By Sarah Waffle Gavin, on January 25, 2014

Celebrating women in travel

We women wear a lot of hats. We are professionals, mothers, wives, girlfriends, best friends, daughters, leaders, and more. And here at Expedia, we know that women play another very important role: we are travelers, and in general, we are travel leaders in our circles. Women are often the ones dreaming of the perfect trip, researching exactly how to make the right trip happen, and deciding on the itinerary that meets our needs and everyone we’re traveling with.

But perhaps the most important role of women in travel is that we are very often the magic-makers for the people we care about–and hopefully for ourselves. In our new Find Yours ad, which launched earlier this week, we show such a magic-maker. Our hero is a woman reading a fairy tale to her son and then working to find the magic that brings the story to life (finding castles and floating villages and giants and dragons, oh my!).  That magic of finding your storybook is a part of our DNA as travelers (and women) and is something we cherish and celebrate here at Expedia.

We share this celebration of women in travel with Kelly Lewis, founder of the Women’s Travel Fest, and her leadership team, Mickela Mallozzi and Masha Vapnitchnaia.  Together we aim to inspire and empower women to travel the world and make connections to each other and more deeply to themselves. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce our Platinum Sponsorship of the Women’s Travel Fest taking place in New York City in March.

  • Expedia Viewfinder, Carol Cain

  • Expedia Viewfinder, Trip Styler

  • Expedia Viewfinder, Travel with Kate

  • Expedia Viewfinder, Kara Williams

  • Expedia Viewfinder, Tawny (of Captain and Clark)

  • Expedia Viewfinder, Hip Travel Mama

  • Expedia Viewfinder, Beth Whitman

I had a chance this week to spend time with several women travelers who inspire me (pictured here, some of the Expedia Viewfinder traveling women) and I can’t help but channel these lessons they’ve taught me as we all get excited about this unique event for women.

1. Find Your Voice. We have a belief at Expedia that travel can help us all find ourselves in a way very few other things in life can do, and, in fact, our entire purpose is to help you find the trip that empowers you to do just that. What the women in our Expedia Viewfinder program have taught me loud and clear is that travel has helped them find their voice, find their story, and find their unique contribution. Travel, find your voice, and share it in the way that suits you best.

2. Support each other. I was at a dinner party recently talking about how excited I was to meet Samantha Brown because of how much she has inspired me, both as a traveler and mother.  A man, who up until about 30 minutes before had been a complete stranger, commented that he was surprised I said that because he thought all women hated each other (UGH!). It’s statements and perceptions like this that we collectively need to work hard to overcome. Whether through fantastic events like the Women’s Travel Fest, on social media, or in honest-to-goodness real life, we owe it to one another to support each other and shine brightly as a powerhouse of women shining from within.  

3. Be brave. No one has ever achieved greatness by living in their comfort zone forever. Take the seat at the table you’re scared that you don’t deserve. Do what petrifies you. And do it with a great big smile on your face knowing there is a whole group of women you’re about to meet in New York to cheer you on.

What excites you about women in travel coming together?