beeyonder provides that opportunity for an enriching experience.

Going further, we have brought people, family, and teams together with our virtual tours, from hopeful travelers with a family member states away to a production team operating remotely. Corporate groups and organizations are using virtual tours as an opportunity to improve the workplace and create more inclusive offerings. Everything we are doing is impacting people in a positive way and we are incredibly proud to be helping expand the definition travel.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When we first started fundraising, many investors were weary that this was just a service that would end when the pandemic subsided. I was constantly trying to convince potential investors and consumers of the significant number of people that couldn’t travel and how important virtual travel was. It wasn’t until 2022 when our revenue continued increasing and the number of use cases for tours was expanding that most investors really saw the potential.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

What helped build Beeyonder’s reputation really comes down to what we provide, a premium experience. All our guides are properly vetted and compensated, and we ensure that everyone is truly local and qualified before ever conducting virtual tours. Not every brand can make this claim. We received large numbers of excellent reviews early on, and we were able to quickly expand our tour locations and guides. We pride ourselves on providing white glove service, and the early virtual travelers soon came to realize the attentiveness of our service. Pairing this with some early press we received, we were able to create a real name for ourselves within our market.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beeyonder.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeyondertravel
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BeeyonderTravel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beeyonder
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeeyonderTravel
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beeyonder9835