About BTA

TRAVEL CURATORS

Angie Rice enjoys planning vacations for clients traveling where they are visiting places for the first time.  She loves to encourage them to have an open mind and embrace new adventures and experiences at each destination.  Her personal travels play an integral role in preparing clients for their travels.  She workes very closely with our preferred suppliers and prioritizes personnally meeting hotel managers, tour operators and other suppliers to ensure we are making the best recommendations for our clients. Angie has lived in Spain and travels yearly to the Turks and Caicos Islands. Her favorite destinations include Spain, Costa Rica, Italy, Ireland, Peru, Patagonia and coastal regions of the US.  Angie recently traveled to Russia on an educaitonal journey hosted by Signature Travel Network and Abercrombie & Kent.  This coming year Angie has plans to revisit Costa Rica, and travel extensively in Italy.  She will be guiding a group of women travelers to Italy in April, and will return again to this culturally enriched country to explore Sicily, Lake Como and Rome where she will svisit with many of our partner hotels.

Janet Semenova was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and spent the first eight years of her life living in the former Soviet Union. She inherited her passion for travel from her mother and is dedicated to showing the world to her children. She has spent extensive time in Israel, Europe and Central America and speaks fluent Russian and some Hebrew. One of her niches is planning complex multi-generational itineraries. Some of her favorite destinations include Iceland, Hawaii, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand.

Kim Parizek, based in Southern California, has over 15 years of experience in luxury travel.  Group travel is one of Kim's specialties.  She has organized trips for several organizations including the Sierra Club, local community organizations and various travel clubs.  She enjoys planning travel experiences for groups with interests in arts, history, books and movies, festivals, conservation and sporting events.  Recent projects include a European river cruise itinerary centered around the Christmas markets, overseeing an Alaskan cruise filled with adventurous port excursions for over 50 travelers, hosting an "Outlander" themed group trip to Scotland and curating Mediterranean cruises for a multitude of clients wanting to experience the Riviera for special events such as the Monaco Grand Prix and Cannes Film Festival.  In addition to group travel, Kim services clients interested in independent travel both by land and sea.  Kim travels extensively to research new destinations where she would like lead travelers.  In the last few years, Kim's educational journeys include Russia, Scotland, Myanmar, India, Israel, Jordan, Australia and various European destinations.  

Nicole Olds is a Midwestern girl who has lived in 6 other states and currently resides outside Chicago. She loves traveling to Florida, Hawaii and Mexico with her family and exploring European destinations with her husband. She is very involved in her community and has a passion for giving back. Nicole loves making people happy and knowing that she can do this through providing them with travel experiences with loved ones “feels like a blessing.” She has amazing attention to detail and jokingly reports that in addition to this making her a great travel advisor it also made her a popular PTA president for her children’s school.

Kathleen Lambermont divides her time between Las Vegas and Miami.  Much of her time in Miami is spent private sailing by yacht from Miami to the Florida Keys and the Caribbean, mostly to the Bahamas.  A love for the water began at a very young age for Kathleen, who has been on over 30 cruises and counting.  Kathleen's love for travel doesn't stop there.  She utilizes cruising as a way to taste the flavor of a destination before returning for a more extensive visit by land.  Some of Kathleen's favorite destinations include Italy, Greece, the Caribbean and London, where she is able to visit her daughter and find new things to discover each time.  Kathleen is quite the foodie and wine aficionado, and enjoys experiencing local cuisine and fine dining during her travels.

Shaila Willett has had a love for travel her entire life. She would tell you she inherited that love from her mom, who always made sure they explored new and interesting places. For Shaila, some of the greatest memories come from immersing herself into the local cultures and learning about the people. She is now passing that love for travel onto her three children and encourages them to see the world. A couple of her most memorable experiences have included attending The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain and bungee jumping off a remote bridge in the rain forest of Costa Rica. Shaila is passionate about helping others achieve their specific travel goals and maybe even checking off some bucket list musts!  She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, North America, Central America, and parts of Africa and looks forward to expanding her travels to all of the continents! 

Bri Crowder has had a sense of travel and adventure from a young age. Growing up in Arizona she is an avid hiker and loves being outdoors as much as possible. She has traveled all over the United States.  Some of her favorites places in our country include Ashville North Carolina, Colorado, Portland Oregon and Broadview Heights Ohio. Bri has done many overseas trips with her all-time favorite international destination being Asia.  Thailand will always have a close place to her heart. She has a go-go-go attitude towards traveling and believes leaving no stone unturned. Her sense of adventure has taken her on some very exciting trips.  She is always looking and researching for places that are off the beaten path. She loves finding the best kept secrets and remote locations during her travels from hidden waterfalls, to remote shrines found in mountains and caves while hiking.  Bri continues to explore this wonderful world.  She enjoys working with clients that seek adventure and who are willing to overcome fears and concur new heights through travel.

OUR PROCESS  

We follow a five-step process to ensure that your travel goals are achieved on each and every adventure.

EXPLORE: During our initial discovery call with you, we will get to know you and will gain insight into your travel preferences, desires and unique style. The goal of this phase is to ensure that the chosen destination and manner of travel are aligned with each traveler.

IMAGINE: In the next phase, we will help you define and imagine your ideal travel experience. This is where BTA identifies the purpose of your travel, and everything you hope to accomplish. Keeping in mind your budget, preferences and expectations, we begin the process of identifying the type of accommodations, environment, leisure activities, cultural engagement and cuisine that will transform your vision into a reality.

BUILD: Once we have helped you imagine your “dream trip” we begin to create a plan that is consistent with your travel goals and budget. BTA customizes each client’s itinerary, turning the experiences you wish to have into a well-executed plan.

JOURNEY: This is all about you! After weeks, months or even years of dreaming and planning the time has come to embark on your adventure. Be open-minded. Trust that you are prepared and let the journey guide you. Throughout this process, BTA will be available to you, working behind the scenes to ensure each stage of your trip exceeds your expectations.

REFLECTION: Although every journey comes to an eventual conclusion, we hope that traveling with BTA will allow you the opportunity to reflect and remember. We believe that each travel experience presents the opportunity to change, improve and grow. Share your experience with others. Learn from your travels. Be enlightened. Your trip may be over, but memories and experiences last forever.