About

McLean is the owner and founder of Lily Pond Luxury, an independent affiliate of Travel Experts.  Born from McLean’s love of luxury travel and extensive experience as a travel editor and hotel inspector, Lily Pond Luxury specializes in custom luxury itineraries for individuals, families, and corporate executive teams looking to maximize their ROE: Return on Experience, using a proven blend of relationships, service, and technology to create and execute memorable and enriching travel experiences.

 McLean is a 2023 Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist and is a proud member of Virtuoso’s premier community for luxury travel advisors, Ultraluxe, an invitation-only program for the group’s top-performing luxury travel advisors. She holds a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Georgetown University and an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University. She lives just outside of Washington, DC. 

At five years old, Rebecca had already stayed at the George V in Paris and eaten gelato by the Trevi Fountain, and before her twenty-first birthday she had already toured five continents.
 
She finds beauty in all the places she travels, whether its a hidden panorama of Belize by propeller plane, the landscape of Jordan by camel, or the amazing Road to Hana in Hawaii. As newlyweds, Rebecca and her husband traveled extensively in search of places offering unparalleled dining experiences, including Le Pergola in Rome, Victoria and Albert’s in Orlando and the De Kas organic greenhouse outside of Amsterdam. Today, she views parenthood as an opportunity to share her love of travel with her son and her husband; it’s her goal to show him more of the world each year.  
 
In addition to being a travel agent, Rebecca is an attorney who proudly serves as a member of the Oyster Bay Zoning Board. She represents over 300,000 residents in their needs within the township, and represents her travel clients in their quest to enjoy singular touring experiences. To round out her accreditations, Rebecca has recently become one of the first travel advisors worldwide to be certified as a Wanderlist specialist; this enabling her to curate gorgeous, bespoke travel portfolios for her clients. She enjoys helping families deepen their connections to one another and the world around them through experiences and adventures. 

Through her modern-day luxury travel consultancy D.A. Luxury Travel (launched in 2006), Kristin and her team cater to discerning vacationers who don’t just want to take trips – they want to experience travel. In 2016, Chambers wanted to create a space in which seasoned and emerging travel advisors could evolve the industry together. And so TRAVELLUSTRE was born, a full-service travel agency that oversees a highly regarded Boston-based portfolio of fellow luxury travel consultants. Here are a few of our key takeaways in this session with Kristin Chambers. 

Lauren LaCour is the Director of Supplier Relations for Departure Lounge, one of the most modern and dynamic luxury travel agencies in the world.  The agency is a Virtuoso member and enjoys status in more than 30 of the top preferred travel agency programs of the leading brands in luxury travel (including Four Seasons Preferred, Marriott Stars & Luminous Luxury Brands, Hyatt Privee, Rosewood Elite, Hilton Impresario, Belmond Bellini Club…and more…) which brings buying power and perks to their clients.  Lauren joined Departure Lounge as a travel advisor in 2015 after a successful career as an Executive Director with JPMorgan where she spent 12 years overseas.  As Director of Supplier Relations, she manages the agency’s priority programs and Partner-exclusive FAMs. Lauren is also a million+ producer enabling her to bring different perspectives to her role.  Lauren is a globetrotter – having lived in London, Paris, Hong Kong and New York and worked in Amsterdam, Brussels and Edinburgh. Her time living abroad has given her an extensive global network and inspires her to help others experience new cultures and beautiful places around the world.  She has traveled to 86 countries enabling her to discuss potential vacation destinations around the world and curate personalized experiences.  Lauren is passionate about helping others build their businesses and developed the framework for Departure Lounge’s Mentoring Program. 

Caroline simply cannot imagine life without exceptional international travel.

Alongside her family, Caroline has explored the globe, experiencing the best that luxury travel has to offer. Combined with her background in hospitality, Caroline understands the travel needs of the most discerning customers. She is dedicated to excellent customer service and satisfaction and will create the perfect personalized itinerary for any destination or desire for her clients.

The highest quality transportation, accommodations, and dining make a trip unforgettable, but Caroline's top priority is what’s truly priceless: your time. Her worldwide web of affiliates through the Travel Experts and Virtuoso networks means that no location, activity, or experience is impossible. Don’t waste your time chasing down details or – worse – spend your finite amount of travel time wrangling logistics. Let Caroline take the guesswork and hassle out of your travel.

Should any unexpected issues arise, rest assured that Caroline has your back. It’s the peace of mind you can only achieve through knowing that a true expert will make sure surprises don’t negatively impact your adventure.

Michelle Barth – has 14 years of experience as a Travel Specialist, having explored 45 countries over six continents. Michelle launched Escape Travel® in 2015, specializing in creating truly custom, one-of-a-kind experiences. Michelle constantly seeks new destinations, experiences, and expert partners to encourage our travelers to “Escape the Ordinary.” Michelle embraces the Southern California lifestyle! She enjoys practicing yoga and visiting the beach with her fiancé and her four-legged daughter, Billie Jean. 

Anthony Cifelli has spent many years in the travel industry, helping to develop business in the corporate, leisure and incentive markets.

In 2008, he joined Janine Cifelli Representation (JCR). Along with Janine, they have built one of the top hospitality representation companies in the US. For the past 11 years, he has provided sales and marketing for exclusive hotels, resorts, private islands and destinations.

In 2018, Anthony began developing Truevail, a hands-free marketing program designed to capture and nurture leads for travel advisors. By helping advisors create a sustainable method for marketing their services, Truevail gives travel advisors the freedom to focus on servicing their clients and creating the business of their dreams.   

David is a visionary in the realm of creative marketing. With a rich background that encompasses graphic design, web development, branding, and more, David has continuously demonstrated his prowess in elevating brands. His journey began at California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, where he graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. This solid foundation fueled his passion for creating compelling visual narratives and innovative marketing strategies.

In his role at Truevail since July 2018, David has been instrumental in shaping the company's creative direction, blending his diverse skills in project management, advertising, email marketing, social media, photography, and videography to deliver outstanding results.