Meet Whytney Rawls | Travel Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Whytney Rawls and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Whytney, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Social impact: How does your business help the community or the world?

Exploring new places and expanding one’s worldview is essential to personal growth. My goal with
‘Whyt’s Picks’ is a travel platform which curates travel experiences and connects experience seekers with locally owned small businesses to create a truly authentic experience — inclusive of premier destinations, unique experiences, and local flavor — that directly benefits a destination’s community.

I aim to generate a broader awareness of the importance of ‘supporting local’. Through sharing and recommending experiences, building customized travel packages and connecting adventurers to vetted locally-owned small businesses, this becomes achievable. Collaboration and awareness with these local companies helps travelers gain insider knowledge of things to do, places to see, and fresh experiences that go beyond stock recommendations with the added benefit of boosting a local community’s economy.

It is no secret that a lot of travel recommendations are “pay for play.” In other words, the more they advertise with a magazine, social media or website, the more they get recommended. This method of marketing often leaves hidden gems exactly that, hidden. My mission is to help you uncover these gems and cast them in the spotlight they rightly deserve, and in doing so creating an unforgettable experience to look back on and enjoy for life. My personal experience as a Travel Professional offers insight and education to a fantastic cause: ‘supporting local’ by bringing a pay-it-forward philosophy to local businesses who benefit immensely from tourism.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m Whytney! A blogger, travel curator, and flight attendant who founded @whyts_picks to highlight unique places and experiences worldwide while also helping lift small businesses wherever and whenever possible. I strive to educate travelers on where to go and what to do and inspire community and compassion through a pay-it-forward philosophy.
As someone who has thrived personally and professionally in hospitality, sales, travel, and aviation – and who understands and gets what a traveler wants to know… I created and curated this platform to be a fun and exciting space to connect and share journeys with other like-minded travel enthusiasts – young and old, close and far, female and male.
This is what ‘Whyts Picks’ is all about.

Nothing truly special ever comes easy, this is represented by the big learning curve of starting a new business venture. One of the more challenging aspects is the fast paced, never ending evolution of customer acquisition. Social media avenues pose a rewarding opportunity but remain a significant hurtle, due to this inherently evolving nature.

Additionally, there are so many different ways to monetize on a travel business now a days in a creative sense, where ideas and tangible items both interact – such as blogging/vlogging/writing and travel planning…learning how to navigate these crowded spaces, is both complex and overwhelming, but if it is where your passion lies, you do the necessary work to figure it out.

Developing relationships with supportive professionals in my industry who offer honest feedback, listening to podcasts and performing industry relevant research have been very helpful in learning what works and what doesn’t for me.

Often you hear about finding your ‘niche’ and that is truly important. Having a cohesive aesthetic and streamlining your ideas are necessary to stand out from the crowd, because it creates a space that is easy to navigate and keeps you in alignment with your goals.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Here is a sample itinerary of where I would take a friend if they were visiting Fort Lauderdale for the first time:

Breakfast/Coffee – The Alchemist (Wilton Manors) or Anne’s Florist (Las Olas Blvd.)

Lunch – El Camino (Las Olas Blvd.) or Boatyard (17th Street)

Brunch – Beach House (Pompano) or Milk Money Bar & Kitchen (DT Fort Lauderdale)

Dinner – Heritage (Flagler Village) or La Brochette Bistro (Cooper City)

Dinner with music – Andy’s Live Fire Grill (US1) or Ya Mas (Las Olas)

Speak Easy’s – No Man’s Land or Mama Hank’s

Also for shopping I would definitely bring them to Montce Swim, Briny, and/or Etiquette.

The Wilder’s ‘Art Collective’ in DT Fort Lauderdale has art shows every third Thursday of the month from 7pm-close, which is very cool.

Also, Fat Art Village has ‘Art Walk’ the last Saturday of the month which is always worth checking out.

Glitch Bar & Arcade is a lot of fun with Creative cocktails, a DJ and classic arcade games.

Sparrow Rooftop is a fun, swanky hangout on the rooftop of the Dalmar as well.

And, if you like a fun Dive Bar with live music, Wednesday nights at Fat Cats in Riverfront has a great Reggae band you don’t want to miss!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have an extremely supportive group of friends, many of them being entrepreneurs and creatives, who are great listeners, and both insightful and encouraging while still being extremely real. I would like to dedicate this shout out to them. There are too many who have touched my life at different times and it different capacities, to single one out, but they know who they are.
And for them, I am forever grateful.

I would also like to give a huge shoutout to my Mom, my best friend from day one, for always being reassuring and supportive, even when she may not have always understood it. That’s love.

Website: https://linkgenie.net/WhytsPicks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whyts_picks/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whytneyrawls/