Last updated: 12:45 PM ET, Tue October 27, 2026
Kendra Wagner.
Bio
Kendra Wagner is based in Des Moines, Iowa, and has been in the travel industry for over seven years. She started at a brick-and-mortar where she worked as an employee for a little over four years before launching her business in September 2023 with a passion to connect people and places and curate tailor-made travel experiences across the world. Wagner has surpassed $4 million in sales since then and is approaching her biggest year in the industry yet.
She has a passion for mentoring other advisors and helping them to grow in their business. This year, she started offering travel advisor mentorship calls where advisors could sign up for one-hour slots to chat about their wins, struggles, ideas, and more. It has been extremely fulfilling, as she loves connecting with new people in general but especially in the industry.
Wagner boasts a genuine passion for the travel industry, the people in it, and the clients she gets to work with on a regular basis. She believes that there's no industry like the travel industry, and there's something so special about being able to help a client take their first trip, a huge milestone trip with someone or people they love, and helping them to make memories that are greater than any material item they could buy.
Her combination of a strong work ethic, passion for people, interest in mentorship, and willingness to continue to learn and grow in and out of the industry speaks to her character and the business owner she is today.
Wagner is 30 years old.
"Being named one of Travel Pulse's 40 Under 40 is an absolute honor and an award I never imagined receiving when I joined the travel industry seven years ago," said Wagner. "I took a job at a local travel agency after university with no intention of staying, but after getting through COVID (and the endless webinars), learning the ins and outs of the industry, building deep relationships with supplier partners, and growing a strong client base, I launched Kendra Wagner Travel as a way to re-humanize the travel planning process. What started as a way to make ends meet became a multimillion-dollar travel agency with 800+ trips planned and hundreds of clients served—I couldn't be more proud."
"I'm endlessly grateful to my clients, supplier partners, and colleagues for their continued support and encouragement," she added. "I owe special thanks to two women who have shaped my career: Heather Christopher, owner of my host agency, saw me and took a chance on me, and I'm forever grateful for her mentorship and leadership; and Maja Gudelj, Vice President of Olive Tree Escapes, who came into my life through a Facebook group when I was looking for a Croatia DMC. Over the past four years, that search has grown into an incredible supplier-advisor relationship, and I consider her not only a mentor but also a dear friend. My business and I wouldn't be where we are today without these two women's mentorship, encouragement, and support."
"I'm incredibly proud and honored to be part of this passionate, resilient, and relationship-driven industry," said Wagner. "This achievement only deepens my commitment to helping fellow advisors succeed and to continuing to serve my clients with the care and service they deserve."
Industry References
"What sets Kendra apart is not just her work ethic, though that alone would make her a standout. It is the decision she made partway through her career to walk away from a situation where she had hit a ceiling. She recognized she could not keep growing where she was, made a clear-eyed call about the type of travel she actually wanted to sell, and then did something most advisors talk about but never execute: she rebuilt her business around that focus, publicly, through social media. She did not wait for permission. She created the lane and then filled it herself, one post and one client at a time," said Heather Christopher, Owner and Founder, HC Travel Firm.
"Kendra is a hustler in the best sense of the word. She works hard, and it shows in her results, but what impresses me most is that her hustle has direction. She did not just work harder; she worked smarter, and she built something that reflects exactly who she is as an advisor. She is also kind and honest, which is why her clients adore her and come back over and over again," said Christopher.
"It is difficult for me to put into words how much I value and admire Kendra," said Maja Gudelj, Vice President, Olive Tree Escapes.
"The amount of personal care and attention she dedicates to all her clients is remarkable. I appreciate Kendra's work ethic and her dedication to this industry and her clients, colleagues, and suppliers is nothing short of remarkable. We can all learn something from Kendra and I am just a very lucky supplier that also gets to call her a friend," said Gudelj.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
