Joined in December 2023
Former Four Seasons VIP Guest Experience Manager
Based in New York City, New YorkFrom Four Seasons manager to full-time travel advisor in 7 months
Originally from Siberia, Russia, Olga Rykova moved to the U.S. at age 19 and built an impressive 15-year career in luxury hospitality. Initially starting in management at an Italian restaurant in Tribeca, Olga shifted to be a VIP Guest Experience Manager at Four Seasons properties, where guests repeatedly told her “you should do travel for a living” after she provided destination advice.
When her general manager at Four Seasons introduced her to Fora’s leadership team, Olga began to explore being a travel agent and soon discovered she had found her calling.
Choosing the right host agency
Faced with choosing between established agencies, Olga selected Fora specifically for its strong community connection and technologically advanced platform.
“I chose Fora over larger agencies for the community connection and direct access to leadership,” she explained.
At other agencies, I would be just a number. At Fora, we speak all the time, we see each other at events—I love our community.
Olga Rykova
joined December, 2023
This decision proved transformative during her transition from a steady Four Seasons paycheck to commission-based income. The first three months were challenging, but Fora’s supportive peer network shared crucial expertise and wisdom that accelerated Olga’s training.
Rather than struggling alone, Olga tapped into Fora’s community to rapidly build her expertise across Europe. She leveraged the network’s collective knowledge while personally visiting almost every five-star hotel in London, Paris, and Madrid, spending two months in Greece, and becoming an expert in the French Riviera, Italy, Ibiza, and Mallorca.
How community collaboration accelerated destination expertise
Olga also leaned on the advisor community for destination knowledge for destinations she hadn’t yet visited. This collaborative approach stood in stark contrast to larger agencies where advisors compete rather than collaborate.
“At other agencies, I would be just a number,” she said. “At Fora, we speak all the time, we see each other at events—I love our community.”
When attending industry events like ILTM, the community support extends beyond destination knowledge. “Sometimes you think it’s only you who has a problem—and then you talk to other advisors, and they’re like, ‘We have the exact same problems.’ It’s very inspiring and informational, too.”
The community’s knowledge sharing eliminates the isolation of solo entrepreneurship. When Olga needs Africa expertise, she knows exactly which advisor to call. When another advisor needs recommendations for St. Barths, they reach out to her. This reciprocal support system accelerates everyone’s growth.
Using Fora’s platform helped personalize service
Fora’s tech platform, called Portal, enables Olga to manage complex logistics that would be more difficult at traditional agencies. Through Portal, she makes bookings and tracks commission, plus gathers client details like birthdays and anniversaries.
Olga uses Fora's platform to collect client details so she can add personalized services.
Advisors can leverage Fora's Portal for all aspects of travel advising, from client intake forms to gathering post-travel feedback and hotel reviews.
Olga uses this data to bring personalized service to her clients, remembering special occasions and communicating with hotels to create memorable moments. This high-touch service makes her stand out to her clients, who often return to plan more trips.
“Sometimes clients don’t even say it’s a birthday trip, but you kind of see it,” she said, noting that this makes an in-room birthday amenity even more of a surprise for a client.
Advice for others considering full-time advising
Despite the initial uncertainty during her career shift, Olga found unexpected benefits. “Number one, I love my freedom. Working in restaurants and with Four Seasons, I was very stationary. Now I can work from anywhere I want.”
For advisors considering the transition, Olga emphasizes the compounding effect of dedicating more time to travel advising.
“If advisors are doing part-time but it’s enough for them to survive, then for sure they need to switch to full-time because it’s like a snowball effect,” she said. “Now you have all of this time to dedicate just to travel advisory. You can improve your quality, do more research, spend more time with your customers. You multiply the effort, and everything will come.”
How Fora made success possible
Direct access to leadership team: Connect directly with Fora’s team for training and support
Strong peer support network: Community members actively share destination expertise
Innovative tech platform: Streamlined tools enable efficient client management and travel planning
Community over competition: An environment where knowledge sharing drives collective growth
