Steele Luxury Travel founder, Dane Steele Green, was born and raised in Manhattan. Dane attended New York University and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a major in Business Communications. Dane has held internships throughout his college career including El Al Airlines, Sally Fischer Public Relations, and iAmplify. He has been a part of the marketing teams at both JetBlue Airways and Alitalia Airlines. Dane speaks five languages including English, French, Italian, Spanish and Hebrew. Dane started his first international business at the age of 15 in which he would frequently travel to Italy and use the strong dollar (at the time) to purchase designer name brand items and sell these items on his own website in the US. Dane has a strong sense of international business and communication; a natural-born entrepreneur.
Shannon: How is Steele Luxury Travel different from other luxury travel services in what it provides to its users?
Dane Steele Green: Steele Luxury Travel is a brand new concept in travel. Geared towards the gay and lesbian market, Steele Luxury Travel is actually the ONLY exclusively luxury gay tour operator in the country. We specialize in vacations that are gay event destinations. A gay event destination could be a pride celebration, a specific time of year, or a LGBT friendly hot spot. For instance, Rio for New Year’s is a gay hot spot, Sao Paulo Gay Pride draws in over 3.5 million gay people from around the world while Mykonos has been a gay destination in the summer months for decades.
Steele Luxury travel provides a superior travel experience to all. Mercedes Benz airport transfers, business class flights, and 5-star award winning hotels are all part of the experience. A user will simply log onto our website, select their destination and select their add-on options and everything else is taken care of, a luxurious hassle free experience. Luxury is no longer a material item, it has now turned into an experience—a lifetime experience.
Shannon: When did the concept for Steele Luxury Travel first come to you?
Dane Steele Green: Growing up, I always wanted to work in the travel industry. I have held prior marketing positions at JetBlue Airways and Alitalia Airlines. Working in the airline industry allowed me to experience the world; especially the gay world outside of the United States. Any chance I had, I was on a flight to explore another destination. Whether it was Tokyo over Labor Day, Rio de Janeiro for Carnival, or European escapes in the summer… I was on a jet headed there. I would say that probably 70% of the time I flew in a first class cabin to any destination worldwide; there was another gay man seated in the same first class cabin. Many of them I recognized from Chelsea. Us boys and girls love to travel in style and comfort and stay in the finest hotels available. Steele Luxury Travel provides vacations to a niche market, to niche gay destinations, during niche times. We provide what the discerning traveler wants.
Shannon: What has the response been in the gay and lesbian community since Steele Luxury Travel’s launch?
Dane Steele Green: The gay and lesbian community are intrigued by Steele Luxury Travel. There are few competitors out there that provide a luxury travel service catering to the community. It seems to be appreciated that a concept such as this has become available to gays and lesbians across the country.
Shannon: Can you tell us about some of your most popular destination packages?
Dane: All of my destination packages are popular. We currently are offering our first trip to Buenos Aires for Gay Pride in November followed by Rio de Janeiro for New Year’s and Carnival. Sao Paulo in June 2009 is where we will celebrate Gay Pride with 3.5 million gay people from around the world. Mykonos, Greece, is the final planned destination in 2009. We plan to expand to destinations such as Sydney and South Africa in 2009, as well. On each Steele Luxury Travel vacation, a large event is held at the host hotel for an invite only party. Here local guests will be invited to this exclusive and chic event that everyone in town will be talking about.
Shannon: Are the packages all inclusive?
Dane: For each vacation destination, Steele Luxury Travel guests experience the ultimate in chic, first-class style. Lodging is always in a 5-star hotel with complimentary daily breakfast, transportation to and from the airport and within destination cities is via Mercedes-Benz chauffeur service. Even the flights are a pleasure, as guests fly only in premium business-class cabins with large, comfortable recliners that lie back as far as 180 degrees. Since everyone enjoys their vacation differently, guests can choose what type of activities they want to participate in. We offer over 20 different activities and local excursions for each trip. It is your vacation, why not customize it to your desires? Some excursions include tango lessons, hang gliding, group city jogs, city tours, cooking lessons, and more!
Shannon: What can a potential user of Steele Luxury Travel expect in terms of planning their next trip?
Dane: When they are planning their next trip, if they log on our website at www.SteeleTravel.com, they will be able to see all the customizable options. Guests can also extend their length of stay to any destination! If they are having a special event they can contact us and we will take care of the details. If they happen to be traveling alone, if they so desire, we can partner them up with another single traveler for yet another interesting and unique experience.
Shannon: How do you envision the future of Steele Luxury Travel?
Dane: I envision Steele Luxury Travel becoming a well known and recognized name among the gay community and other communities alike. I see the company expanding to offer more destinations and travel options in the years to come. Steele Luxury Travel will continue to play a major role in community development. Steele Luxury Travel is in the final stages of selecting a charity to donate a percentage of its profits to. Giving back to the community is just as important as providing a service to the community.
To learn more about Steele Luxury Travel please visit them online at www.SteeleTravel.com. You can also sign up for their newsletter and special deals and offers.
Posted by Shannon Nelson on April 8, 2008 7:41 AM
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