- 3 hours ago
Travel is changing—but who is it really becoming more accessible for? This conversation explores how technology, community, and entrepreneurship are reshaping the travel experience for Black travelers. From AI tools that make planning more affordable and less overwhelming, to founders building culturally rooted travel brands that center overlooked communities, this session connects access with ownership.
Attendees will learn how innovation is lowering barriers to travel, why community relationships matter in creating meaningful and affordable experiences, and how Black founders are building businesses that reflect the way we want to explore the world.
Attendees will learn how innovation is lowering barriers to travel, why community relationships matter in creating meaningful and affordable experiences, and how Black founders are building businesses that reflect the way we want to explore the world.
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FunTranscript
00:00Now, I'm excited about this next conversation because how many of you like to travel?
00:05Okay, yes, me too.
00:07So if you like to travel, you want to pay close attention to this conversation
00:11because we can travel differently.
00:15Everyone's travel experience is not the same.
00:17So we want to reimagine what travel actually looks like for people like you and me.
00:22We're going to have a conversation about access, ownership, and community
00:27all around how we can reimagine travel or travel reimagine, as we like to call this session.
00:33So travel is changing, but who it is really becoming accessible for?
00:39This conversation explores how technology, community, and entrepreneurship
00:44are reshaping the travel experience for black travelers.
00:48From AI tools that make planning more affordable and less overwhelming
00:52to founders building culturally-ruled travel brands
00:55that center and overlook communities.
00:57This session connects access with ownership.
01:01You, as an attendee in this audience, will learn how you can lower your barriers to travel,
01:07why community relationships matter, and more importantly,
01:11how you can create a more meaningful and affordable travel experience,
01:15and how black founders are building businesses
01:18that reflect how we experience the world.
01:21And that's very important, because sometimes we might need access in a different way
01:26than our friend, our family member, our co-worker.
01:29And that's exactly why we're going to have this conversation.
01:32So we have a great fireside chat that's about to happen right here
01:36on the We Love Us stage at Essence Fest 2026.
01:39Here to kick off this conversation around travel reimagined,
01:43we have the one and only Mr. Kenny Acqua of Let's Go Plan.
01:47Let's go ahead and give Kenny a round of applause as he makes his way to the stage.
01:53Joining Kenny for this fireside chat conversation,
01:56we have Sadie Jordan of Soul Life Travel.
02:00Let's give Sadie a round of applause.
02:09Hi, Kenny.
02:10Good to see you.
02:12Kenny's my homeboy.
02:13So the travel industry is really small.
02:16Me and Kenny were in a Launchpad Accelerator program.
02:19Met him in Brazil.
02:20He's amazing, and I'm so happy to be here with you.
02:23I'm so happy to be here with all of you.
02:25Thank you for coming.
02:26You guys could be anywhere, and you guys chose to be here.
02:28So thank you so much for being here.
02:30We're going to talk, I'm going to ask you guys a question.
02:33How overwhelming it is, how overwhelming is this for you to plan travel?
02:38How many of you guys have had 20 tabs opened, looking at Expedia, looking at TikTok,
02:45trying to get recommendations?
02:47Everyone, right?
02:48We've all been there.
02:50Well, we are the providers that try to make that easier for you.
02:54We have Kenny Acqua here of Let's Go Plan.
02:57Kenny, tell us a little bit about yourself and Let's Go Plan.
03:00What was your vision for what you created?
03:03Of course.
03:04So with Let's Go Plan, what we're looking to do is bridge the gap, one,
03:09between affordability and streamlining travel planning.
03:12So as Sadie mentioned, when you're planning a trip, you're going between multiple tabs,
03:17you're getting headaches, you can't seem to see what's your best deal or what's not.
03:22So with Let's Go Plan, what we're looking to do is make that a lot easier.
03:27So we've done things such as incorporate AI into our travel planning where you're able to choose your preferences
03:34and it will generate a day-by-day itinerary for you.
03:38And then beyond that, being able to book hotels at a discount than what you'll see on the open market,
03:44as well as flights, trip insurance, eSIM.
03:48And then we also do keep the human connection piece with the concierge service
03:52in which you can utilize a travel expert directly on the Let's Go platform to help you plan your trip.
04:00So a lot of this is AI-based, correct?
04:03So most of it definitely is AI-based to make a travel planning more streamlined,
04:08everything from being budget aware.
04:11So instead of having to run your own calculations in your head,
04:15you can input that you have a $1,500 budget looking to go to Cancun, Mexico for three nights
04:23and it'll filter out hotels and flights that fit directly into your budget.
