EP 335: Luxury isn’t price—it’s trust, time, and knowing where the real perks live

What makes Ane Lowe with Lowe Luxury Travel a good neighbor?

Ever felt buried under 27 open tabs trying to plan a “perfect” trip? We sat down with Ane Lowe, founder of Lowe Luxury Travel, to unpack how a boutique advisor turns chaos into clarity—and why the smartest travelers often pay less while getting more. Ane shares her leap from private banking to bespoke travel design, the moment an influencer meetup revealed a career she didn’t know existed, and the systems she uses to secure hidden-value perks like complimentary breakfast, on-arrival upgrades, and resort credits that stretch your budget without sacrificing comfort.

Ane explores the most common myths about travel advisors—especially the idea that they cost more than DIY. She breaks down how preferred partnerships and negotiated offers beat public rates, and how real-time advocacy matters when flights change, rooms miss the mark, or weather reroutes a plan. From honeymooners chasing an unforgettable first journey, to families juggling nap schedules and adjoining rooms, to empty nesters valuing depth and ease, Ane shows how curation beats crowdsourcing and why time—not money—is the rarest luxury.

Ane also dives into practical marketing lessons: email for education and trust, Instagram for inspiration and discovery, and the discipline to focus on channels that truly move the needle. If you’ve wondered whether a travel advisor is “still a thing,” this conversation reframes the role as a modern filter for an overwhelming world. Ready to travel smarter, not harder?

Subscribe for more local stories from operators who measure what matters. If this conversation helped you think differently about value and service, share the episode with a friend and leave a quick review so others can find the show.

To learn more about Lowe Luxury Travel go to:
 🌐 https://loweluxurytravel.com/

Lowe Luxury Travel
📞 [phone]

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:10):
Welcome to the good neighbor podcast.
Are you in need of a luxurytravel advisor?
Well, one may be closer than youthink.
Today, I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Anne Lowe, with Lowe LuxuryTravel.
Anne, how are you today?

SPEAKER_02 (00:26):
I'm doing well.
How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 (00:28):
I'm also doing well now.
We are excited to learn allabout you and your business.
Can you start off by telling ourlisteners just a little bit
about your company?

SPEAKER_02 (00:37):
Yes, well, first of all, thank you so much for
having me.
My name is Anne Lowe, and I ownLow Luxury Travel.
It's a boutique luxury travelagency based in Central Texas.
And I designed bespoke trips forfamilies, for individuals,
couples, essentially people thatare looking to regain their time

(01:00):
and take the stress out of thetravel planning process.

SPEAKER_01 (01:06):
Amazing.
Now, how did you originally getinto a business like this?

SPEAKER_02 (01:11):
So it is it's a bit of a roundabout story, but I was
working in private banking and Iwas just looking for a creative
outlet.
And so at the time I was reallyinto food and travel, so I
started a food and travel blog.
And this was right around thetime when the influencer economy

(01:34):
started to become more popular.
So I was invited to do anovernight stay at the Lake
Austin resort, and there I mettwo other influencers who were a
couple of years younger than me.
And I was looking at theirInstagram account, and I was
like, what do these girls do?
You know, they're probably agood nine, 10 years younger than

(01:54):
me.
They're traveling the world,they're staying at five-star
resorts and hotels.
And so I basically was like,what do you guys do for a living
that allows you to travel asmuch as you do?
Because I, you know, loved myjob and I had limited vacation
time, and I would run out ofvacation by like May of every
year because I was alwayswanting to travel somewhere.

(02:15):
And so they said they were like,We are luxury travel advisors.
And I was like, oh my God, thisis the dream job that I didn't
know existed.
Um, and so for uh about a year Ibecame really good friends with
one of them and was kind ofasking questions and just kind
of following along and seeingwhat she was doing.
And then finally I decided thisis this is something that I

(02:37):
really want to do.
And so I left my banking job andum interviewed with a host
agency that's based out ofDallas.
They've been around for 50years, they're very well
respected in the industry, andyou know, had a great interview
with it with Jim, who's theowner of the agency, and he
said, We'd love to have you on.

(02:58):
You know, you guys you you willhave to bring on your own
clients, but I think you can doa really good job and um took
the leap of faith, and here weare.

SPEAKER_01 (03:08):
Now, after taking that leap of faith in your
day-to-day life, what is themost common myth or
misconception you typically comeacross when it comes to luxury
travel?

