Dana Brown and Vanessa Tokatly have thrown in a fixed abode to become digital nomads, living out the trips they curate for their clients, a move they say has elevated every aspect of their lives.
It was burnout that drove TravelManagers Personal Travel Manager Dana Brown to pack up her belongings for life on the road.
“I was completely burnt out and when I realised there was an option to work remotely, I wanted that financial and locational freedom.”
She says within the first six months she was thinking, ‘Why didn’t I do this five years ago?’.
“I have been able to free up time to travel and focus on my passions and clients.”
Eight months ago, once Vanessa Tokatly’s youngest child finished school, she joined Dana.
“I met Dana on a famil in New Zealand a decade ago and she mentioned she wanted to go independent, and I thought wow that’s a big move. Then a year ago, when we saw each other again in Fiji, I was convinced I wanted to do it too.
“It is a huge cliff to jump off, and you need to trust yourself and break out of your comfort zone, but it’s the best thing I ever did.”
It certainly looks that way.
I am chatting with the pair on Zoom from a very chilly Melbourne while they sit in singlets, all tanned with hair pulled back in an effortlessly chic look at the Andronis Arcadia Santorini. They swivel the laptop around to a quintessential Greek view of whitewashed buildings and a cerulean sea.
They’ve come here from Six Senses Rome and are shortly off to Gundari Resort, on the secluded island of Folegandros in the Aegean Sea – it’s enough to make you want to pack your bags immediately.
While most of Dana’s travels have been solo, the pair plan to stick together for now.
Vanessa, who owns The Runway Traveller, an affiliate of Smartflyer Australia, says it’s been an easy transition to digital nomad when you are with someone doing the same thing.
“We understand each other’s work, and we haven’t had a fight yet!”
She says it’s good for clients too because they have two agents from strong brands, and they effectively get two for one.
“It was a big step mentally going away from an office of experienced agents who you’re learning from every day to being independent, but being here, it’s like I have my own mini office and we can discuss issues together.
“An example is I was reissuing flights and the price difference was low, and I mentioned it to Dana, and she said, ‘Is luggage included?’, and if you were with your husband or partner, they wouldn’t do that.”
While they both look the epitome of their Instagram feed, remote work has, of course, had its challenges.
