Meet the Founders
Getting to know the women behind Sororal
What’s in your carry-on?
Megan:
Okay, assuming I have a checked bag with the rest of my belongings, my carry-on is assembled with stuff that will keep me comfortable on the flight, and during any unexpected extra time in the airport, or at my destination in the event that they lose my checked bag.
iPad, AirPods, and a good book just in case technology fails
A big pashmina. I hate being cold on flights and I don’t trust the cleanliness of airplane blankets
Eye mask if it’s a long flight
Power adapter if you’re going somewhere that needs it
Hand sanitizer
Vick’s Vaporub inhaler. I don’t like the air quality on planes, so I’ll give that sucker a sniff every so often to make my nose feel a little less dry
My Yeti tumbler. I can’t overstate the importance of chugging water on a flight
Linsey:
Megan’s super on the ball, being a diplomat’s kid and all! I’ve usually packed the night before, and generally operate with the confidence that I can buy what I need when I arrive if anything comes up.
More books than I intend to bring home! I love dropping off at book exchanges when I travel. It’s cool to leave a piece of yourself behind
Everything!!! I never check a bag, so I make sure all my clothes are rolled up to conserve space
What’s your favourite place you’ve visited?
Megan:
I have three answers to this question. In terms of countries, I would say Egypt and Nepal both for two very different reasons. Nepal I did the Annapurna trek while I was there and it was just such a magical country. The people were fantastic, the scenery is great, you're hiking every day so your body feels good, your mind feels good. I recommend it highly.
As for Egypt, I’ve visited multiple times in my life, I've lived there and I've also travelled there as a young child, so it was wonderful to be in a country when I was super young, like 4 or 5 years old, and then come back as an adult woman and just seeing how it’s changed. When I lived there I drove everywhere, I travelled everywhere by myself, I developed my (now mostly forgotten) Arabic language skills. It has so much history as a country, and personal history into me being who I am today.
Last, for cities, there's something about London that is just absolutely magical. I could get lost in that city for hours.
Linsey:
I think my favourite place is Jordan, because of the majesty of Petra and the landscape.I just felt so connected to the history of humans when I was there. My other favourite place is Costa Rica because the geography is so fascinating, it has so many different microclimates, you can have six trips in one country.
Why is women travelling together important?
Megan:
There’s a magic that happens when a bunch of women with different backgrounds all get together and travel. It’s a fast track to camaraderie and friendship, a chance to get away from our lives and be together as sisters and to chat, laugh, love and have wonderful experiences together. There’s safety in numbers too, not just in the obvious practical ways, but there’s an ease that comes with a group of women gathering together that you might not get in a different setting.
Linsey:
I think we take for granted how restorative and empowering it can be to be surrounded by people who understand your experience. Sure, we’ve come a long way and we’re starting to see the impact of that in the media, but the telling and believing of women’s experiences is still a pretty novel concept. There’s a relief in not having to spend energy to be understood; you’re amongst people who get it, who have lived it. Besides just the safety in numbers, we look out for each other, and anticipate each other’s needs in a way that men can’t necessarily.
What are some of your pre and post travel rituals?
Megan:
I have SUCH rigorous pre and post travel rituals. I’m one of those people laying out all my clothes like a week or two before departure. I print out all my documents multiple times (I hate giving people a hard copy of my passport if I don’t have to).
I screengrab all my digital documents and cull photos from my phone so I have extra space.
This may seem extra to many, but I make a point to register with the Canadian government whenever I leave the country. They put a notice out to the Canadian embassy in the destination country that you’ll be there. I understand not everyone wants to alert the government of their business, but it can also be a good safeguard in case of an emergency in that country that you can be alerted to any exit plans.
I provide my hubby with my travel itinerary and all the things he needs to know at home and abroad before I go. Also, if I’m travelling with a buddy, I make sure we exchange some basic health history information and emergency contacts to avoid confusion in case of an emergency. It maybe sounds morbid, but there’s no harm in being prepared! We’ve gotta look out for each other!
When I get home I unpack everything and pile up everything that needs washing. My toiletries go right to the bathroom even if they don’t get put away right away, my suitcase goes to the basement. I try to make it a little easier on myself before I go to bed so that the next day doesn’t feel too daunting. I clean the house before I leave so that I have one less thing to think about when I get home and those post-vacay blues hit. Like sure, I’m home and I have to work, but at least I have clean sheets!
