On May 16, 2025 at Lincoln South Rotary Club, we heard from Moani Baumfalk on Nova Vacations.
Moani started by introducing herself and thanking Suni for the invitation to speak.
Following the formal introduction from Moani, there are some additional comments from the question / answer session.
From Moani:
Hi everyone, my name is Moani Baumfalk. I’m not giving a formal presentation today - this will be more of a story about how I got to where I am today and what I'm building.
So first…I’m proud to call Lincoln home. I was born here, but shortly after, we moved to Hawaii where my mom is from and I spent my early childhood there. From there, we lived in a few cities across Colorado while my dad served in the Air Force. When I was 8, we eventually made our way back to Lincoln where my dad grew up. I went to Brownell Elementary, Mickle Middle School, and East High, then went on to graduate from UNL with a degree in business and marketing.
During my senior year of college, I interned at Sandhills Publishing—now Sandhills Global—and that’s where I got my start in corporate sales. Over the years, I worked my way up to assistant manager and was eventually asked to help launch a new product and division, managing 10 direct reports and nearly 100 indirect. That role gave me the opportunity to travel monthly all over the U.S. and internationally, managing teams and developing global sales strategies.
Back home, my husband Ben was taking care of our two young daughters changing diapers, doing school drop-offs…and as our daughters grew older, I started feeling like I was missing the moments that mattered most. In 2019, we came up with a plan for me to step away from the corporate world and focus on family in 2020. Then the pandemic hit. I stayed on a bit longer to support the company through the spring, but by May, I was home full-time and for those who know me, you know I’m not someone who sits still for long.
I always have ideas and love a good project. So in July 2020 I decided to start my own travel agency. I’ve always enjoyed planning…whether it was our family vacations, group trips with friends, or coordinating my own work travel. I thought to myself if I book a few vacations a year to help offset my own family travels that would be a win.
Our oldest daughter's name is Nola and our youngest is Eva which is how we came up with the name Nova Vacations.
Starting a business during the pandemic came with plenty of challenges. I was trying to learn how to book travel for others with no formal training; navigating cancellations, destination closures, everchanging entry requirements. There were a lot of tough moments, but in hindsight, the timing couldn’t have been better. The following year, it felt like everyone was ready to travel again. Things started slowly, but business grew quickly from there.
What started as a fun side project soon took on a life of its own. A friend of my sister’s, who had just been furloughed from United, reached out a few short months later to see if she could be an advisor with Nova. I thought “why not”? Then a high school friend reached out. Then a college friend. Then a friend of a friend. Before I knew it, we had seven advisors within the first year and a half. It all happened organically and fast! Today, Nova is a boutique luxury travel agency with seven full-time advisors based in Arizona, Missouri, Virginia, and Nebraska.
As Nova continued to grow, word started to spread - and we began hearing from more and more people across the country who were interested in becoming travel advisors. That’s when my husband, Ben, came up with a brilliant idea. He noticed there really wasn’t much in the way of structured training or mentorship for those just starting out. We wanted to find a way to support new advisors without overwhelming our original Nova team, who had all grown together from the beginning.
So in January 2025, we launched Luma Travel Co.named after our daughters’ middle names, Luana and Malia. Luma is a training-based division of Nova, designed to bring new advisors in and equip them with the knowledge and tools to hit the ground running.
Ben has been instrumental in building Luma from the ground up. Right now, he’s developing a robust advisor portal where our team can access onboarding resources, past webinars, training materials, and real-time chat support. I’m more of the front-facing side of Luma…personally walking new advisors through the onboarding process and being their go-to for questions, support, and encouragement. In just a few short months, we’ve welcomed nine Luma advisors based in California, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, and Nebraska and we’re just getting started!
We hold weekly team meetings and maintain an active group chat where everyone can connect, ask questions, and support one another. It’s truly an extended family—an incredible community of driven women (and Ben) who are genuinely changing lives through travel.
What we do goes far beyond just booking flights and hotels. We design meaningful, stress-free travel experiences. We’re making dreams come true and memories that last. In many ways, we’re ambassadors - sharing cultures, telling stories, connecting people, and enriching lives through travel.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard work. There are plenty of 12-16 hour days. But it’s deeply fulfilling and the best part is it has all grown through word-of-mouth and community support.
I’m grateful every day that I get to work side-by-side with my husband, see our girls off to school, and be present while also building something meaningful. Something our daughters can be proud of. It’s not just for us, but for the advisors we support and the clients we have the privilege to serve.
Thank you Suni - my neighbor and dear friend - for inviting me to share my story with you all and cheers to building big dreams, right here in the heart of the Good Life.
Additional notes from Moani's time with us:
She shared the many benefits of using a travel advisor. Many people like to do their own research for low air fares and deals on lodging. With an advisor you have someone to help ensure you have a quality experience and they can assist if anything goes wrong. You will have direct contact with our advisor from the beginning - you won't get lost in the shuffle.
They start with a contact form on their website. You can select an advisor or she will review and find one that fits - someone that specializes in the type of experience you want or the destination.
They will get information from you about things like allergies or possible medical needs. They will work with your budget and time frame - if they can. Sometimes the budget will not support a quality destination such as all-inclusive resorts. You may ask for something in a $2,000 budget range but realistically - for good locations - you may need to consider $3,000. She said they will not place you anywhere that they have not vetted - that they know. She said that they will work with you - going back and forth questions questions and answers as needed - until they find an experience that fits you.
Advisors are always there to help with any problems you may have with the flight, cruise, rental car or lodging. They can also help if you have a medical emergency or need to make connection with people during your trip.
Moani shared that they have a huge network with personal connections all over the world. They are aware of information not available to the general public - that the public will not find when doing their own research. They have local destination experts all over the world that will help with your experience.
She shared that every company has their own personality and philosophy - they are not in the business to make a quick buck. They want to build trust. Because of good experiences, they have a good return customer rate.
She sated that many of the Midwest customers are most comfortable with out of the contiguous states but close destinations such as Canada, Mexico, Alaska and Hawaii. The most popular destinations for others are Japan and Thailand.