Stephanie Neuer is the owner of SCN Travel & More. She is an entrepreneur with exceptional experience in the tourism, events, and hospitality industry. She has over 20 years of experience in the field. She has worked across Europe and the Middle East, which makes her more knowledgeable about the market there. Her company, SCN Travel & More, aims to curate unique and excellent travelling experiences. Learn more about Stephanie and her exceptional journey through our interview.
Tailor-made Travel Experiences
“What’s the idea behind your travel company?” We asked.
“The overall idea is to design tailor-made travel experiences. Tailor-made as opposed to pre-packaged. We take all the parameters of the request: is the traveller a single person, a couple, a family, or a group of friends? What destination: maybe the client knows, or maybe he wants suggestions.
Type of experience: beach, mountains, nature, cruise, safari, city break etc. And also style and budget: luxury, authentic, on or off the beaten path. Does the traveller want a max of elements scheduled and booked before departure, or is he adventurous enough to figure something out on the spot?
In this case, we book flights, accommodation and maybe airport transfers. And so on.
Once we have a clear picture of what we are looking for, it is our job to pick places, suppliers, activities etc., that will make the unique travel experience perfect for that particular person/couple/family/group at that given moment.” says Stephanie.
Journey Of An Adventurous Woman
We were also interested in learning about Stephanie’s journey, so we asked her:
“How did you begin your career journey? Do you have some advice for beginners?”
“I have spent 20+ years in the tourism industry, and creating my own trips has been in the corner of my head for quite a long time. I wanted to open the range of destinations and experiences to unknown or less popular places and offer behind-the-scenes experiences.
Good technical industry knowledge and passion for travel and customer service are mandatory for us, but we need more. I have chosen to join a recognized network (Travel Counsellors) that provides not only full licenses but also industry news, market research and all kinds of operational support.
I would recommend all beginners to go a similar route.” shares Stephanies.
When we asked Stephanie if she is adventurous and intrepid, she said:
“Well, as a traveller and entrepreneur, you need to be, I suppose.”
Achieving Goals & Activities of Female Explorers
Every company has a goal that helps them achieve greater heights. So, we asked Stephanie about her company’s goals. She continues:
“There are several goals. First of all, it creates long-lasting memories for the traveller.
To raise awareness about the beauty of this planet and about the chance we have to admire it in particular places. To take learnings out of the trip, about culture, languages, people, ourselves as well. I like to quote Baba Dioum, who said, ‘In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.’
A second dimension is that I aim to positively impact the destinations we travel to – economically, not only. We support suppliers with local ownership, employment, and sustainable operations. We propose activities that interact but don’t harm local culture, environment, or wildlife.”
We heard that you offer trips for female travellers, which sounds very interesting. Could you tell us more about it?
“Yes, just like a tailor, we also have our own “collections” of trips, which are scheduled departures, grouping travellers with common centres of interest together.
One of those is for women only, called Female Explorers, which is quite a success.
There are single women, mothers and wives who want to take a break etc., from all backgrounds who travel together, exploring the world and having fun in full security. A really amazing experience. As often as I can, I guide these tours myself.” says Stephanie.
Travelling Tips By The Expert
What is the most important part of travelling? Do you have some tips on it?
“The most important condition to make a trip a success is to understand what each participant wants and needs at this given moment Because I don’t believe in traveller profiles as such. Not only are we all individuals, but we all have multiple facets as well. You might prefer the comfort of an all-inclusive resort when you are travelling with your young kids, but be much more adventurous and active when you go on a trip with your friends. Or, you want to do a lot of cultural visits during a city break but enjoy the calm and free time for a good book and walks when being in remote mountains, and so on.
We are not one; we are a lot of travellers simultaneously, and that is the beauty of the thing. Not to remain wearing one single hat, but to step out of the box and to get the opportunity to discover new, inspiring experiences and people.” she continues.
We also wanted to know what Stephanie thinks about teamwork. So, we asked Stephanie, “How do you plan to motivate your team to go the extra mile?”
She says, “I think being a good example and sharing enthusiasm is the best way to motivate teams.”
Digitalization & Innovation At The Top
How are your company adapting to digitalization?
“Well, our tools, from research, and communication, to marketing and customer service, are constantly evolving and fully digitalized by now. However, the travel experience is as real as a visit to the hairdresser. We won’t switch to virtual here. Fortunately!” she shares.
Do you use innovative ideas to be unique?
“Funnily, the innovation in travel is often “old” in means of traditional, authentic, back to the roots element. Stepping out of mass tourism, resorts and hotel chains into authentic, locally owned accommodation, for example. Activities like visiting traditional handcrafts, cooking with locals, and anything off the beaten track are ways to make our trips unique.
And apart from the trip content itself, it is surely our level of service that stands out: customized advice, travel design, and arrangement, but also the unique and direct contact from A to Z. For any question, change, or problem before and during the trip, there is a physical person – not a call center – that takes care of it. This human dimension is definitely a point that our clients regularly underline.” she continues.
We asked Stephanie, “Would you like to say anything else to our viewers?”
“We have adopted Walt Disney’s famous leitmotif: If you can dream it, we can make it happen!” she concludes.
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