The Essence of Hospitality + Only the Best of What Can Be Done, w/ Angelisa Murray (Taos)

My guest this month is Angelisa Murray from Taos New Mexico. She started her career with the Four Seasons, but realized she needed to be outdoors, so moved to Alaska and led expeditions partnered with Lindblad. As life often does when you’re honestly following your interests, she received an offer to manage a heli-ski lodge in Valdez for a while… then took off to Hawaii to dive into more of the wellness side of travel & learn which launched her down to New Zealand with the slow adventure company Butterfield & Robinson, and eventually a decade long stint with the #1 active travel company Backroads. Through her time at Backroads she also became intertwined with National Geographic as they partnered on educational experiences and programming for guests. Angelisa now owns a company called Heritage Inspirations which provides authentically curated guided tours that take you off the beaten path of northern New Mexico showcasing the diverse and incredible people, the iconic cultural sites and traditions, landscapes and natural wonders. This is where our conversation picks up fromWe dig into the business side of the business. One of my favorite hotels in the country, Inn of the Five Graces in Santa Fe, counts on her and her team to curate experiences exclusively for their well-traveled high expectation guests. She talks a bit about how that collaboration came to be. I was also curious about how travelers find her company. She shares a bit on that topic as well, for others in the travel agency / destination space who may be interested in ideas to generate leads. The usuals. Repeat, referral, editorials, but the one area that I found most interesting was how deep her tentacles run with nurturing local partnerships with the towns in which she is operating within, where the people live who are storytelling. She’ll tell you that as you go bigger with a company, it’s not always the best thing. Another thing we have in common. You want to identify what you are good at and what you want to specialize in. You can’t be all things to everybody, an all too common mistake so many companies – especially in travel, tourism, hotels – make. She takes her company through an honest audit annually, which she’s termed a ‘tour diet’. She sits with her team and they make cuts on the experiences they’re offering – what’s working, what’s not, are you all happy, are you not? She’s really aware of only offering the best of what can be done… not all that can be done.This conversation is well suited for those who own, manage, operate a destination management company, a boutique tour operator. It’ll be interesting to those within hospitality whichever role you may be holding, and who may be dabbling with the idea of branching into a different facet of our vast industry. You can. It’s what I love about our industry – so many directions with which to go, if you want to go. And as a sidebar this is probably the number one topic I’m having right now with peers, colleagues, friends within the travel industry… what’s next for me career-wise, challenge-wise? This conversation will also be of interest to anyone who may be questioning business growth in the traditional sense, meaning growth can look & feel different within your business. There’s also personal growth, and following the crumbs of curiosity, which may have nothing to do with one’s business. Angelisa calls Heritage Inspirations her love letter to New Mexico… informed by her childhood memories at her grandmother’s house, the matriarch of her family. The essence of hospitality, connection with people through food, through stories, through music.