David Kolner
Where were you born? In Elgin, Illinois – a suburb of Chicago.
How long have you been in the business? Since 1991 as a sales rep for United Airlines. I was very lucky to have that start.
What’s the best part of the job? The people I get to work with. Not just at Virtuoso, but our members are some of the best in the business and our suppliers are the best of the best.
How do you describe Virtuoso to “lay people?” A consortium of the world’s best travel agencies. Travel advisors who help create amazing travel experiences.
What did you want to be as a kid? A baker. I just love butter and carbs together.
What was your 1st job? Bagging groceries in Chicago.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? (Laughs) Signing on to co-host a 21 day Australia and NZ FAM with Abercrombie and Kent and 20 high-end travel agents. I had worked for UA for about 5 seconds at the time.
Any guilty pleasures? Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It’s bad but it’s essential.
What’s your favourite airline? Definitely Alaska. I live in Seattle and I love them because it’s mostly Seattleites who fly Alaska and I feel like it’s my people.
Do you have a favourite travel app? Uber. And TweetDeck has saved my life.
What’s on your iPad? A gajillion kids’ movies which save my life every time we go out to dinner. (Our boys are 3 and 5.)
Any hobbies or interests? Baking, gardening – I love the triumph of science over nature, having things look more fabulous than they should ever look.
When were you happiest? Any time I’m travelling with my kids.
Is there anything you won’t eat? Haggis.
Ever had a brush with fame? Yeah – Actor Tom Skerrit lives in our neighbourhood and he adopted a daughter the same time we adopted our older son and we’d walk around with our strollers together.
How do you spend your frequent flyer points? Business class tickets internationally.
If you could change 1 thing about the industry what would it be? Profitability.
If you could sit next to anyone on a long-haul flight, who would it be? Hilary Clinton.
What kind of car do you drive? Hope this doesn’t sound pompous, but it’s a beautiful blue Mercedes E Class. Not suited to a Norwegian Lutheran boy!
Do you have a favourite charity? Community Lunch on Capitol Hill in Seattle, which provides lunches for the homeless. I was involved in founding it.
What do you hope to be doing in 10 years? I’d love to still be working at Virtuoso. It’s such an interesting company because it’s so in style right now - using an advisor to help you get the most out of your travel experience.
