“My focus is on developing a successful business that has a complete ‘yes I can’ attitude to our clients, great supplier relationships and a happy, stable, motivated team that loves what they do. I want our Quay Travel community to feel that, between us, we have the knowledge of the best destinations, ‘wow’ hotels, and travel experiences that we can share with all of our valued clients.”
Owner operator Michelle has an energetic and passionate approach to business, building and managing relationships like the pro that she is. Her client list reads like the ‘who’s who’ of New Zealand; travellers who appreciate her knowledge, expertise, and 24 hour service.
Her other passions include her family, keeping fit with cycling, yoga and gym workouts, spending quality time with friends over a wine or two, and travelling to new and exciting destinations.
For over three decades, Cindy has been immersed in the travel industry, commencing her journey alongside Michelle in corporate travel in 1992. Fast forward to 2016, when Cindy joined her again, at QUAY Travel. Since then, she's been on an exhilarating ride, expanding her expertise in leisure travel – a journey that continues to excite.
Always keen to use her passport, Cindy has travelled a number of times to Europe – having recently added Slovenia and Croatia to the tally. In the last few years, she's been lucky to experience Sardinia, Spain, the Philippines, New York, Bali….and a European river cruise never goes astray!
At work, building meaningful relationships with clients and crafting itineraries are Cindy's passions. Particularly satisfying is when a client relishes a tour, destination, or accommodation that she's recommended.
After hours, you can often find Cindy unwinding with loved ones over a glass of wine, and she's no stranger to the gym or the netball court…see the comment about wine!
Lisa's journey into the world of travel began thanks to her neighbours, who were also family friends back in those days. After her school years, she found herself helping out at a travel agency, and she's never looked back since. Her primary focus is on working closely with customers to create a high standard of customer service, always delivered in a personal and friendly manner. Lisa has a genuine love for Quay Travel's values of 'Friendship' and 'Beyond – going further,' values that she believes play a pivotal role in the company's outstanding reputation with both suppliers and clients.
With over 35 years of experience in the corporate and leisure travel business, Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Her travels have taken her to various regions around the world, from the South Pacific close to home to far-flung destinations like Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and even the enchanting continent of Africa, which she describes as a 'dream come true' destination that exceeded all expectations. Lisa also enjoys mixing things up with some memorable cruising experiences.
When she's not at work, you'll often find Lisa spending quality time with her family, savouring delicious food and wine, and tending to the garden on their lovely lifestyle block.
Donna's travel passion runs deep. It's more than a job; it's her lifelong love. She aids corporate clients in business travel and helps leisure clients with dream getaways. It’s an amazing world out there, and Donna believes it's never too late to travel. Trust her; you won't be disappointed!
With over 35 years in the travel industry, selling travel whilst living in the USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, Donna's exceptional qualities extend beyond her vast travel experience. Her warm and friendly demeanor fosters strong customer bonds, and complements her extensive knowledge of fabulous destinations.
Donna's travel fervor has led her to explore diverse corners of the world, from North America to UK/ Europe, to Southeast Asia, and South America embracing her special affinity for travel and cruising. As one of the top 3 CLIA MASTER cruise consultants in New Zealand, Donna has cruised on various sizes and standards of ships, and has a wealth of knowledge of the cruise industry. She enjoys tailoring perfect holiday experiences, with or without a cruise and its pre/post extensions.
When not immersed in work, Donna relishes quality time with family and animals, savoring all types of cuisine, a great chardonnay, exploring new destinations, going to the gym, and watching all sports. From her thirst for learning Donna has many qualifications, including a Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management, which further enhance her travel industry expertise.
Meet Michelle, the cheerful advocate of the mantra 'Eat well, Travel often.' After embarking on a fantastic overseas experience (OE) that involved whipping up delightful dishes for guests in Africa, France, and Scotland, she returned to Auckland in the early '90s with a newfound passion for becoming a Travel Agent.
