Meet Michelle Payette, VAX’s New Brand Ambassador

Like so many of us after college, I thought, “ok, now what?” I had my Communication Degree but not a clue what I wanted to do with it. I’ve always had an interest in travel, and you could say it’s in my blood as my mom was a travel advisor and my brother is a pilot for Southwest Airlines. When good family friends who own our local travel agency, LaMacchia Travel, said they needed help around the office, I figured it would be a fun job while I figured out my next step. Little did I know that travel agency “filler” job would not only be the next step but also the first stepping stone in launching my now 20-year career in this industry. 

I stayed on board as a front line travel advisor for seven years gaining a wealth of knowledge on new destinations and the industry as a whole. I left the industry for about a year before I realized how much I missed it and have never looked back. A great opportunity to expand my travel experience became available, and I joined the tour operator side of the industry. The next seven years were spent on the Business Development Team for The Mark Travel Corporation representing the brands of Funjet Vacations, United Vacations, Southwest Airlines Vacations and Blue Sky Tours. This role is when I realized my passion, and where I excelled was in building relationships with travel advisors and helping them grow their businesses. 

Having experience in different segments of this industry not only makes you stronger but also helps connect the dots on how the industry works as a whole. The past four years I have spent with Playa Hotels & Resorts, and being on the hotel side of the business gave me so many AHA moments where I would think – “so that’s why we were always told no on the TO and agent side!” The knowledge I gained during this stage of my career is invaluable and again connected so many dots helping strengthen my expertise in travel.    

I am thrilled to be back with Apple Leisure Group as part of the VAX VacationAccess team. Joining this team as the VAX Brand Ambassador is a perfect fit as it allows me to do what I have grown to love continuing to build advisor relationships and providing them with the numerous tools VAX offers with their educational programs and of course award-winning technology. It’s encouraging to see so many new faces in this ever-growing industry, and I am excited for myself and VAX to become part of these new advisors’ success.