LGBTQ+-Owned R Family Vacations Rebranded as KelliGregg Travel

R Family Vacations Gets an Upgrade as KelliGregg Travel to Expand Its Vision for More Inclusive LGBTQ+ Travel Experiences.

Things are about to change for the folks at R Family Vacations, a travel agency that has customized LGBTQ+ vacations for more than 19,000 clients. And with its milestone 20th anniversary next year, the company – co-owned by Kelli Carpenter and Gregg Kaminsky – has already started to undergo some changes to rebrand itself as KelliGregg Travel.

We sat down with both Kelli and Gregg to chat with them about the rebrand, their clientele, and trips scheduled for next year! 

Vacationer Magazine: You’ve embarked on this new chapter to rebrand R Family Vacations into KelliGregg Travel. What made you decide to make the change after almost 20 years in the travel business? 

Gregg Kaminsky: Prior to starting R Family Vacations with Kelli, I was the Vice President of Atlantis Events, doing all-gay male vacations. We came up with an idea in 2003 that we would create something similar to Atlantis, RSVP, and Olivia, but for LGBTQ families. When we started the company, we did one big vacation on a cruise ship each summer.

We still continue to organize one big LGBTQ family event every July, but as we started to explore other types of travel and noticed who was coming on our trips, we branched out into a lot of different areas, which included organizing river cruises, tours, and resort vacations. In addition to arranging charter trips, we also became travel advisors, which at the time, was new.

What we realized is that the family brand didn’t really tell the full story because it only told one part of what we do. So, after 20 years we decided to rebrand with something broader. 

One of the things that makes our company so unique is that we are the only company that hits the entire community. Obviously, the company is owned by a gay male and lesbian woman, but when you look at the make-up of our trips, it’s very mixed – men and women. In fact, our next trip is our tour in Ireland and it’s literally 50-50 men and women. Everyone’s welcome on our trips. So, our plan to rebrand will not only clarify what we do as a business, but it will also showcase the diversity of our clientele.

That’s pretty similar to Vacationer because we’re trying to pave our own way to ensure that we showcase our community’s diversity and how we travel.

Gregg Kaminsky: LGBTQ+ allies are also part of our community. We get a pretty substantial group of straight allies that travel with us. And they really feel like they belong. We did a river cruise charter last summer and there was a couple that booked it sort of by accident. They were an elderly straight couple celebrating their 50th anniversary and one of our employees was in the airport transfer with them and asked, “How did you find out about R Family?” They didn’t realize it was an LGBTQ+-chartered river cruise, but they loved the trip and they’ve already rebooked for next year. They’re bringing their son and his partner on our river cruise, too! 

Kelli Carpenter: When we created our business, it was reflective of what our lives actually looked like, but our lives aren’t all lesbian or all gay. It’s a combination of gay, lesbian, and transgender as well as extended friends, and family, which also includes straight allies.

Gregg Kaminsky: People really feel like they belong when they’re traveling with us. There’s definitely a sense of community. Even if you travel by yourself, you’re not alone. We always promise the day you walk onto the boat, resort, or tour – you’re going to instantly feel like part of the group. 

That sense of community is probably why you’ve been going 20 years strong. So, what trips do you have planned next year and to commemorate your 20th anniversary?

Gregg Kaminsky: We’re returning to one of our favorite places, Thailand in February. And then we have a river cruise in Boudreaux in France, next summer we have our 20th Anniversary R Family trip. It is a Caribbean cruise on the largest ship in the world. In Fall 2023, we’ve planned another tour in Israel. 

Out of curiosity, are you part of a travel agency consortium like Virtuoso or Travel Leaders Group?

Gregg Kaminsky: We are currently part of Virtuoso, but as part of our rebranding, we’ve decided to join Travel 100 Group in Chicago. They are a part of Signature Travel Network, which is similar to Virtuoso. It’s a fantastic organization that we love and it will provide us with an even broader group of tools than what we had as part of Virtuoso. 

You’ve worked with an LGBTQ+ branding company in New Orleans to help with the transition from R Family Vacations to KelliGregg Travel. Looking down the road, where do you see the company in five or 10 years?

Gregg Kaminsky: We’re really excited. We want to grow in the three different areas without leaving what we originally set out to do, which was to create vacations for LGBTQ families. We want to continue to expand in the different types of charter travel that we provide for the entire LGBTQ community. We absolutely love our travel advisor business, which has really been great! So, we want to expand in that area as well, which provides us with opportunities to share our expertise with our guests and or clientele.

From flight delays to lost luggage, vacationers are dealing with a number of pain points when it comes to travel. You both have seven years of travel advisor expertise. What are some reasons why you would recommend travelers use a travel advisor to plan and book their travel? 

Kelli Carpenter: I think most people don’t realize that it doesn’t cost them anything additional to consult a travel advisor for his/her/their services.  The digital booking world for travel is so oversaturated. It’s an algorithm that gives you the information, but it’s not a human connection that allows you to get real-time insight from a person who has experienced the hotel, resort, destination, or immersive experience that you want to book.

We’re also connected to a powerful network or community of travel advisors, where if we don’t know the answer, we have access to the answer and access to some really amazing perks that you can’t get if you book your trip on your own. 

Although the website is going through its own transitional stage, you can visit KelliGregg Travel for more information. And check out our Vacationer of the Week interview with Kelli Carpenter to learn more about her passion for travel, her travel style, and more!