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FROM THE CORNELL HOTEL SCHOOL MAGAZINE
Summer 2005 Issue

Travel with a Twist

By Katherine Azzaro ’05 (CALS)

Caption: Karen Ansbro Leone’84 organizes custom trips for women.

FROM THE Centre Daily Times (State College, PA) April 11, 2006

BITS OF BUSINESS By JENNIFER THOMAS

For women on the go Karen Ansbro Leone created a women's travel business, Go N' Groove, after her family moved to Rochester, N.Y., as a way to reconnect with former acquaintances and friends. "I sat down and started planning the trip to Vermont and crossed my fingers that people would go," she said. Today, eight years later, she is trying to breathe new life into Go N' Groove in State College. Ansbro Leone plans two trips a year, a mother-daughter trip known as Ladies n' Lasses and a women's trip to Vermont this year. "I wanted my daughter to starting traveling and realize the importance of being with other girls and women," she said. She handles all the details, including hotel bookings and special events such as theater outings. "I just don't think women take enough time for themselves," she said. It is a business she'd like to expand to encompass all seasons, maybe by adding a ski trip in the winter and a spa trip to Santa Fe, N.M., or California's Napa Valley. In addition to the women's getaways, Ansbro Leone said, she is willing to help other groups work out the details of their trips, such as class reunions. "I think in this market there's probably a lot of people that might benefit from something like that as well," she said. More information is available by contacting Ansbro Leone by e-mail at kansleo@ goandgroove.com or by visiting her Web site, www. goandgroove.com.

After years of putting off trips to visit various friends scattered across the country, Karen Ansbro Leone ’84 came upon an idea in 1998. Putting her meeting planning skills to use, she planned a weekend trip to the Equinox Resort in Manchester, Vt., and invited several friends, encouraging each to bring along a girlfriend who they hadn’t seen lately. The women spent the weekend relaxing at the spa, shopping, dining, and simply enjoying each other’s company. Leone’s idea was a hit, and her travel venture, Go ’n Groove, was born.

Today, Leone plans two trips a year: Along with the original ‘Girl*friends’ trip, she also hosts a Mother-Daughter weekend called ‘Ladies ’n Lasses’. While the ‘Girl*friends’ usually return to the Equinox Resort (although they have also been to Lake Placid, N.Y. and Woodstock, Vt.), the ‘Ladies ’n Lasses’ have traveled to Chicago and New York City.

“At this age, women don’t do enough for themselves,” said Leone. “They feel like they always have to travel with family, and many of them work and don’t have the time to plan a trip. I give them options and make it as easy as possible.

Leone has grown her at home business mostly through word of mouth. She doesn’t advertise, so she relies on friends to spread the word. Eventually, Leone plans to organize four trips per year – one per season. In addition to the Girl*friends and mother-daughter weekends, she hopes to host a ski trip (Snow Bunnies) and a spa and/or wine tasting (Spa Goddesses) vacation out West. And she has had many requests for a Ladies ’n Lads weekend, so that, too, may be in the future.

Prior to founding Go ’n Groove, Leone earned plenty of experience in the hospitality industry. She worked for many years in operations before landing a job at Deloitte & Touche as a meeting planner.

Leone said having ties to the Hotel School has proved to be beneficial for her business. “The Hotel School has introduced me to wonderful people, and the alumni are amazing. Having these contacts opens the doors to hotels and restaurants in the cities we visit.”

To learn more, visit http://www.goandgroove.com/. Leone also is hosting a 25-year “Hotel Colorado” reunion for alumni from the early 80s.

The event is scheduled for summer 2006. Interested Hotelies should contact her at kansleo@goandgroove.com