Kavya Travel was founded in 2022 by someone who saw a problem that most of the travel industry had stopped noticing. As travel booking became faster, more automated, and more app-driven, something got lost: the human connection. That’s where Kavya Travel stepped in.
After years of watching friends and family struggle with confusing websites and robotic phone trees, the founder asked a simple question — What if people just want to talk to someone? Especially older adults who may not feel comfortable trusting apps to plan a major trip.
The answer became a small but meaningful business built around real conversations. No fancy offices, no social media campaigns. Just real agents who pick up the phone and walk customers through the booking process. Kavya Travel started with cruise bookings, but quickly expanded to flights, hotels, and car rentals across the U.S. and Canada — all without losing the personal touch.
Over time, the company became known for its calm, kind service. Agents who remembered your name. People who didn’t rush you. And a system that worked without being flashy.
Today, Kavya Travel serves thousands of people, yet still operates with the heart of a small neighborhood agency. The founder remains behind the scenes by choice, letting the service speak for itself.
What started as a simple idea — bring people back into the process — has quietly changed the way many think about travel. No slogans, no spotlights. Just help, when it’s needed most.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My day usually starts early, around 6:30 a.m. I check call logs from overnight and see if any urgent bookings or customer service issues came in. Then I go for a walk and use that time to think. Most of my day is spent reviewing customer cases, training agents, and testing small tweaks to our support flow. We don’t use a lot of tools, so productivity for me is about staying focused on the few things that matter: answering the phone quickly, solving the customer’s problem, and keeping it simple.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I test them in conversation. If an idea doesn’t make sense when I explain it to one of our agents or customers, it probably needs work. For example, the idea to share cruise videos came from a chat with a customer who didn’t know what a ship “veranda” was. That led to a whole series of video explainers. The key is listening to what people actually struggle with, then solving that problem without over-engineering it.
What’s one trend that excites you?
The return of voice-first customer service. It’s not trendy in tech circles, but I see more people opting to talk than type. After years of pushing everything into self-service, I think we’ll see a swing back to voice — not as a feature, but as the experience itself.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
I leave two hours a day completely unscheduled. No calls, no Slack, no email. That’s when I think through issues deeply, work on process fixes, or call a customer personally. It makes everything else run better.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t assume tech always improves things. Simplicity is underrated, and sometimes a phone call is more powerful than a product roadmap.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
I don’t think scaling is always good. A lot of companies break the moment they start growing. I believe some businesses work best when they stay small and sharp.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
Call your own customer support line at least once a week. Use it like a real customer. It changes how you design everything.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
I take tech breaks. I physically step away from the computer or phone, and either go outside or read something unrelated to work — usually poetry or history. Ten minutes of silence can solve more than an hour of meetings.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
Not being visible. I intentionally keep my name and face away from the brand. That lets the company stay customer-focused and makes the business feel approachable to people who may not trust big brands.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
Early on, we tried to launch an automated callback system. It seemed helpful in theory but frustrated customers in practice. We removed it in two weeks. The lesson: convenience isn’t universal. Sometimes it’s just confusing.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Build a phone-based tech help service just for people over 60. No upsells, no apps — just calm, human walkthroughs for online tools, forms, or basic setups.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
Oddly enough, Google Voice. It lets us manage call routing in a very lean way. No big systems, just clear, direct phone support.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
I revisit The Art of Stillness by Pico Iyer. It reminds me that slowing down can be a strategy — not a weakness.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
Somebody Somewhere on HBO. It’s quiet, human, and full of small, real moments. That’s the kind of vibe we try to create with our service.
Key learnings
- Simplicity often solves problems better than scale or automation.
- Listening to customer confusion is the fastest path to innovation.
- Blocking off unscheduled time each day can lead to better decisions.
- Not every business benefits from being visible; quiet brands can thrive.
- Human-first customer service is making a quiet comeback.