With over 22 years of valuable experience in the travel industry, Michelle has spent the last 12 years specializing in Cruising. What sets her aglow is the art of crafting dream vacations with her clients. The joy she finds in both planning and fostering personal connections is evident as she takes the time to understand and fulfill the unique needs of each client.
Michelle recently discovered her love for Japan during a visit and indulged her adventurous spirit with an Expedition cruise in the Kimberleys. This experience perfectly blended her passion for active adventures, continuous learning, and exploration.
During her downtime, you can catch Michelle on her bike, paddleboard, beach, or hiking trail—living life to the fullest and sharing her zest for adventure with everyone around her.
Shayne Howell, our airfares expert at Quay Travel, brings a wealth of industry experience and a fervent passion for unearthing the best flight deals. His exceptional skill lies in finding those elusive airfares that simply aren't available online. Known for his deep understanding of the complexities of airline pricing and networks, Shayne possesses a unique talent for securing the most advantageous fares for our clients. His dedication and expertise not only save our clients' money but also enhance their overall travel experience, making him a true asset to our team and a hero to our travellers.
Claire Taylor is an invaluable part of the Quay Travel team. Her expertise in organizing and managing client documentation is essential in supporting our Travel Advisors. Claire's meticulous attention to detail ensures our clients receive top-notch, accurate travel itineraries. Her dedication not only streamlines our operations but also enhances the overall client experience. When she is not at work you can find her outdoors hiking, riding trails or enjoying a glass of wine with friends.
Emily is the newest addition to Quay Travel, working alongside Claire in Travel Support. Having recently completed her PhD in Marine Ecology and Conservation; Emily is enjoying rediscovering her love for travel and exploration. During her time at university, she managed to squeeze in a lot of travel, travelling to the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the USA and Australia. Her keen eye for detail and background in research makes her a great asset to our team. Outside of work, you can find her at the gym, brunching with family and friends, or enjoying a good book at the beach.
Jenifer, our Finance Manager from the Philippines, combines her financial acumen with a deep love for travel. At Quay Travel, she found her tribe, sharing a commitment to the travel industry. Her expertise ensures seamless financial operations, while her personal adventures, like her memorable trip to New Zealand's "The Landing," fuel her passion. When not balancing the books or exploring new beaches, Jen enjoys cooking for her family, reading, and relaxing with a movie and a glass of wine, embodying the spirit of adventure and diligence that defines our team.
Hi Cindy, Costa Brava was stunning, totally won my heart! Thank you once again for your superb organising and planning. I always feel safe in your travel hands.
Working with Michelle , Donna and the team at Quay Travel makes a huge difference in me being able to do what I do on the road knowing everything associated with my business trips is taken care of. And when something goes wrong as it inevitably does in this post Covid world – they will find a way to fix it 24x7. They have been my travel superheroes for nearly 20 years and even in todays online, digital and AI world which I live and breathe on a daily basis - their personal touch makes a huge difference.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you both for the service provided to me this year by the team at Quay with my travels.
It is now over a month since I returned from our incredible girl’s trip to Bali, and I can assure you both that it still feels as though it was pinch-me perfect. Both Four Seasons properties were off the scale amazing, with dream-like experiences, and such warm service from the staff there.
I also wanted to say thank you for working behind the scenes to rearrange things on the ground in Bali when our flights were rescheduled. It was such a weight off to know that the ever-dependable Michelle Sutton would be moving the arrangements around so that everything worked out, and of course it did.
Just a quick thank you for sorting everything we needed for this trip – great advice, especially where not to spend too much time around Puglia. Hotels were awesome, perfect and quiet after long days exploring! Looking forward to next years adventures
Hello Cindy, It has taken us a while to "come back down to earth" & normal routine after our wonderful holiday in Italy. It was amazing to experience all the wonders Italy has to offer - the History, Art, Architecture, Landscape, Food & Wine etc. etc. Thanks to you our travel plans went without a hitch, and we were very happy with everything. All the hotels were extremely good & well located with friendly helpful staff - our best room was at Risorgimento Resort in Lecce.
