Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura and Sara Hoy.
Hi Laura and Sara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Laura: I am a single woman in my 50s who has been working for years in community development and neighborhood revitalization in Waterloo, IA. In 2019, when my daughter, Sara, was studying in Oviedo, Spain, I decided to visit her and also walk 100 miles of the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain. This trip was life-changing and reignited a passion for travel that I had discovered in my earlier years. When I returned home from Spain, I knew that I wanted to keep traveling and also help others go experience this great big beautiful world. In 2020, I started a travel business to do just that.
Sara: I’ve always been interested in exploring new places and doing new things. While I was in college I had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain, which inspired me to live and interact with the world in a bold and open way. I also spent some time leading adventure trips in school, taking students backpacking in the Grand Canyon and rock climbing across the Midwest to name a few. After graduating, a few friends and I were inspired to move out to Utah where we could continue exploring some of the incredible natural features in the West. When my mom decided to focus her travel business on adventure travel, I got really excited to help support her in whatever way I could. It’s been fantastic working together on something we’re both passionate about, which is adventure-focused, ethical, and inspiring travel.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Laura: There are so many destinations and so many styles of travel. I have decided to focus on small-group adventure travel. Adventure travel stretches us beyond our comfort zones, builds confidence, and is an exciting way to experience the world. There are a lot of great travel companies offering adventure packages and tours. I believe there are a lot of people like me who want adventure but don’t want to create their own trips and itineraries. Traveling alongside a small group of people with guides who take care of logistics and share so much knowledge of their country is a great way to travel. Because I am focusing on this narrow lane in the travel industry, the challenge is to market broadly and connect with these adventure seekers. My daughter is helping me to overcome this obstacle with a great website she created for Travel Wholehearted.
Sara: It’s definitely been a challenge to learn how to expand Travel Wholehearted’s marketing for a very niche group of people. We know the market is out there; it’s just a matter of trying to expand our reach! We both are involved in our communities, and I have another job I’m giving my attention to, so it truly is a labor of love and passion when we spend our time building websites, creating marketing, and researching. Eventually, we’d like the idea of adding an element of catering toward parent-child adventure travel and guiding our own trips and itineraries on top of the focuses already identified. We envision 2023 will be a great year for building!
As you know, we’re big fans of Travel Wholehearted. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Laura: Travel Wholehearted by Lighthouse Travel helps people plan and book travel and will walk with clients through the details from the very start of planning to the time they arrive safely home from their trip. Travel Wholehearted, while specializing in small group adventure travel, does continue to book other styles of travel with clients when there is a better fit for the client. Finally, Travel Wholehearted will also be organizing a few guided group trips each year. For example, there are 7 women, including myself, that will be going on a Costa Rica Wellness trip at the end of April.
Sara: A core value that we want to hold true with Travel Wholehearted is respect for people and the environment.
Traveling provides an opportunity to not only do cool new things but to learn about other ways of life and cultures.
We want to honor the resources our planet offers us and the cultures of the places we send our clients! As much as we can within our capacity, we’ll try to help clients utilize services that also hold these values.
What matters most to you? Why?
Laura and Sara: Travel matters. Travel disrupts our routines and ruts and helps us take in the world anew through all of our senses. Adventure travel helps us to connect body, heart, and head, and it can be a catalyst for personal growth and more wholehearted living as we return home to our local contexts.
Travel helps to broaden our perspectives as we encounter people and cultures that are different from us. It helps us see that we are part of something bigger and grander than ourselves and that we all really are interconnected on this planet. Travel reminds us of what is true and beautiful around us and inside of us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.travelwholehearted.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/travelwholehearted
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/travelwholehearted
- Phone: 319-486-1172
