Erica Davies’ heart belongs to Cranston. “It’s the center of the universe,” she said. “I’m super proud to have grown up there. I live in North Kingstown, but that’s where I tell people I’m from.”
But Cranston faces stiff competition with Davies’ other love – her boutique travel agency, The Well Traveled Soul LLC, a firm that creates client luxury trips, from the Turks and Caicos to the Amalfi Coast.
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As a youngster, Davies used to hang out with her sister at their home near Garden City, helping her dad, an electrician, do his paperwork.
“That may be where I got my organization skills,” she said.
Wanderlust is in Davies’ DNA. When she was growing up, her family would take spontaneous trips north to New Hampshire or Maine, her father calling around at the last minute to find a hotel. The family started going on big vacations when she was in middle school, and they took their first cruise to Bermuda. Every year after that, they’d go on a weeklong cruise to the Bahamas or the Caribbean.
“My parents loved them,” she said. “But cruising is my least-favorite vacation.”
After she graduated from Cranston High School West, Davies took a detour to work for a small, family-owned travel agency. She spent part of her 20s specializing in planning client trips to Italy. To this day, those Italian vacations she created are still her favorite.
But in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, travel slowed to a crawl. Davies segued to the business world, working as a senior market research assistant at FM Global, the Johnston-based commercial property insurance giant now known as FM. Eventually, she moved on to CVS Health Corp., working in training and development while taking undergrad courses at Providence College with a major in communications.
One day, her manager told her she should make a change in her studies that would pay off later.
“He said, ‘Do yourself a favor and switch to business.’ I took his advice and eventually graduated with [a degree] in business administration. Having that background has opened up doors to many facets of running a company. I know a little about a lot and I’ve never been afraid to try something new.”
Davies spent two decades in the corporate world doing various jobs, from chief of staff at a local information technology company to working for a software development business, where her responsibilities ranged from finance and human resources to legal and partner relationships.
When COVID-19 began rampaging around the world in early 2020, her work on client projects was put on hold and eventually the business wound down, leaving her at a crossroads, like many others, too.
“I asked myself what I wanted to do,” Davies said. “I knew I didn’t want to go back to corporate America.”
She’d found inspiration watching TV shows about travel and cooking shows on travel. That nudged her to visit the New York Travel & Adventure Show, a massive trade expo with dozens of vendors, and celebrity speakers such as the renowned travel author and TV host Rick Steves.
Although the rest of the world was shut down, that experience sparked ideas, Davies said.
“I discovered being a travel adviser is the thing, so I researched what it involved,” she said. “I loved luxury and wanted to be a virtuoso travel adviser in a luxury market. I poured my heart into it.”
Davies launched The Well Traveled Soul in 2022. Her first client was a colleague, followed by a friend of a friend who asked Davies to plan a 50th birthday trip to Italy for his wife.
COVID-19 has changed how people think about travel. Clients aren’t waiting to celebrate milestones, such as anniversaries and big birthdays, Davies said.
“I used to do order taking. These days it’s more consultative,” she said. “They come to me to get a match of their style to a particular island. I also work with luxury market clients. I haven’t seen economic downturns in my business.”
New clients, who typically come via referrals, are asked how much they want to spend. Suggested minimums range from $5,000 to $7,000 for a weeklong trip for a couple to Mexico or the Caribbean, to $25,000 to $30,000 for a week for two in Africa.
“I ask about budgets and other likes, such as how they design their house. It gives me insight into their travel style. Do you like Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn? Are you foodies? Do you like history? Maybe they’d like to do an e-bike tour, or snorkeling and sunset sail in Italy. I mostly work with families with high school-age kids and older.”
Like many small-business owners, Davies says the most challenging part is handling her company’s growth, as well as finding new clients she’s aligned with.
“I have a minimum spend,” she said. She also needs to hire an assistant, but hasn’t been able to do it. “The business is my baby. It’s only mine, and to grow, I need to make that adjustment,” she said.
