This content was created by Girlboss in collaboration with Fora.
Swaylah Faroqi pops up on my laptop screen. Her video background is a stock image of a gorgeous apartment with panoramic views of a city skyline. She apologizes for not showing her real background which, she confesses, has piles of clothes scattered all over her bed and a half-unpacked suitcase on the floor.
“I'm leaving in three days and I just got back from Mallorca,” she says. I ask where she’s off to next: “The States to see some relatives and to go to a wedding, then Todos Santos and Cabo. I’m also going to Thailand and Vietnam in the fall. Oh and Morocco for a little bit.”
That’s just a small snippet of Faroqi’s busy, jet-setter schedule. Traveling is what she loves doing most. It is her job, after all.
Faroqi is a London-based travel advisor, and through her company Away With Sway, she helps bring her clients’ destination dreams to life. And it wouldn’t have been possible if she hadn’t joined Fora, the modern travel agency that equips their advisors with everything they need to kick-start their own business: from partnerships with over 5,550+ hotels all over the world, to an all-in-one booking platform, training, marketing support and payment collection.
Below, we chatted about her journey to becoming a travel advisor (and entrepreneur) after 10 years in hotel management, why travel agents are considered ‘cool’ again, and her favorite underrated travel destination (hint: White Lotus fans will know).
When did you first fall in love with travel?
“As a young girl, my family did a lot of US road trips, and whilst that created many great memories, I was curious to explore life outside of America. In college, I studied abroad in Nottingham, a very small town in northern England, and it was a life lesson that there is so much more to this world. I developed an itch for travel and immediately started a career in the hospitality industry.”
Take me through your career journey!
“Throughout my 10 year career in hotel sales and management, I was lucky enough to work with amazing brands like 1 Hotels and The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a historic property in Los Angeles. Hospitality is all that I knew.. I was one of those lucky ones [sarcasm intended] to be furloughed in March 2020 while working with 1 Hotels in New York City. I had just signed a new lease. I was all alone. I was turning 30 that year as well. I packed up my bags. I put my stuff in storage. I lived in Mexico City for a month, trying to soul search. Then, I went back home after God knows how long since living with my parents. I lived at friends’ homes in LA. I took the time to rethink what I wanted to do and find my niche, and I came up with the idea of becoming my own agent. Not just becoming an agent, but having my own agency and focusing on boutique luxury travel.”
How did you discover Fora?
“I was searching for the right host agency to assist me in launching Away With Sway, which ended up being more difficult than I anticipated. Then in January 2022, I saw a LinkedIn post from one of the founders, Evan Frank, about how he was starting a new travel agency, Fora. I was like, ‘Wait, this is something I need,’ because even though I come from hospitality, selling travel is a whole new world. You have to learn the world, not just a specific property. I immediately applied and got approved in 48 hours. I did my first booking within the first week.”
How did Fora help you level-up your business?
“I received a great opportunity to work with their in-house team in NYC, assisting with group and entertainment travels. And the next thing you know, I’d gone from an agent to a full-time employee! It was a crash course for selling travel which was exactly what I needed. A year goes by, and I got engaged and made the life decision to move to London. I feared what this might do to my career, but actually it ended up being the best thing that happened, as I was suddenly closer to my clients’ favorite European destinations such as Italy and France.
Then, there was the opportunity to join Fora X, which is a smaller, more intimate agency within Fora for some of the top advisors all over the world. The community is wonderful. We have this WhatsApp group chat that’s just my savior. You can spitfire ideas to any agent, when it comes to difficult destinations, a contact that you need at a certain hotel, or mapping out an itinerary.”
What are your favorite Fora features?
“We have some amazing technology which I cannot live without. The booking portal is an easy 1, 2, 3 system that has a beautiful interface. It’s very user-friendly. You can put in the destination and put your clients’ preferred dates, and a full list of different hotels show up. You can sort it out by budget. I can now book travel on my phone, or flying on a plane, or at dinner with a friend. It’s just that simple. We also have our own rates and amenities that come with certain properties (like, for example, Château Voltaire in Paris and Carlton Cannes in the South of France), so everyone wins.”
Why are travel advisors making a comeback?
"Social media channels like TikTok have definitely helped to promote travel destinations which many may not have heard of before. They’ve given travelers a desire to explore new parts of the world. However, without professional support and guidance, planning a trip to these destinations might not be realistic. And that’s where the travel advisor comes in. It's in its peak. I'm so fortunate to be doing what I love and working for myself. I’m a business owner who is able to travel regularly, and all the while share my knowledge of the world with my clients. I hope it's here to stay forever.”
What is a travel trend you’re loving?
“Minimoons with friends. I love the trend of grabbing 10 of your best friends and just going to a destination after your wedding. Then go on a real honeymoon later! I've had a few brides this year that I've helped with elopements and post-wedding getaways.”
What’s on your destination bucket list and why?
“Southeast Asia. White Lotus Season 3 is coming out and it’s being filmed in Thailand, so it's going to be the new hot spot. Everyone's going to be talking about it. I'm trying to get ahead of it all. We saw what happened with Sicily, so I need to get my booty to Asia.”
What’s one underrated travel destination more people should be going to?
“I always urge against following the crowds. For example, instead of heading to Saint-Tropez in the summer, Bodrum, Turkey (specifically Yazz Collective on the Aegean Sea), is a wonderful alternative. Or instead of the Maldives for New Year’s, the new Nujuma, a Ritz Carlton Reserve in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, would be a great option for families.”
Any parting words?
“Fora has done such a great job to find that perfect community, and I really just appreciate all that they have done for me. It has been such a dream of mine to do what I do. I get to say I've accomplished all of this before the age of 34. And for curious travelers, the key is to be open-minded, not just to new travel destinations, but to understanding the value that a travel agent has to offer.”
Ready to discover the best gig you didn’t know existed? When applying to join Fora, use code GIRLBOSS to skip Fora’s 80K-person waitlist and get $50 off their yearly membership.
