Truevail Advisory Board
Meet the minds behind our authentic content: Truevail's Advisory Board.
Composed of nine esteemed travel advisors, our board convenes monthly to infuse our newsletter and social media content with the latest, most sellable travel trends. Their firsthand expertise ensures every piece of content—from posts to stories—is relevant, timely, and crafted by travel advisors, for travel advisors. With Truevail, experience marketing that's as genuine and informed as the advisors who shape it.
McLean Robbins
Owner/Founder | Lily Pond Luxury
Independent Affiliate of Travel Experts
2023 Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist
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.
Rebecca Alesia
Owner/Travel Advisor | Wanderology,
a SmartFlyer affiliate agency
2023 Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist
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.
Keith Waldon
Founder/Director | Departure Lounge
27 years of experience
Travel & Leisure’s A list Top Travel Advisor
A native Texan, Keith Waldon began his career in luxury travel while still in college in Dallas as an intern for Rosewood Hotels, where he continued his career as a marketing manager after graduating from Southern Methodist University. Keith later spent 16 years as a senior executive for the international luxury travel network Virtuoso, where creating the Virtuoso brand and elevating the awareness of travel advisors were among his accomplishments.
With 27 years in the luxury travel industry, Keith launched Departure Lounge in 2013, first as a specialty retail storefront travel agency. Since then, the agency has organically grown into an international luxury host travel agency with more than 200 travel advisors reaching $200 million in annual sales in 2023.
Keith was voted Most Innovative Travel Advisor by the Virtuoso network in 2019. He is honored to be featured on Travel+Leisure Magazine’s A-List of travel experts as a family travel specialist, and he also serves on the magazine’s Advisory Board. He also serves on advisory boards for Marriott luxury brands, Hilton luxury brands, IHG luxury brands, Corinthia Hotels, Lindblad Expeditions, Truevail and the British Virgin Islands.
Keith’s home bases are Texas and Tuscany when wanderlust has not taken him elsewhere.
Kristin Chambers
Founder | TRAVELLUSTRE & D.A. LUXURY TRAVEL
Travel & Leisure’s A list Top Travel Advisor
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
Travel Advisor | Departure lounge
Director of Supplier Relations
8+ Years of Experience
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.
Tiffany Layne
Founder & CEO | LaVon Private Luxury
2023 Conde Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist
Tiffany Layne is the Founder and CEO of LaVon Private Luxury. She is recognized as a 2021 Forbes Next 1000 Honoree and 2023 Conde Nast Top Travel Specialist. As a private Travel Advisor she is an avid believer that travel isn’t just a trip, but a lifestyle filled with extraordinary experiences that enrich, transform and create lasting memories.
Tiffany works exclusively with discerning jetsetters to provide high touch personal travel management and leisure services. She maintains three core values of service: transparency, loyalty and value. She is sought after for her intuitive ability to connect, access to the best in travel and collaborative consulting style. Retained by referral or invite, her expertise has been featured in top publications such as Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, AFAR, BRIDES and Travel Pulse.
Tiffany is also an honored member of Virtuoso’s ULTRALUXE community - an invitation only group of exquisite travel professionals with proven success catering to discerning travelers who demand the highest level of quality and service. Her belief that the power of personal connection will always deliver the greatest value, strongest relationships and best experiences has resulted in gaining truly loyal clientele.
Tiffany is an extremely strong vocal advocate towards the much needed change when it comes to diversity, inclusion and representation for travel professionals and our industry. She sits on various boards and challenges industry partners to recognize the need for equality and change in the luxury travel space.
Caroline Labbe
Owner | Labbe Travel
an independent affiliate of Travel Experts, Inc.
13+ Years of Experience
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
Owner/Founder | Escape Travel
14+ Years of Experience
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.
Tony Labbe
Owner | Labbe Travel
an independent affiliate of Travel Experts, Inc.
7+ Years of Experience
Tony began my career as a busboy in junior high. Then while studying at the University of Denver for a BSBA in Hospitality and Tourism Management, he worked in many hotels and restaurants. After graduating college, Tony entered the business full-time with the Four Seasons Hotel New York on 57th Street.
He continued with Four Seasons Hotels in Maui and San Francisco for 7 years. Then was the operations manager at the famous Bunnery Bakery & Restaurant Jackson Hole Wyoming for the last 14 years. The hospitality business is in his blood. Tony really enjoys refining the bigger and smaller trip details.
Meet the Truevail Team
Behind every campaign is the devoted team at Truevail.
At Truevail, we're a tight-knit collective close-knit team of founders, directors, specialists, and writers, each dedicated to elevating your brand's story with exceptional care and creativity in every piece we produce. We're a small but mighty team, always ready to guide and enhance every aspect of your marketing journey.
Anthony Cifelli
Founder & CEO
anthony@truevail.com
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 Bledsoe
Founder & Creative Director
david@truevail.com
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.