Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 335: Luxury isn’t price—it’s trust, time, and knowing where the real perks live

• Sophia Yvette

Share episode

What makes Ane Lowe with Lowe Luxury Travel a good neighbor?

Ever felt buried under 27 open tabs trying to plan a “perfect” trip? We sat down with Ane Lowe, founder of Lowe Luxury Travel, to unpack how a boutique advisor turns chaos into clarity—and why the smartest travelers often pay less while getting more. Ane shares her leap from private banking to bespoke travel design, the moment an influencer meetup revealed a career she didn’t know existed, and the systems she uses to secure hidden-value perks like complimentary breakfast, on-arrival upgrades, and resort credits that stretch your budget without sacrificing comfort.

Ane explores the most common myths about travel advisors—especially the idea that they cost more than DIY. She breaks down how preferred partnerships and negotiated offers beat public rates, and how real-time advocacy matters when flights change, rooms miss the mark, or weather reroutes a plan. From honeymooners chasing an unforgettable first journey, to families juggling nap schedules and adjoining rooms, to empty nesters valuing depth and ease, Ane shows how curation beats crowdsourcing and why time—not money—is the rarest luxury.

Ane also dives into practical marketing lessons: email for education and trust, Instagram for inspiration and discovery, and the discipline to focus on channels that truly move the needle. If you’ve wondered whether a travel advisor is “still a thing,” this conversation reframes the role as a modern filter for an overwhelming world. Ready to travel smarter, not harder?

Subscribe for more local stories from operators who measure what matters. If this conversation helped you think differently about value and service, share the episode with a friend and leave a quick review so others can find the show.

To learn more about Lowe Luxury Travel go to:
 🌐 https://loweluxurytravel.com/

Lowe Luxury Travel
📞 +1956-648-5643

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to the good neighbor podcast. Are you in need of a luxury travel advisor? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Anne Lowe, with Lowe Luxury Travel. Anne, how are you today?

SPEAKER_02:

I'm doing well. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm also doing well now. We are excited to learn all about you and your business. Can you start off by telling our listeners just a little bit about your company?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, well, first of all, thank you so much for having me. My name is Anne Lowe, and I own Low Luxury Travel. It's a boutique luxury travel agency based in Central Texas. And I designed bespoke trips for families, for individuals, couples, essentially people that are looking to regain their time and take the stress out of the travel planning process.

SPEAKER_01:

Amazing. Now, how did you originally get into a business like this?

SPEAKER_02:

So it is it's a bit of a roundabout story, but I was working in private banking and I was just looking for a creative outlet. And so at the time I was really into food and travel, so I started a food and travel blog. And this was right around the time when the influencer economy started to become more popular. So I was invited to do an overnight stay at the Lake Austin resort, and there I met two other influencers who were a couple of years younger than me. And I was looking at their Instagram account, and I was like, what do these girls do? You know, they're probably a good nine, 10 years younger than me. They're traveling the world, they're staying at five-star resorts and hotels. And so I basically was like, what do you guys do for a living that allows you to travel as much as you do? Because I, you know, loved my job and I had limited vacation time, and I would run out of vacation by like May of every year because I was always wanting to travel somewhere. And so they said they were like, We are luxury travel advisors. And I was like, oh my God, this is the dream job that I didn't know existed. Um, and so for uh about a year I became really good friends with one of them and was kind of asking questions and just kind of following along and seeing what she was doing. And then finally I decided this is this is something that I really want to do. And so I left my banking job and um interviewed with a host agency that's based out of Dallas. They've been around for 50 years, they're very well respected in the industry, and you know, had a great interview with it with Jim, who's the owner of the agency, and he said, We'd love to have you on. You know, you guys you you will have to bring on your own clients, but I think you can do a really good job and um took the leap of faith, and here we are.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, after taking that leap of faith in your day-to-day life, what is the most common myth or misconception you typically come across when it comes to luxury travel?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, so I feel like there's two main things I come across often. I think with the general public, a lot of people are surprised to find out that travel agents or travel advisors are still around, um, mainly because of the onset of the online travel agencies like Expedia, Travelocity, you know, Orbits, just the list goes on and on. Um, and I think those companies actually keep us in business because there's just way too much information. If people get information overload, they don't know kind of where to start. And so that's where somebody like me comes in. Um, on the luxury travel side, I find that more luxury travelers are aware that we exist, luxury travel advisors. I think the misconception there is that a lot of people think that working with somebody like me is going to be more expensive than booking on their own. And a lot of times that's actually not the case. I find that most often I can save clients hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the course of their trip. Um, a lot of times by having access to promotional offers or discounted rates that are not available online, but also by being able to include complimentary perks, you know, when booking hotels for clients. And a lot of times that's either, you know, complimentary upgrades, um, free breakfast included with their stay. So, of course, over the course of many nights that can save clients hundreds of dollars. Um, a lot of times we're able to include um like resort credits or hotel credits that people can use for food and beverage or for spa. And so that kind of snowballs and ends up saving clients a lot of money over the course of their stay.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. What a fun misconception to go over. I know you got me salt. Now we know marketing is the heart of every business. Who are your target um clients or customers and how do you currently attract them?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, that's a great question. You know, thanks to my prior private banking background, um, and because of the trust I was able to establish with my clients for almost you know 10 years of working with them, um, I was able to take those clients and easily convert them to you know luxury travel clients. So the my audience really is is really broad because I work with you know couples who might be empty nesters or grandparents, you know, people that are maybe retired and they're looking to now travel the world or travel with their family and plan you know, family trips with the grandkids. Um, I also work with um you know honeymooners that are you know starting to plan this really special trip. I work with families that have young kids, and so it's it's really the whole um the gamut. But um email marketing has been really important for me, of course, just stay in front of my clients. And then I've also gotten uh a lot of clients from Instagram, thankfully, um, because it is such a big role platform, and I would say I think those two are my main uh marketing avenues to stay in front of clients and also educate them and then bring on new clients as well.

SPEAKER_01:

So, Anne, have you ever thought of having your own podcast?

SPEAKER_02:

I haven't yet. Um as I've gotten busier and busier, I feel like I've focused less and less on more marketing platforms and kind of tried to like focus on the ones that I think I'm getting the most um benefit from. But I do see a tremendous benefit from podcasting. I mean, whenever I'm you know making my kids lunches in the morning and cleaning and doing all the things, like I'm always listening to podcasts. So I feel like it would be a really great way to um inspire and educate and get in front of a new audience. I just haven't really thought about it yet.

SPEAKER_01:

And what is one thing our listeners should remember today about low luxury travel?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, I think the biggest thing or the biggest takeaway from them is one of your biggest assets is your time. And unfortunately, you know, once it's gone, like that's something that we can't regain. And so by taking the stress and the time off of somebody's plate, you know, from planning a really great trip, I can give them that time back. And so that's one thing that I do want them to think about is just get rid of the overwhelm, regain your time, you know, let me handle it for you, and um to put together a great trip for you guys.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that sounds amazing, but what our listeners really want to know today is where can they go to learn more about low luxury travel?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, um, so they can get a lot of really great information um by going to my website, lowluxuretravel.com. Um, they can also check out my Instagram to get more information and more inspiration, it's at Low Luxury Travel. And then they can always email me as well. It's uh Anne A-N-E at LowLuxuryTravel.com. If they have any travel questions or if they want to get started with the travel planning process, um, I'm happy to provide more information there as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, Anne, I really appreciate you being on the show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you having me.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfrisco.com. That's gnpfrisco.com or call four six nine two two two one nine three four five.