Meet Missy Weil
LOCAL FOREIGNER’S TEAM OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
This post is part of our series celebrating our Independent Contractors and Hosting Program. The Local Foreigner's Hosting Program provides a platform of systems and support for independent travel advisors.
Learn more about joining our team +
Making connections
Missy Weil is pretty sure that if helping people with their travel needs wasn’t her job, she’d still be doing it anyway. “I’m a connector,” she tells us from her home in Brooklyn, where her Cocker Spaniel, Pepper, can be heard barking in agreement. “I love talking to people, I love sharing experiences.” Whether it’s in pursuit of food, art, culture, design, history, theater — Missy loves living life alongside curious people. It’s why she’s developed such close relationships with fellow travel advisors throughout her career. “Travel advisors have a natural curiosity, we’re always asking questions, we always want to know more…not everyone is like that.”
Perhaps it’s that natural curiosity that gives Missy her “up for anything” spirit, which may explain her varied hobbies and interests — which range from painting to fly fishing — and her favorite places to visit, which span the globe from Iceland to East Africa. “Meeting new people, learning new languages, experiencing new things — that’s what I love. That’s why I do this job — so I can share that love with others.”
Local Foreigner or Nowhere
After spending six years as a Luxury Travel Specialist at a high-end membership-based travel agency in New York, Missy felt it was time to take her career to the next level. She wanted more out of her advisor role and was eager to engage with clients beyond just planning trips for them. “I was at a point in my career where I wanted more,” Missy explains, “and I realized the only way to elevate my role as a travel specialist was by creating my own company, where I could work with clients, not just for a trip here or there, but for the rest of their lives.”
When she was ready to begin building her brand, she immediately turned to Local Foreigner. “I was either going to be an IC at Local Foreigner or not be an IC at all,” she says with evident pride. Ever the relationship builder, Missy knew several Local Foreigner team members and considered them both personal friends and trusted industry colleagues, but cites Local Foreigner’s respected reputation as her ultimate reason for joining: “I chose TLF because of the people who were behind it.”
Never missing a beat, Missy joined the team in the fall of 2020, and got to work establishing her brand. Even though travel isn’t at its height right now, Missy is eager and optimistic for the future. “After the year we’ve had, I think people are going to be grateful for the opportunity to travel again, and really take time to plan thoughtful, meaningful trips.”
This is not a career move. This is a lifetime.
-Missy Weil
In it for the long haul
Transitioning from an in-office role to a fully remote position took some getting used to for Missy, who thrives in a communal environment where colleagues can talk and bounce ideas off one another. But as she adapted to Local Foreigner’s systems of communication, she found herself quickly forgetting about her old 9-5 format. “Whether we like it or not, the world is going to change after the year we have experienced. Sitting in an office five days a week may be a thing of the past – and is that so bad?” Instead of considering her role as an IC a stepping stone, Missy sees the flexibility of the job as long-haul advantage. “This isn’t a career move,” she tells us, “This is my business. This is a lifetime.”
And speaking of lifetimes, that’s exactly the kind of tenure Missy wants to hold with her clients. “Watching families grow up, getting the opportunity to become close with them, learning their needs, even watching their kids create travel styles on their own — that is my favorite part of the job. Creating memories that last a lifetime is irreplaceable.”
“I was either going to be an IC at Local Foreigner or not be an IC at all.”
Team Spirit
Even though she’s connected with the Local Foreigner team virtually, and met up with a few members in New York (she trekked from Brooklyn to the Lower East Side in a snowstorm for an outdoor, socially distanced holiday gathering!), Missy can’t wait to get the gang together again, once it’s safe to do so. “Being a part of a virtual team is incredible – especially during a time when we’re all looking to connect with others, and meet new people…but I really can’t wait until we can all get a cocktail together again!”
Save us a seat, Missy! Wherever you are, we want to be at your table.