Travel GHR

08/31/2026

This is your sign to book the trip. ✈️

A toy or a gadget might be forgotten in a week, but watching a solar eclipse from the deck of a ship in the Mediterranean? That is a core memory that stays with a family forever.

At Travel GHR, we believe in Relationship-Driven Travel. It’s not just about the destination; it’s about the stories you’ll tell for decades to come. Swipe through to see why this trip was one for the history books. ☕️🌍

Where is the one place your family has always dreamed of going together? Let’s start planning. ⬇️

08/29/2026

Just another workday… except we’re living on a houseboat in Amsterdam. 🇳🇱

We started the day checking a few work boxes before closing the laptops and heading out to explore.

And this ended up being one of my favorite finds so far.

STRAAT Museum.

I knew we’d see some incredible street art, but I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Some of these pieces are MASSIVE, and there was something new to look at everywhere I turned.

Smalls was along for the adventure, and Tim was mostly behind the camera watching me take it all in. ❤️

That’s one of my favorite things about traveling. You can have a whole list of places you’re supposed to see, and then somewhere you weren’t expecting becomes one of the experiences you remember most.

And the ending wasn’t too bad either…

Back to our houseboat, up to the top deck, a glass of wine and an Amsterdam sunset. 🍷

Yeah… I could get used to this.

If you’re going to Amsterdam, would STRAAT Museum make your list?

08/24/2026

The best time to visit the Colosseum is at sunrise, before anyone else arrives.

I arrived at 6:00 AM on August 23, 2026 in Rome, Lazio, Italy and the piazza was almost completely empty through sunrise. Cool and comfortable, not the scorching heat of mid-day.

I am Nicci Grotefendt, founder of Travel GHR, a travel agency based in Edwardsville, Illinois. I specialize in Relationship-Driven Travel - travel designed around real, first-hand experience in the destination.

This is my first trip to Rome. I went to the Colosseum at night, at sunrise, and in the heat of the day to compare crowds, temperature, and lighting for travelers. Sunrise won for three reasons: beating the crowds, beating the heat, and the most beautiful light.

This private-feeling experience was not about booking a tour guide. It was about timing and location strategy. I stayed 20 minutes walk away in a hotel that is perfect for families, walked over before the city woke up, and finished with an espresso at a local shop.

This is the information you do not get when you book online. You get it from an advisor who goes and tests it.

Note: At 6am you see the exterior only, interior opens later. For many clients, this quiet exterior moment is the highlight.

If Italy is on your list for the next 12 months, message me. I will share how we build this into a full itinerary.

Video: Insta360 X3 and iPhone, on location at the Colosseum, Rome.

Travel GHR | Edwardsville, Illinois | travelghr.com

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08/09/2026

Make sure you follow along for Small Dog Big World's first Virgin Voyages Cruise! Barcelona we will see you soon, but our luggage may not. Good thing we love adventure (link in the comments for his daily journal videos)

07/27/2026

Spent the afternoon last Tuesday with Lora Lange Carlson, our Collette business development manager, going deep on itineraries at the storefront.

We covered Morocco (I’ve got clients who are obsessed with it, and now I am too), the Egypt and Jordan combination that stays small group instead of the 44 person classic tour, Japan with a South Korea add on, and the Northern Lights trips through Iceland.

I keep coming back to Collette because I’ve lived it. My own trip through Italy’s Treasures ended in a tiny community where a family made us lasagna from scratch and told stories over dinner. Out of everything I saw in Italy, that’s the moment that stuck.

07/24/2026

There's a reason we call it "under one roof."
Every flight, every transfer, every room block, every attendee who has a dietary restriction or a late arrival or a connecting flight that's going to be tight - that's on us. Tim drives the sprinter when we need him to. Biggie Smalls keeps the energy where it should be. And I'm handling the rest before you even know there was something to handle.
Corporate and group travel is a different animal. You're not managing 1 trip. You're managing 30 or 50 or 200 individual people who all have their own needs, their own schedules, and their own expectations, and every one of them reflects on you when something goes sideways.
We built Travel GHR around the simple idea that your group should arrive feeling taken care of. Every last one of them. And you, as the person who organized it, should feel that too.
If you've got a group event coming up and you're still figuring out how to hold it all together, let's talk.

06/19/2026

Private villa > resort for advisor education. Here’s why.

I’m Nicci Grotefendt, founder of Travel GHR in Edwardsville, Illinois. In April I walked our second Akumal build for The Conscious Creator (Feb 8–12, 2027) before the finishes went in.

Full breakdown is on LinkedIn — link in bio.

Living Dreams Mexico

06/18/2026

New article: why I'm hosting The Conscious Creator in a private villa in Akumal, not a resort.

I'm Nicci Grotefendt, based in Edwardsville, Illinois. In April I toured our second brand-new build with Living Dreams Mexico before finishes went in — the full walkthrough video is inside.

Read here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/private-villas-future-advisor-education-nicci-grotefendt-ssyqc