Josh Whitaker
Owner
I’m passionate about bringing the extraordinary travel experiences I’ve had in my life to my clients. What drives me? Listening to my clients, fully understanding their desires, and then utilizing my knowledge to craft that perfect trip, tailored to their exact needs, every time.
Prior to serving as a travel advisor, I worked in retail sales management for 17 years. All the while, I traveled the world, gaining experience and forming connections to craft trips for my friends. In 1994, I eventually decided to turn my passion into my profession, and since then have never looked back.
I specialize in urban getaways, multigenerational travel, and beach destinations and especially enjoy letting my clients know about those overlooked gems in our own back yards such as the Mayan Riviera, the northern Florida Coast, and Turks & Caicos.
What’s your idea of the ideal trip? Let’s talk so that I can start turning your desires into dreams.
Arlene Thompson Brantley
Owner
Arlene is an expert luxury travel advisor and an Owner of Rudi Steele Travel, with experience managing hundreds of trips per year across the world. Her history started with planning group tours in Downtown Dallas and she slowly increased her expertise over 35 years to become successful both with clients and within her industry.
Arlene is fueled by her passion for building relationships with hotels and tour operators to provide unique and creative experiences that her clients crave. She is constantly looking for new destinations for her clients to explore and reveal new experiences to see well-trodden destinations in a different light. Through consistent travel and conversations, Arlene is eager to learn the history and culture of her destinations to bring them to life.
Her ability to go above and beyond for her clients has contributed to her success in increasing her client base through consistent word of mouth. Arlene’s unique abilities have also translated to her professional relationships and built a prominent standing within the luxury travel industry. She has served on numerous advisory boards including Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Intercontinental Hotel Group, and the Virtuoso Hotels and Resorts Committee. Among her peers, she was nominated as Travel Advisor of the Year in 2017, a splendid accomplishment given the thousands of advisors within the network.
If asked, she would contribute her success to a dedication to her clients, a grateful relationship with her partners, and friendliness among her peers. Even as a veteran, Arlene looks forward to what the future brings in this exciting industry, and creating more wonderful travel memories.
Beth Whitaker
Accountant
Beth joined the Rudi Steele Travel staff in January 2018 as the Accounting Manager. She is moving back to accounting for her encore career after 23 years in financial services. Most recently she was a Vice President of Operations with Fidelity Investments. She holds an MBA in Finance from University of North Texas and a BBA in Accounting from Texas Tech University. She has maintained a CPA license for over 35 years.
Rudi Steele
Chairman
Rudi Steele began his career in the travel industry over 50 years ago in Zurich, where he worked as an apprentice for the company HotelPlan. After leaving Switzerland, Steele worked for Guy Tombs Ltd., a company based in Montreal, Canada, in their travel department, where he was responsible for housing during the World’s Fair in Montreal in 1967. Later that year, Rudi began working for Thomas Cook in San Francisco and eventually headed their offices in Dallas. In 1972 he accepted the position of manager for Neiman-Marcus Travel in North Park, where he worked for six years before starting his own company, Rudi Steele Travel, in 1978. In addition to receiving numerous travel awards and recognitions, he served on the Virtuoso Advisory Board for many years, as well as advisory boards for Conde Nast Travel, The Luxury Collection, the Ritz-Carlton Presidential Roundtable, and The Preferred Hotels. Steele was also a long-standing member of Virtuoso Select Properties Committee. Rudi Steele Travel, Inc., a full-service travel provider specializing in luxury and adventure travel, has established itself as one of the pre-eminent purveyors of luxury travel in the Southwest. From the beginning, Rudi Steele Travel, Inc. has distinguished itself and is uniquely positioned to assist the most discriminating traveler by offering the highest level of personalized service, making arrangements on all seven continents. Small by choice, the agency consists of only 10 agents, some of whom have been with the agency for over 30 years.Now in its 34th year, Rudi Steele Travel has been a member agency of Virtuoso almost from beginning of its establishment.