Linsey:
To be perfectly honest with you, whenever I’m travelling, I’m doing all the prep work for my household. I find the boarder for the dog, I make sure all the laundry is done and that the house is in good shape for when we get home. I gather the documents, I charge the electronics, I pack everyone’s suitcase, and then the night before I pack my own. It’s tempting to make up a fun quirky answer to this question, but I think it’s important for any potential travellers to know that this experience is born out of a real need. We know firsthand that it’s simply not a vacation if you’re managing everyone else’s experience, and it’s okay to say it out loud. This is a different type of travel, that has the potential to actually fulfil and restore us as individuals first. I think we all deserve that opportunity.
What are your airport survival tips?
Megan:
Nexus card all the way, but also access to some kind of airport lounge can make a huge difference if you have a big wait in front of you, where you can get some food, some relative quiet and privacy. Lots of credit cards have this as a perk so it’s worth looking into.
I try not to drink too much coffee which is a hard one, but the plane dehydrates you so much already.
A huge pet peeve of mine is when people are waiting and waiting but don’t prepare themselves for when they arrive at various checkpoints. I make it easier on myself by carrying my Lululemon cross-body purse with my phone and passport in it so that I don’t have to fiddle around, or worse put something down and forget it. I also try to bring a power bank so that if I need to charge I don’t have to worry about finding a plug.
Linsey:
The true answer is a Nexus card but I know that there's quite a delay in getting them, so if you’re thinking about starting the process, don’t wait! Especially in the post-pandemic landscape, these are especially helpful in ensuring you make your flight! Actually the first time Megan and I travelled together, we discovered we both had Nexus cards and afterwards talked about whether we would have left the other one behind if we didn’t have one. We agreed that we wouldn’t, but we would have really, really wanted to.
Another tip is that my family has lost a few pretty wicked water bottles at security that we brought with us filled up, exceeding the amount of liquid we were allowed to bring aboard. So don’t forget to drink all the water before you get there, or wait to fill up until you’re through the line. It saddens me to think about the Nalgenes I’ve had to ditch at various airports around the world.
Another thing is snacks. Especially at small airports, the food options are never certain and can be really gate specific. Might as well bring a yogurt from home rather than shell out for one at a kiosk.
As you’re launching Sororal, what have you learned along the way between first concepting and now?
Megan:
Even though the branding may seem like the most superficial aspect of getting a company off the ground, our strategy and branding exercises with our creative partners (a local women-led studio) have been really helpful. In these exercises, and conversations with trusted friends, we’ve become more able to articulate our reasons to believe in Sororal and what our ambitions are for the future.
The more we talk about it, the more confident we are that the need is there. Sure it’s still nerve wracking to get this thing up and running, but we’re more solid than ever in the benefit we can offer to communities, to businesses and to the women looking to travel with us.
Linsey:
As we've started to build out trips and connected with women in all different parts of the world in building out our itineraries, we've incorporated their thoughts and views on what we're doing and what we want to do in their country.
So while it was an idea that started with us, it’s ever-evolving as we learn from these women and what does and doesn’t work for them in their context. Our process is iterative and we’re committed to finding ways to build new learnings into our business.
We love our idea, but only if the idea is supporting women. The idea is only as good as the feedback.
What have you learned so far on your pilot trips?
Megan:
We have learned how challenging it can be to build full itineraries in some parts of the world where women-owned businesses are hardest to find, and yet the female entrepreneurs in those countries may need our support the most. We don’t want to leave these destinations and these women overlooked in our business model, so this has begun our thinking on what the future looks like for Sororal and how we can access these places further down the road.
Our first pilot trip is also where Linsey and I made the decision to narrow in on violence against women as our key area of focus for support. It meant owning our expertise and origins in this area, and our ability to best assess partnerships with organizations who specialize in providing safety and security for survivors. Meeting some of our partners firsthand solidified for us that we want to have personal and long lasting relationships with these women for years to come. Taking these trips has made months of thinking very real, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Linsey:
Two takeaways are that we have to go on every trip before we sell it. Travel is what it is, there are no guarantees, but we want to offer the reassurance that we’ve been there and met the women we’re working with, have experienced their services and seen the places. We want to be sure it’s the right fit. We truly want this to feel like a vacation, and want our guests to feel taken care of. This means the little touches are going to be so important for our trips. Things like clean transportation stocked with water and snacks can make a journey that much more comfortable. A well-timed snack can make or break your experience. The little touches make a big impact.
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