When brother-sister team, Melissa Noonan and Asher Lewis, joined forces in 2019 to start Hub & Spoke Travel, little did they know their business commencement would coincide with the Covid-19 pandemic.
In spite of those challenges, the early success of their boutique tour company has proven a hidden, underserved demand for exclusive small group European experiences. In fact, their October Italy tours are still moving forward, with several other 2021 destinations soon to be released. I sat down with them, virtually, to discover the “why” and “how” behind their new business.
What is their approach to travel?
Hub & Spoke is built on four principals. The first principal represents their namesake: Hub & Spoke. Instead of the typical “whistle stop” European tour where travelers spend a large portion of their vacation packing and moving, Melissa and Asher prefer to immerse their groups in a particular region and culture. They select a central accommodation (the Hub), and all travel beyond that location consists of day trips with the area (the Spokes). The benefit is a higher quality experience and less wasted travel time.
Small Groups is their second principal. They feel that groups of approximately 12 travelers is the “sweet spot” for dynamic travel — small enough to visit otherwise inaccessible locations (imagine a small hidden gravel road leading to a beautiful Tuscan sunset), but large enough to cater custom, boutique experiences not available to individuals. Some of the venues Hub & Spoke visits would be off limits to large tour-bus sized groups. The smaller group sizes also allow Melissa and Asher to provide personal assistance with booking flights or packing questions.
Third, they provide Authentic Connections. The philosophy is that their tour guests can experience more than just sightseeing; instead they experience the sites alongside local experts. They are able to meet locals, many of whom are friends of Melissa and Asher, and make personal connections that last beyond the trip. Tour guests may have the opportunity to and dine with owners of local establishments such as wineries, or hand-picked area guides—often in their own homes. There is time for members of the group to learn from these individuals as they hear group presentations, but also time to visit with them one-on-one in a relaxing and enjoyable setting.
The final principal of Melissa and Asher’s approach is that they offer only Tested Experiences. Before they announce a tour, they have already visited the venues and sites their groups will visit. They have slept in the beds, eaten the food, and driven the roads to ensure that what their guests experience is really full of quality and authenticity.
How did Melissa and Asher develop a passion for European travel?
Melissa has had a lifelong passion for travel planning. As early as the third grade, her parents allowed her plan a family trip to Charleston, S.C., and she has not looked back since. As an adult, she and her husband started taking their boys on trips to Europe almost every year. They’ve traveled extensively throughout Europe, “too many times to count,” but would return to some of their favorite places year after year. That naturally led to several groups of friends requesting her guidance. Over the years, her family began making lifelong European friendships along the way. For example, the owners of their favorite restaurant in Rome remember them each time they visit, and talk about how much their boys have grown since the last time they visited.
Melissa’s passion for travel also inspired Asher, even guiding Asher and his family on their first few trips to Europe. Soon after, Melissa approached Asher about starting this travel business to fulfill a dream she’d had for quite some time. Melissa’s skills as a trained attorney an intrepid traveler paired well with Asher’s skills as a software consultant and an enthusiast for so many things Europe has to offer. The two had already demonstrated a penchant for working together, sharing real estate interests in the hospitality industry, and Melissa felt that combining her expertise with Asher’s would successfully establish the business with a high level of service, professionalism and quality.
Favorite travel memories
Asher said that one of his favorite travel memories was walking on the walls of Lucca, Italy with his family. Lucca has these wide earthen rampart walls around its old city center, and people can walk all the way around the wall and rest at benches along the way. There are trees along the wall promenade, and if you look out on one side, you see the hills of Tuscany. A gaze in the other direction reveals the quaint buildings of the old town. Asher’s children are 9 and 13, and he remembers enjoying the day, letting the kids just ride bikes around on the wall and stop along the way to play at grassy park areas. At one point his daughter went ahead of them, and when they caught up to her, they found her sitting on a bench with a 98-year-old Italian woman. The two were just sitting together chatting away, as best they could despite the language barrier.
Asher also enjoys experiences very early in the morning before tourist crowds hit. One of his favorite experiences was a tour of the Vatican in Rome just before dawn. Experiencing the Vatican without crowds, and with time to really examine and appreciate what he was seeing, is a memory he’ll never forget — and one he hopes to share with others!
Melissa said that some of her favorite travel memories are being at Mürren, Switzerland. The only way to reach Mürren is by cable car or a narrow-gauge train, since it sits at the top of a cliff. Once you ride up, from the vantage point of Mürren you look out over three mountains, the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Melissa especially loves that time of year when the cattle come down from the mountains with cowbells around their necks and flower wreaths on their heads. People who go there for the first time see something that is so beautiful it almost looks unreal. Melissa says that there is nothing that looks quite like this where we live in North America.
Together, Melissa and Asher have shared many magical experiences. One that stood out occurred while they were doing some research for Hub & Spoke at Colle di Val d’Elsa, Italy. This town has a walled old city that is on top of a cliff and is accessible to pedestrians by an elevator that goes up through the rock of the cliff itself. They decided to take the elevator up to the old town one more time, even though it was getting late, because they wanted one more view of the setting sun from the top. After sunset, they started walking around the old town, shops were closed, and not many people were around. They peeked through a keyhole to a woodworker’s shop, and the woodworker saw them and encouraged them to come on inside. They felt as if they had walked into Geppetto’s workshop. The man spoke even less English than they did Italian, but it was such a neat experience to see what he was doing. Friendliness and hospitality are universal languages!
What is next for Hub & Spoke?
Melissa and Asher already have tour plans for the Alsace Region of France and the Lauterbrunnen- Mürren area of Switzerland. In the future, they plan to expand tours to Ireland as well. You can find Melissa and Asher at www.gohubandspoke.com
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