I am very much a travel junkie. 15 fantastic years I lived in Europe, two years in Milan and the last 13 years I called Spain my home. In Madrid I started my first travel company Best In Spain, an inbound travel business specializing in customized vacations to Spain. After almost five years developing and growing Best In Spain I decided it was time to expand my business and move back to the USA. Here in Detroit I have affiliated my self with one the top boutique travel companies in the United States, Direct Travel Luxe, organizing tailored itineraries for destination worldwide.Travel is my passion and I hope to share that passion and experience with you.
I believe in the wonder of discovery and the ability travel has to transform our perspective and beliefs on life. I love discovering how the locals live and exist beyond the pages of any vacation brochures.
Travel is immensely personal and I strive to build my client relationships on trust, credibility, and accountability. You contract me to help guide you through all of the noise and clutter that is the online travel world. You will gain access to my personal travel experience but the network of support and experience of my agency and colleagues. We leverage our relationships with air, accommodation, and tour partners for your best interests and benefit. My goal is for you to return from your trip and say “Ron, we could not have enjoyed a trip like that with out your guidance. It was truly a trip of a lifetime!”
I first caught the travel bug at the age of six when my father took my sisters and me sailing in the Caribbean. Traveling on a small sailboat took us off the beaten path and I remember feeling as if we had discovered deserted islands and uninhabited beaches. Ever since then I always felt a strong curiosity about how the locals lived and what existed beyond the pages of vacation brochures.
As a boy growing up in Michigan, I knew all about the special spots; I knew where you could catch a glimpse of a magnificent elk, which bluff had the best view of the sunset, or which stretch of beach you could have all to yourself. When I traveled I couldn’t help but wonder where were those same secret places would be in the places I visited and who knew how to find them.
My passion to find the best kept secrets and understand the local culture continued to drive me to truly get to know the places I visit. As a college student, I traveled the world, backpacking around Europe and spending a year studying on a ship stopping at ports like Caracas, Salvador, Mombasa, Madras, and Kobe. But then it was time to get to work, and exploration gave way to a focus on planning and execution. I started looking after the needs of other travelers who needed to perform at their best whilst away from home…but I also realized that just because they were away on business travel didn’t mean they wanted to sacrifice the joy of discovery that traveling brings.
Over the years my business travel experiences evolved from traveling practically in freight class as the office grunt to commuting supersonic on the Concorde supporting Donatella Versace as her executive assistant. My five years at Versace gave me the opportunity to perfect my luxury service skills and learn in an extremely high-profile environment under the most demanding conditions. Having looked after personalities like Versace, Madonna, Cher, Jennifer Lopez, and Elton John, I truly understand the value of time and the importance of attention to detail.
After all of these amazing experiences it was time for me to begin my next adventure and so I moved to Madrid. Upon arriving in Spain I thought it would be easy to settle in; I assumed it was like any other country I had been to. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Spain was not exactly what it appeared to be and the cultural differences ran much deeper than I could have anticipated. Spain is filled with interesting contradictions. The ability of this country to never cease to surprise me is probably one of the things I love the most. It’s a mix of simple pleasures and mysterious adventure. There always seems to be another secret to uncover or a new oddity to understand.