SPEAKER_02 (03:19):
Yes, so I feel like there's two main things I come
across often.
I think with the general public,a lot of people are surprised to
find out that travel agents ortravel advisors are still
around, um, mainly because ofthe onset of the online travel
agencies like Expedia,Travelocity, you know, Orbits,

(03:40):
just the list goes on and on.
Um, and I think those companiesactually keep us in business
because there's just way toomuch information.
If people get informationoverload, they don't know kind
of where to start.
And so that's where somebodylike me comes in.
Um, on the luxury travel side, Ifind that more luxury travelers

(04:03):
are aware that we exist, luxurytravel advisors.
I think the misconception thereis that a lot of people think
that working with somebody likeme is going to be more expensive
than booking on their own.
And a lot of times that'sactually not the case.
I find that most often I cansave clients hundreds, if not

(04:24):
thousands, of dollars over thecourse of their trip.
Um, a lot of times by havingaccess to promotional offers or
discounted rates that are notavailable online, but also by
being able to includecomplimentary perks, you know,
when booking hotels for clients.
And a lot of times that'seither, you know, complimentary

(04:45):
upgrades, um, free breakfastincluded with their stay.
So, of course, over the courseof many nights that can save
clients hundreds of dollars.
Um, a lot of times we're able toinclude um like resort credits
or hotel credits that people canuse for food and beverage or for
spa.
And so that kind of snowballsand ends up saving clients a lot

(05:06):
of money over the course oftheir stay.

SPEAKER_01 (05:10):
Wow.
What a fun misconception to goover.
I know you got me salt.
Now we know marketing is theheart of every business.
Who are your target um clientsor customers and how do you
currently attract them?

SPEAKER_02 (05:27):
Oh, that's a great question.
You know, thanks to my priorprivate banking background, um,
and because of the trust I wasable to establish with my
clients for almost you know 10years of working with them, um,
I was able to take those clientsand easily convert them to you
know luxury travel clients.

(05:48):
So the my audience really is isreally broad because I work with
you know couples who might beempty nesters or grandparents,
you know, people that are mayberetired and they're looking to
now travel the world or travelwith their family and plan you
know, family trips with thegrandkids.

(06:08):
Um, I also work with um you knowhoneymooners that are you know
starting to plan this reallyspecial trip.
I work with families that haveyoung kids, and so it's it's
really the whole um the gamut.
But um email marketing has beenreally important for me, of
course, just stay in front of myclients.

(06:30):
And then I've also gotten uh alot of clients from Instagram,
thankfully, um, because it issuch a big role platform, and I
would say I think those two aremy main uh marketing avenues to
stay in front of clients andalso educate them and then bring
on new clients as well.

SPEAKER_01 (06:49):
So, Anne, have you ever thought of having your own
podcast?

SPEAKER_02 (06:54):
I haven't yet.
Um as I've gotten busier andbusier, I feel like I've focused
less and less on more marketingplatforms and kind of tried to
like focus on the ones that Ithink I'm getting the most um
benefit from.
But I do see a tremendousbenefit from podcasting.

(07:16):
I mean, whenever I'm you knowmaking my kids lunches in the
morning and cleaning and doingall the things, like I'm always
listening to podcasts.
So I feel like it would be areally great way to um inspire
and educate and get in front ofa new audience.
I just haven't really thoughtabout it yet.

SPEAKER_01 (07:36):
And what is one thing our listeners should
remember today about low luxurytravel?

SPEAKER_02 (07:44):
Well, I think the biggest thing or the biggest
takeaway from them is one ofyour biggest assets is your
time.
And unfortunately, you know,once it's gone, like that's
something that we can't regain.
And so by taking the stress andthe time off of somebody's
plate, you know, from planning areally great trip, I can give

(08:05):
them that time back.
And so that's one thing that Ido want them to think about is
just get rid of the overwhelm,regain your time, you know, let
me handle it for you, and um toput together a great trip for
you guys.

SPEAKER_01 (08:23):
Well, that sounds amazing, but what our listeners
really want to know today iswhere can they go to learn more
about low luxury travel?

SPEAKER_02 (08:32):
Yes, um, so they can get a lot of really great
information um by going to mywebsite, lowluxuretravel.com.
Um, they can also check out myInstagram to get more
information and moreinspiration, it's at Low Luxury
Travel.
And then they can always emailme as well.
It's uh Anne A-N-E atLowLuxuryTravel.com.

(08:56):
If they have any travelquestions or if they want to get
started with the travel planningprocess, um, I'm happy to
provide more information thereas well.

SPEAKER_01 (09:06):
Well, Anne, I really appreciate you being on the
show.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 (09:13):
Thank you so much.
I really appreciate you havingme.

SPEAKER_00 (09:16):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gnpfrisco.com.
That's gnpfrisco.com or callfour six nine two two two one
nine three four five.