Travel Professional of the Year: Stephanie Malakie of Empress Travel Club

“Stephanie Malakie, who has two decades of experience in the luxury travel sector, founded Empress Travel Club and disrupted the typical travel agency model in the process. The Hawaii-based, membership-centered agency functions as a global private concierge, fastidiously attending to every detail to curate tailored once-in-a-lifetime itineraries.“

Empress Travel Club received the award for Top Producing Small Agency in the Specialty category, which honors a Virtuoso member and partner with the highest overall network sales in a respective category. Virtuoso, the leading global network specializing in luxury and experiential travel, presented its third annual regional Virtuoso Awards at its U.S. Forum, which took place January 28-30 at Grand Velas Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.