David Norwood
Luxury Travel Advisor
I have been in the travel industry since 1985. My primary focus is to arrange individual and family luxury vacation travel experiences. I enjoy sports and adventure travel, luxury cruising and excellent food, wine and craft beer. Travel is my addiction. I live to experience unique properties and destinations to help clients fulfill their travel dreams.
Margery Hunter
Travel Consultant
My passion is blending travel experiences with history, geography, art, architecture, music, and literature. I studied in London and Oxford as an undergraduate, and lived two years in southwestern Germany, traveling and teaching English as a second language to IBM personnel. Returning to the US, I taught all levels of English, developed a successful real estate business, and then, on a visit to the Middle East, found my life's work - creating rich and rewarding travel experiences for thoughtful, discerning clients.
Karen Dawson
Owner-Southlake Travel
Ms. Karen Dawson, CTC, CTIE, Managing Director, Southlake Travel -Contact: (817) 657-9866 (cell/text); kdawson@southlake-travel.com; www.southlake-travel.com - Evening & Weekend Appointments; Readers Choice Award for Best Travel Agency - 2018 / 2019 / 2020 - Dallas-Fort Worth. Certified Agent: Tauck Tours; Certified: Seabourn Cruise Lines; Certified: Sandal Resorts, Hotels & Honeymoons;
Personally handled the vacation travel for Mr. Ned Johnson, Chairman/CEO, Fidelity Investments. Corporate Travel & Meetings Director, Colonial Investments; Travel Franchise DIrector - American Express, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Uniglobe Travel; Product Marketing: Sabre / Travelocity; Sales & Marketing Manager, Virtuoso, Fort Worth, TX. Experience with C-suite executive / private travel arrangements; Corporate and incentive travel programs nationally and globally.
Rosie Flanagan
Travel Advisor
Learning about cultural and physical geography has been my passion since childhood. This thirst for knowledge and discovery of this wonderful world through travel, led me to pursue my Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography from San Diego State in 1982. I feel blessed that becoming a luxury travel advisor with Gayle Gillies Travel of Rancho Santa Fe, Californina in 1989 has allowed me to share this passion with my clients! I proudly began Rosie Flanagan Travel in 2008 and am happy to be affiliated with the best of the best in Dallas, Rudi Steele Travel.
Besides assisting clients with VIP experiences worldwide, I also escort small groups a few times a year on ocean and river cruises, cooking schools , spa experiences, as well as specialty and active travel for the adventurers at heart.
Denise Hall
Travel Advisor
Mark Twain said it best - “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did do. So throw off your bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
I am passionate about engaging people in the world and I love living into Mark Twain's edict. As we explore, dream and discover, our lives are enriched and life story shaped. I love hearing traveler's stories as they return from the reaches of the world.
- The family who sojourned through Italy together as they discovered their roots.
- The couple who can’t wait to return to that special beach spot on their next anniversary.
- The nurse whose life is forever changed from volunteering in Africa for the first time.
- The wonder of discovering rare marine life in the remote corners of Indonesia.
- Being the fist into the Sistine Chapel after the Papal Conclave.
- ...and so on....
This is what I love – creating incredible experiences around the world and hearing about how travel has shaped your life story.
What a privilege to be a part of that story!
Following a career as a business analyst, I have been designing travel experiences since 2005.
Lauren Diebel
My family instilled a love of travel from a young age. My favorite holidays are a blend of relaxation and inspiring culture. I grew up in Dallas, went to Southern Methodist University and studied abroad numerous times in England, France and New Mexico. I left Dallas for a short while to live in New York and I return multiple times a year to a home away from home! I have a family of my own now and I love seeing travel through their eyes. I'm passionate about helping my clients see the world in the best possible way!
Prior to serving as a travel advisor, I worked as an international buyer in distribution with facilities located throughout the North American continent for 15 years. During this time, I continued to travel and plan trips with friends and family honing in on a natural love of travel, planning and organization.
Places I Have Traveled:
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Mexico
British Virgin Islands
Bahamas
Turks And Caicos Islands
Turkey
Argentina
Antigua And Barbuda
Anguilla
Guadeloupe
New Zealand
Japan
United States - Hawaii