Today we’d like to introduce you to Bijoy Shah.
Hi Bijoy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story effectively starts in Edwardsville, Illinois, though my family was all over the st.louis area for years before moving there. As a kid, I probably spent too much time caring about unimportant things, but that’s adolescence, I guess. I spent every weekend in Wellston with some of my best friends at the time. It was a great way to grow up. College and life led me to Indiana where I am still today. I n ow live in Indianapolis with my wife and daughter (and our old, crotchety hound dog)
As a kid, my family and I would travel often. Having the TWA hub at Lambert made it easy to see the world. Ive recently taken that passion and started working in the world of luxury travel, helping people craft amazing experiences from a vast menu of artfully curated hotels, experiences, and transit.
After working in real estate, hospitality, furniture, and education, this gave me a fantastic way to share my passion of travel with the world. I also paint, which has been a lifelong passion that I’ve only recently started to share.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have definitely had my share of ups and downs. The down all created lessons for me. One of my most recent was a failed real estate/hospitality venture in which I put my trust in the wrong people, entirely on the word of other people I trusted. The trust, however, was not transitive and, in the end, lost a company, and quite a lot of money. I think I’m still bouncing back from that one on numerous fronts. The lessons learned there were a bit harder to swallow, but they are lessons, nonetheless.
The winter of 2019, into 2020, was an especially strange time because, at the age of 33, I suffered 2 strokes within 3 months. Recovery was long and not always pleasant, but my marvelous wife stood strong by my side, getting me back to as close to 100% as I’ll get. A lot of credit goes to my doctors, physical therapist, and occupational therapist. Part of my therapy even included putting on a diaper so that I could return home and still be an active, present father. The greatest lesson from that really came in other aspects of life. I started to realize what is really important and I stopped taking people’s words at face value. I think that by falling, I learned to stand up stronger.
The ups have been wonderful, though. I’ve had the blessing to be in the room with dozens of interesting people discussing a myriad of topics on more than one occasion. I’ve met a number of US Ambassadors, CEOs, and celebrity personalities. I’ve been able to learn something at every step.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
In a partnership with Fora Travel, I’ve created a modern, luxury travel service, excelling in seamless planning, bespoke itineraries, and exceptionally curated service for all of my clients. I’ve traveled to over 35 countries, experiencing them all in different ways, but always trying my utmost to immerse myself in the culture. Now I take this experience and the experience of my network of travelers, travel advisors, airline cabin crew, explorers, and adventurers to make the best experiences for those who honor me with their vacation dreams.
I specialize in luxury travel and casual, experiential travel. Yes, I know those seem at near-opposite ends of the spectrum but I’m proud to bridge the gap and offer both together, but also individually dependent on the client.
A great thing to not e is that I also rarely, if ever, charge a premium. I can offer a lot of things to a trip and not cost you an extra cent. I have a client going on a trip in June for which I have added over $300 of benefits to a long weekend trip at no charge. It’s always cool to make the best a little better and not disrupt any sort of value proposition.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My family matters to me the most. My wife and daughter give me energy, inspiration, and motivation like nothing or no one ever has. It’s beautifully uplifting while also keeping me grounded in the right ways. I’m lucky to have them in my life.
Contact Info:
- Email: bijoy.shah@fora.travel
- Website: www.mrbijoy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelbymrbijoy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelbybijoy
- Other: https://www.foratravel.com/advisor/bijoy-shah
Image Credits
Keelia Jo Photography, John Cessna, and Leah Kundel