04:29So this is important. Why?
04:31Because I'm Sadie Jordan of Soul Life Travel.
04:34What I do is I create curated experiences for individuals and groups.
04:39We work with everyone from solo travelers to groups of 100.
04:44We go to places like Costa Rica, Panama, South Africa, Brazil.
04:49And we do a lot of the heavy work for you so that black people don't have to be the
04:53detectives
04:54of finding experiences that resonate with you.
04:57Did you even know that there's an Afro-Caribbean part of Costa Rica?
05:02Well, we'll be able to show you that.
05:04And everything will be handled from accommodations, transportation, and meals of your choosing.
05:11Some would say that Kenny would be putting me out of business, right?
05:15Because he can go ahead and have AI do everything for you.
05:19I don't think that's altogether true.
05:22I feel that Kenny's planning service is going to help you, but my human touch is going to make it
05:28come true.
05:29So, Kenny, what do you imagine?
05:32How do you imagine that this can actually help people like me that have small businesses,
05:37small travel companies, and not put us out of business?
05:40How can we collaborate together with that?
05:43Yeah, so that's one of the things, right, is that with the advancement of technology and AI,
05:48a lot of people feel that it's going to put the little person, per se, out of business, right?
05:54Wait, I'll never be a little person, but go ahead.
05:58But, yeah, so they feel that, yeah, it's going to put a lot of us out of business.
06:04But that's not necessarily the case, especially when you're building in a conscious way, right?
06:09So you who have your tour experiences within Costa Rica,
06:14one of the things within our app is that we have an actual vendor marketplace
06:19in which we give visibility to vendors and such in which they can sign up within our app
06:25for our users to be able to book experiences, whether it's tours or any type of activities
06:33that they'll experience during their travel.
06:35And not only are we giving that visibility, but we're making it more affordable
06:40for both the vendor and the user.
06:43Can you explain how you actually make this more affordable for someone like myself,
06:49a small business owner?
06:51Right, so for a small business owner, for you to post,
06:55and this is something a lot of people don't know,
06:57is that when you're booking your activities on platforms such as TripAdvisor or Expedia
07:05or Get Your Guide, those platforms are taking up to 30% commission
07:10from the smaller operators, which means that someone like you
07:15then has to mark up your prices even more.
07:19So not only is a chunk of commission being taken from you,
07:23but then for the traveler themselves, they're paying a premium just to be able to travel
07:28because of what these other online travel agencies, the commission that they're charging.
07:34This is really important.
07:36This is a key for us having small businesses.
07:39I can give you an example.
07:41One of my partners in Panama, she has an incredible tour that she does a Black Heritage tour
07:47in Panama City, and we work with her on our Panama tour.
07:50She doesn't have a visibility because she can't afford to be on these larger platforms.
07:55It just would crush her small business.
07:58So what Kenny is doing by providing a service to allow these companies to put their services
08:04on his platform at a lower rate is just incredible, and it's going to help us keep our money and
08:10our dollars
08:11in our pockets so we can grow our businesses.
08:13So thank you for that, Kenny.
08:15Yeah, no problem, of course.
08:16And that's the key, right?
08:18Making travel more affordable and not just for the user but for the operator themselves.
08:23Right.
08:23So, Kenny, the human touch is so important, right?
08:27Because, honestly, y'all, y'all don't remember what apps you use when you're planning your
08:31services, but you will remember somebody like me from Soul Life Travel who made you feel
08:36some sort of way on your travel experience.
08:39I can tell you that for an example.
08:42I have two of my former clients here with me.
08:44They're actually staying with me here at Essence Fest.
08:48They traveled with me.
08:50They have their own experiences that they can resonate with you.
08:54And AI, unfortunately, I know it's this big thing, right?
08:58And we do need it.
08:59So we can't act like it's not important.
09:01But we also have to remember that humanity is important, too.
09:05So, Kenny, I want to make sure to ask you, what are you doing to make sure that even in
09:11your service, right, even what you're doing, coming to events like this, that you're keeping
09:16that human connection in mind, and you're not so far removed that travel is about humanity.
09:23So what are you doing within your business to make sure that you are protecting that?
09:29Yeah.
09:30So when it comes to that, we all have the experience of booking travel online.
09:36We run into issues, and then there's no one we can call or we get on a call service with
09:42whoever we book through, and we're sitting on the phone for an hour, right?
09:46Right.
