I’m the founder of Trip Happens — and a Fora Travel advisor, which means I plan and book real trips for paying clients alongside writing about them here.
Trip Happens started because I’d had one too many trips go sideways — and I figured if I was learning the lessons anyway, I might as well share them.
Before Trip Happens, I spent 30 years inside corporate travel — including five years as senior VIP travel advisor to UPS, eight years building and leading the global meetings function for The Nature Conservancy, plus executive engagements with Coca-Cola, Tyler Perry Studios, and other Fortune 100 brands — and large-group bookings for MrBeast’s TV show, where the logistics move at creator-economy speed and the margin for error is zero.
Now the brand has grown into trip planning for individual travellers, team retreats for distributed companies, and a blog full of the gear, hotels, and hacks I actually use.
I’ve spent thirty years on the corporate side of travel, which means I’ve seen almost every way a trip can go sideways, and most of the ways to prevent it. I started out managing high-touch VIP travel for one of the largest logistics companies in the world, then moved into coordinating global meetings and events for an international conservation organization operating in more than seventy countries.
Somewhere along the way I ended up booking large group travel for a reality TV production, which is its own kind of masterclass in logistics under pressure. Every one of those jobs taught me the same lesson: preparation is what makes a trip feel effortless, and the people behind the scenes rarely get credit for the disasters they quietly prevented.
Trip Happens exists because I got tired of watching smart, capable teams and travelers sign up for tools, contracts, and itineraries that didn’t hold up. I’m not interested in selling you the most expensive option. I’m interested in the option that actually works, and I’ll tell you plainly when something doesn’t add up.
These days that shows up in two ways: helping distributed companies choose and negotiate the travel, hiring, and retreat tools their teams depend on, and helping individuals and families plan personal trips with the same rigor I used to bring to corporate accounts. Different scale, same standard.
If you’re weighing a contract, planning a retreat, or just want a trip that doesn’t require a recovery period afterward, that’s exactly what I’m here for.
Every traveller has a story. A bag that didn’t arrive. A hotel that looked nothing like the website. A flight missed by ten minutes because nobody told you the gate changed. Trip Happens was built because those moments don’t have to happen — and when they do, you should be ready.
This is a travel brand built around one simple idea: the more prepared you are, the freer you feel. That means honest gear recommendations that have actually been tested. Hotel tips that come from real check-ins, not press trips. Packing strategies that work for real people with real lives and carry-on limits.
Trip Happens publishes daily travel content on Instagram and TikTok — short-form videos covering packing, airport hacks, hidden destinations, and everything in between. The website collects all the resources in one place so nothing gets lost in a feed.
On a personal note: the one time bags were checked was for a destination wedding. Both suitcases lost. Honeymoon spent in clothes that weren’t mine, swimsuits two sizes off, a borrowed dress for the actual ceremony. Never again. That moment is the reason this brand exists — and the reason every tip here is built around real people with real carry-on limits.
The name says it all. Trips happen — and we make sure they happen smoothly.
Three things that are non-negotiable here.
If I recommend something, I have used it. If it let me down, I will tell you. No sponsored reviews disguised as genuine opinions.
Beautiful travel content is everywhere. Practical advice that actually helps you pack lighter and travel smarter is rarer. That is what we focus on.
Every tip on this site comes from a real trip. No recycled listicles. Just things that have actually been tested on the road.
When you’d rather not DIY, I’m a Fora Travel advisor — which means I plan and book trips for paying clients alongside writing about travel here. Same eye for detail. Same honest take. With the perks of a real travel agency.
Through Fora, I have access to the same partner programs the world’s best agencies use — Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Hyatt Privé, Marriott STARS, and dozens more. That means complimentary upgrades, daily breakfast, hotel credit, early check-in, and amenities you can’t book any other way. Same hotel. Same price. Better stay.
And because Fora’s commissions are paid by hotels and suppliers, the planning is free to you.
From the gear I never travel without to the booking platforms I actually trust — everything is on my Beacons page.
For 1:1 trip planning, retreats, or to say hi.
When you’d rather not DIY, I’m a Fora Travel advisor — which means I plan and book trips for paying clients alongside writing about travel here. Same eye for detail. Same honest take. With the perks of a real travel agency.
Through Fora, I have access to the same partner programs the world’s best agencies use — Virtuoso, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Hyatt Privé, Marriott STARS, and dozens more. That means complimentary upgrades, daily breakfast, hotel credit, early check-in, and amenities you can’t book any other way. Same hotel. Same price. Better stay.
And because Fora’s commissions are paid by hotels and suppliers, the planning is free to you.
I’m the founder of Trip Happens — and a Fora Travel advisor, which means I plan and book real trips for paying clients alongside writing about them here.
Trip Happens started because I’d had one too many trips go sideways — and I figured if I was learning the lessons anyway, I might as well share them.
Before Trip Happens, I spent 30 years inside corporate travel — including five years as senior VIP travel advisor to UPS, eight years building and leading the global meetings function for The Nature Conservancy, plus executive engagements with Coca-Cola, Tyler Perry Studios, and other Fortune 100 brands — and large-group bookings for MrBeast’s TV show, where the logistics move at creator-economy speed and the margin for error is zero.
Now the brand has grown into trip planning for individual travellers, team retreats for distributed companies, and a blog full of the gear, hotels, and hacks I actually use.
From the gear I never travel without to the booking platforms I actually trust — everything is on my Beacons page.