THANKYOU for everything that you organised for us to make our holiday the "trip of a Lifetime"
We would not hesitate to use Quay Travel again the future , and it was a pleasure to meet & deal with you.
Just to let you know we had a fantastic 3 weeks holiday in the US. Thank you so much for your help with all the bookings. Everything worked really well. Hotels were great and what we expected, Train and flight also easy.
Many thanks. Until next trip……..
We just got home yesterday. WHAT a fabulous trip! It was gorgeous, we caught up with a multitude of my family in beautiful Canada. New York, New York was Amazing.
THANK YOU for your invaluable help to organise it all, and then to sort out the accommodation fiasco in New York.
Given we had to cancel our credit cards, we would have been really stuck. So we very much appreciated your experience and speed in sorting it all out for us.
We are long time clients of Quay Travel and have always appreciated their attention to detail and the way they take our needs into account when planning our travel. In recent years we have been going to more off the beaten track locations and Quay Travel take so much of the hassle out of figuring out our schedules and logistics.
Coming home from our most recent trip we had the value of Quay Travel reinforced. We were on the runway on a plane bound from Boston to Chicago to make our Chicago Auckland connection when the steward cheerfully announced that the flight was cancelled. There was a panic while everyone rushed to leave the plane and re-organize their plans. I called Quay immediately and they were able to route us through Houston to Auckland. While we were in the air the staff at Quay sorted our connection and even managed to keep our upgrades to Business. If we had waited at the United help desk we would still be in Boston roaming around like lost souls. Travel agents are great when things are good but they are essential when there is any little hiccup!
We had a wonderful experience booking our 5 week trip to Europe with Cindy. She secured us excellent fares, recommended great hotels, booked connecting flights across Europe, organized tours and airport transfers. Everything worked like clockwork. Cindy is just fabulous, she’s friendly, efficient, and her vast experience in the travel industry ensures you travel totally hassle free. We will definitely be planning our next trip with her.
For the second time in as many months using a travel agent has proven to be a glorious experience. Half an hour before getting in an uber for the first of three flights to Europe we got an email from the airline running the second flight that there would be a 10 hour delay. This meant we would need to overnight in Hong Kong and miss our final connection. I called Quay as soon as I saw the email and with some wizardry and magic Cindy immediately booked us on a different flight via a different route that allowed us to meet our connections and bonus the flight left later so there was no panic. Using Quay as our travel agents improves the travel experience exponentially.
Quay Travel saves the day -again!
Lisa at Quay Travel was awesome to work with when we were organising our trip to the USA. However, she and the Quay Travel team really came into their own when we had a series of flight disruptions. They swung into action and organised us short notice accommodation, sorted out our flights and did all this quickly so we could carry on with our trip.
They are wonderful to work with and really look after us.
Thought I would drop you a line to tell you how much we loved the Belmond Napa Sai. It was the PERFECT solution for us. Beautiful balance of kids and sophistication. Smart but not overly expensive / pricey. We had great weather and certainly got our summer fix. Kids met a bundle of other kids and there were lots of activities on offer which was ideal. You did a great job recommending this for us.
Other than my bungle on our first flight everything else was straight forward and super easy. So your expertise on putting this all together for us was massively appreciated.
I look forward to coming back to you for the next vacay!
Quay Travel have organised several special family holidays for us now as well as smaller trips for myself. They are extremely professional, friendly and communicate effectively and in a timely manner. Lisa is amazing at offering suggestions and options for both places to visit and hotels.
Last year while in Europe, we contracted coved and were unable to board our cruise at the port of departure. Lisa gave exceptional service, taking calls at all hours and organising alternative flights and accommodation, plus handling our family’s stress and anxiety with great patience!
I highly recommend Quay Travel to anyone wanting to plan that special holiday.