09:47And it's taking you through prompts, and you're like, it's getting you to a human.
09:50Don't fly with you.
09:52Wait, let me not say what airline that is.
09:54But Lord, go ahead.
09:56I might need to work with them one day.
09:59So with Let's Go, we've made sure to really keep that human connection in which when you're
10:06booking your travel, there's a button on our website or our app that you can click to talk
10:13directly with a travel expert when you get stuck somewhere, or if you're traveling overseas
10:19or even domestically, and if you have a delay on your flight, we have technology that's tracking
10:25that, and we have your itinerary already on our back end.
10:29So we could make the call to a tour operator such as yourself and say, hey, my client is running
10:34late, their trip is backed up.
10:37And since with our vendors, we have a direct relationship, they'll trust us, and we can
10:42talk directly to them to be able to best accommodate our users, as opposed to them feeling like they're
10:49stuck on an island by themselves to figure everything out during their time of travel.
10:54Yes.
10:55You guys, traveling, we're going to take a little break right now, and I want to ask you
10:59guys a question, and I want you to ponder on that.
11:03When you think of travel for so many years, and I just want to kind of like a show of
11:09hands,
11:10did you know, did you think that black people, that our black community are owning such
11:16companies such as this?
11:20Oh, so yes.
11:22So I would agree with you.
11:24I've worked in the travel industry for over 15 years before I had my company, and there
11:30was hardly of any of us that looked like me and Kenny.
11:33What Kenny is doing is actually revolutionary.
11:36He is making it affordable and an option so that we can control our market.
11:43We can have a market that we can control.
11:46Let's just say Kenny is like Expedia or Aviator, all right?
11:51So Kenny is trying to create that type of marketplace so that we can control the narrative.
11:56That's going to help control partners from the top up down to the bottom, down to our
12:02suppliers that are on the ground trying to do these tours for you.
12:05A lot of our suppliers, they just know, or our partners, they just know how to do a good
12:10tour, right?
12:11They know how to take you kayaking.
12:12They know how to make good cooking classes, but they don't have anywhere to put their services
12:18to make sure that you can find them.
12:21And Kenny is making that happen.
12:23Now, again, I believe that you're not going to shut me out.
12:28We're going to work together, me as a travel planner, to make sure that all of that that
12:33you did executes perfectly and you're still getting that experience that you're looking
12:38for.
12:39And guess what?
12:40Within that ecosystem, we're all melanated people.
12:44So that is the most important part, right?
12:47So we need to work together and create systems that every potential is covered.
12:53And we're not looking at each other as a competition, but we're looking at each other collaboratively.
12:59That's what we need to do in this day and time.
13:01Yeah, I definitely agree with that.
13:03And even to your point, right, it's not just about, okay, I'm going to use Sadie just for
13:09her tours.
13:10It's a collaboration all throughout the year.
13:12So we have partners and vendors in Mexico, in Costa Rica, in Brazil, where I'll have a
13:19client that comes to me and asks, how is it traveling to Brazil during X time of year?
13:25I'm able to call our tour operators in Brazil and say, hey, how has the weather been?
13:31How's the political climate even, right?
13:34Because you see things on the news that sometimes gets over sensationalized in these places.
13:39And I'm able to call someone on the ground and say, hey, I'm seeing this on the news and
13:44I have clients that are a bit concerned.
13:46Tell me what's going on.
13:47And most of the time they say, Kenny, it's concentrated in one area where nobody goes,
13:52it's fine to come here.
13:54And I'll be able to communicate that with my clients.
13:57So it really goes beyond, right?
13:59I live in Costa Rica.
14:01I live in an area called Puerto Viejo.
14:03And let me tell you how this conspiracy works so deep with our area.
14:09Historically, you were told not to go to Limon because it is a black area.
14:13It is, you're told that it floods, it rains, there's crime.
14:18That's what you're always told.
14:19Even today, when you look on the weather channel on your phone and you look to see,
14:25is it raining in Puerto Viejo or in Limon?
14:29Every single day of the year, it says it's raining, okay?
14:33I'm on the beach with sun, okay?
14:37And it says it's raining.
14:38So Kenny can actually call one of me in Costa Rica and say, what's going on?
14:44That can create conversation within his app to show you that, hey, guys, no.
14:50That happens a lot of times to our communities.
14:53Where we are based, we're told not to go there because it's crime on these mainstream forums.
14:58We're creating, again, our own marketplace so the real truth can be made.
