In a matter of several years, Explorateur Travel grew from a one-woman enterprise to a team of more than a dozen travel advisors. The story of that growth begins with founder Jennifer Jacob, but continues with Jordan Rush and Kim Hebert.
As of today, Rush and Hebert are the new owners of Explorateur.
The Origin of Explorateur Travel
To fully understand Explorateur, you must start from the beginning. Jacob’s personal love for travel originally drew her to the industry and, in 2015, while still working in human resources, she did what she calls a “beta test” for Explorateur: She offered a pay-per-day itinerary creation service, using Travefy, that she says was meant for travelers who had already booked flights and accommodations, but who wanted the other details of their vacations planned for them. Jacob even lived on — and worked from — an olive grove in Umbria, Italy, then traveled Europe for a few months to gather firsthand insight on destinations such as Ireland, Greece, Belgium and France.
“I wanted to gain more credibility, and to ensure my audience felt confident that I knew multiple places,” Jacob said. “I stayed in hostels, hotels and Airbnbs, and took out a loan to launch the business through those months of travel.”
In 2017, now working full-time at itinerary creation, Jacob agreed to collaborate with a travel advisor who needed help with a client’s Paris itinerary. When Jacob designed and submitted that itinerary in one hour, the advisor was more than impressed, and wondered why Jacob was “leaving money on the table” by not operating as a full-service agency.
I wanted to gain more credibility, and to ensure my audience felt confident that I knew multiple places. I stayed in hostels, hotels and Airbnbs, and took out a loan to launch the business through those months of travel.
In fact, Jacob had already started thinking similarly; she joined a host agency, added advisors to her team for a couple of years, and went independent in 2019. Then, in what she calls the universe’s ultimate joke, Explorateur Travel added seven new advisors in February of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The fact that her team has managed to remain intact, despite tremendous shutdown-related challenges, is a testament to the Explorateur ethos and sense of community, she says.
That sense of community is largely a result of the way she structured the company. First, Jacob always hired advisors in “classes,” meaning they join Explorateur in cohorts, thereby lessening any sense of isolation. Secondly, all new hires went through a series of education modules — fully designed by Jacob — that prepared them for crucial elements of their work. Module topics ranged from company philosophy and industry terminology to the life cycle of a booking and liability and risk management.
In that seemingly ill-timed class that joined Explorateur in early 2020 were Rush and Hebert. Both were rookie travel advisors, and they remember learning modules while also watching Jacob tackle related struggles in real time.
Jennifer’s curriculum was so impactful because she was living all of it in real life, and sharing it all with us. It became this sort of immersive experience.
“Jennifer’s curriculum was so impactful because she was living all of it in real life, and sharing it all with us,” Rush said. “It became this sort of immersive experience.”
Rush also recalls being taught the ins and outs of critical industry strategies. For example, she had heard terms such as “destination management company” and “tour operator,” but as a brand-new advisor, she didn’t fully understand the benefits and downsides of either.
“I can't imagine having joined this team and not had that clarification,” Rush said. “That would have taken me months to learn.”
Turning to ‘Tique and Selling Explorateur
While Jacob was educating her team throughout 2020, she was simultaneously uncovering something about herself: Mentoring advisors had become more fulfilling for her than booking travel for clients. From this tipping of the scale came ‘Tique, a digital platform and community that supports the growth and success of travel agency leaders.
Co-founded by Jacob, ‘Tique is a resource she wishes she’d had as an owner, and one that allows her help on a greater scale in the industry.
As of today, Jacob will focus solely on ‘Tique, but knows she’s leaving Explorateur in the best of hands. She surprised Rush and Hebert earlier this year with an offer to buy the business, as partners, knowing that their different strong suits made them a terrific leadership team. It was ultimately an offer the duo could not refuse.
“The Explorateur brand is very reflective of who Jennifer is as a person, so we feel humbled and honored to have received the offer,” Rush said. “And we could not [turn down] continuing this journey together.”
Hebert said that Explorateur’s dedication to supporting advisor growth, maintaining a dynamic and connected team, and planning the best experiences for clients remains, despite Jacob’s departure.
“My immediate vision is to retain the environment that Jennifer created,” Hebert said. “Our culture will not change. Moving on, we are going to dive into our relationships, creating opportunities for growth and establishing ourselves as a top host agency.”
