Meet Whitney Patapoff
LOCAL FOREIGNER’S TEAM OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
This post is part of our series celebrating our Independent Contractors and Hosting Program. The Local Foreigner's Hosting Program provides a platform of systems and support for independent travel advisors.
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Sister Sister
Finding a business partner you can trust is no easy feat, but Local Foreigner’s Tracy Stromberg knew exactly where to look – to her sister, Whitney Patapoff. The two grew up in California, traveling together to places that were special to their family, including road trips down the coast, Hawaii, and frequently to Cabo. “We’ve been going to Cabo for more than 20 years and we never get tired of it – there’s something so effortless about the hospitality there, plus the beautiful beaches, incredible food, and margaritas, of course!” Whitney says. And from the sands of the Baja Peninsula, they set out on separate paths that would ultimately lead them back to working together.
“I love a spreadsheet, I love implementing a system…and travel advising is something that is highly dependent on a process. I’ve realized that my passion for learning and for helping other people learn is directly applicable to planning travel.”
-Whitney Patapoff
Lifelong Learner
During college at the University of San Diego, Whitney spent time abroad at St. Clare’s Oxford, heading out on weekends to destinations across Europe. “It was so easy to travel using London as a hub, and that opened me up to a different world. I loved the process of coordinating everything, putting it all together – it didn’t even feel like homework, it was just the way to spend time with my friends and see new places.” After graduation, she landed back in southern California, working in the clothing industry but on the lookout for a career that would feel more fulfilling. “I loved being in school, and I thought, ‘How can I be a lifelong learner?’ So I went back to school to become a teacher.” She received her credential and transitioned quickly into administration, ultimately becoming the director of the Pharmaceutical Sciences department at the University of California at Irvine. “It was a small major, so I wore a lot of hats, building out the department and the advising program,” she says. While she wasn’t necessarily passionate about the sciences, she found that she loved building the processes for the students to pursue their education. “I love a spreadsheet, I love implementing a system,” she says, “And travel advising is something that is highly dependent on a process.”
During her time at UCI, she and Tracy took a formative family trip to Peru that opened Whitney’s eyes to the depth of experience it was possible to have while traveling. After a move to Chicago, two kids, and a global pandemic, that Peru trip was still on her mind – and Tracy had started building Follow My Lead and was ready to bring on a partner. “When we were younger, we fought all the time, as we’ve grown up, we’ve realized that we fill in the gaps for each other. We’re very different, but we make a great team,” Whitney says. “I realized that my passion for learning and for helping other people learn was directly applicable to planning travel.”
“Getting to travel for work is an incredible perk, but what I love most is then I get to turn around and create meaningful experiences for others. And having the opportunity to do all of this with my best friend and sister is the cherry [tomato] on top.”
The Little Things
While Tracy is based in New York, Whitney lives in Chicago, where she finds enjoyment in the very necessary parts of the business that often drive people a little crazy. “Making someone who is hard to please happy is very fulfilling to me, so people who have very high expectations – I like those challenges, I connect with those people. And I am a sucker for details – I like to be able to see everything, so when I started with Local Foreigner and I saw the CRM, I was like, ‘Wow, this is incredible.’”
And it’s not just keeping track of the details during the planning process that’s important – she knows that the little things during a trip can be the ones that make the biggest impression. “One of my most visceral travel memories is eating the freshest bowl of cherry tomatoes at a wine tasting lunch in Sicily. I don’t even particularly love tomatoes, but there was something truly special about these, they were like eating candy,” she says. “Getting to travel for work is an incredible perk, but what I love most is then I get to turn around and create meaningful experiences for others. And having the opportunity to do all of this with my best friend and sister is the cherry [tomato] on top.”