15:03With my expertise and your platform, the real truth so that you guys can know where to go,
15:09and it's factual and based on our community knowledge, right?
15:13Right.
15:14No, definitely, of course.
15:15And then even beyond that, right, when you think of hotels, like, you wouldn't know that there's a lot of
15:23black hotel owners out there overseas.
15:26And in a lot of these platforms, that's not highlighted.
15:30Or you can't call Expedia, really, and be like, hey, what's the black-owned hotel in Costa Rica?
15:35They'll laugh you off the phone.
15:37Yeah.
15:37So with Let's Go Plan, we're doing all of that, right?
15:43We're keeping that true human connection with our community in which you can call and ask those questions
15:49and not feel like the person on the other line is looking at you like you have a million heads,
15:55right?
15:55So all of that is important from the vendor to the hotel to even your trip insurance that you're utilizing.
16:03Okay.
16:03Yeah, great.
16:04All right, Kenny, we're going to do, I don't even know what these are called, okay?
16:10Rapid Fire, that's what I believe, right?
16:12So I've been sitting around here, and this is something new.
16:14Kenny really is going to be put on the spot because I just threw this in here after I watched
16:18everybody else.
16:19I thought it was fun.
16:20So Rapid Fire, Kenny, carry-on or check bag?
16:23Carry-on.
16:24Okay.
16:25And what do you put in your carry-on?
16:28Usually what I put in my carry-on is too many T-shirts, not enough pants.
16:37Um, I always buy lotion when I land since in the carry-on is not going to last me for
16:43the amount of time that I travel.
16:45So a lot of toiletries and such I'm buying when I land.
16:48So, and then footwear.
16:50Okay.
16:51And are you aisle seat or window seat?
16:55I'm definitely window seat.
16:56I need to sleep, y'all.
16:57I'm window seat all day.
16:58Which one of y'all, carry-on or check?
17:00Carry-on.
17:02Okay, carry-on gang.
17:03I wish I was like y'all.
17:04I travel the world and I'm still not a carry-on gang.
17:07I really, I'm sorry.
17:08And who is a check bag?
17:11Okay.
17:12We got a few check baggies.
17:14All right.
17:15And your most underrated black interest travel destination.
17:21Well, let me rephrase that.
17:22Where do you think that black people should go and it's not something that's like on our usual travel list?
17:28I'd say, uh, Galapagos Islands.
17:31Wow.
17:31Tell me why and where is that located?
17:34So it's located, so to get to Galapagos, you have to fly into Ecuador, get like a pseudo visa at
17:42the, um, at the airport in Ecuador.
17:44Okay, let's not scare them with all that, just like, uh, Ecuador check, Ecuador, y'all.
17:50And then-
17:50Right, so then from Ecuador, you take about a two and a half hour flight over to Galapagos Islands.
17:55Okay, cool.
17:56And then why do you think we should go there?
17:58What are we going to see over there?
18:00It's amazing.
18:01I mean, Galapagos is one of those places that in middle school you hear of with Darwin's theory and evolution
18:08and the giant turtles.
18:10But when you actually get over there, like, it's a series of islands.
18:14And the wildlife both on land and in the sea is amazing.
18:18So in the Galapagos Islands, you could be eating at a restaurant and a seal will literally plop down right
18:26next to you while you're eating.
18:27Or you could be swimming, um, on the beach and you'll have a penguin that swims right by you.
18:35Wow.
18:35Or you'll see a marine iguana that's hunting in the sea and eating algae.
18:40So it's amazing.
18:40See, I had no idea and I've traveled a lot and I had no idea that they even had restaurants
18:45on the Galapagos Islands.
18:46I thought they were going to plop us there and it was fend for yourself.
18:50So this is great information.
18:51At least we'll get food, you guys.
18:53Um, I'm so happy that you guys came to check us out.
18:56So I'm really happy that you guys were with us.
18:59And if you guys want to find us, please, Kenny, tell them where they can find you at.
19:04Yeah, so we were on the App Store, both Apple Store and Google Play.
19:09If you type in Let's Go Plan, our website that we have also is www.letsgoplan.com.
19:16On social media, you can find us at letsgoplan on Instagram.
19:23And for Soul Life Travel, you can find me on Instagram at at soul, that's S-O-U-L, life,
19:29L-I-F-E, travel.
19:31And you can also find us online at www.soullifetravel.net.
19:37Thank you so much for coming.
19:39Puda vida.
19:39And thank you.
19:40Stay blessed.
19:41Thank you so much.
19:44Okay.
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