Louise Gibert

Twenty-five years ago I thought I would like to start my own business. I was working in the garment district in New York and just wanted… more. I had always loved travel, so when I visited a trade show and discovered the opportunity for a travel career, I grabbed it – and what a great decision I made! Before long I was living in Greensboro, North Carolina, working for an agency there, and after a year and a half I was able to go “independent”.

What better business is there to be in? Travel builds memories, it broadens horizons. Who doesn’t love talking, hearing, dreaming about travel? I remember taking my own children to Disney. My son got to shake Mickey’s hand. He turned to me – and I know this sounds like a cliché, but I promise you it’s true – he turned to me and said, “Mom, you just made all my dreams come true!” The wonder that he felt, and the joy it brought me to offer him that experience… I get to enjoy that every day with my clients. Talk about a happy job!

I specialize in luxury travel – I’ve been with Virtuoso from the very start – and luxury family travel is an especially rewarding field. A ski vacation in Switzerland, exploring art treasures in Italy, a family visit to Normandy and Paris, these are the experiences that a traveler remembers for years to come. Being a part of that is its own reward. And I work at it! Oh, I probably reconfirm things too many times, spend hours in research to be sure an excursion is a good value, but it’s all part of “going that extra” mile to ensure my clients have an experience of a lifetime. And when they come home and leave me a voicemail saying, “I’ll never book another trip without you!”… I know I’ve done my job.

Now that I am an empty nester, settled in Charlotte, and I’ve been in this business long enough to know the best… The best hotels, the best guides, the best resorts, the best cruise ships; I would love nothing more than sharing that experience and that knowledge, with my clients.