The people and purpose behind Destinations & Detours
The places we go. The moments we create. The connections we bring home.
We believe the best travel and events do more than fill an itinerary or bring people into the same room. They create space for discovery, deepen relationships and give people something meaningful to share. That belief shapes every journey, gathering and experience we create.
A friendship. A shared curiosity. A belief that experiences can bring people closer.
Destinations & Detours grew from a longtime friendship between founders Eric Harrison and Shaun Strauss and a shared belief that some of life’s most meaningful moments happen when people step outside the familiar.
Their experiences together have crossed communities, businesses, corporate events, group experiences, road trips and continents. Along the way, they kept seeing the same thing: where people go matters, but what happens when they get there matters even more.
A conversation with someone you never expected to meet. A team celebrating what they accomplished together. A family discovering a place that becomes part of their story. A room full of people gathering around a shared purpose. A group of strangers realizing they have more in common than they thought.
Those moments rarely happen by accident. They happen when thoughtful planning creates the right environment for people to connect, explore, celebrate and be present.
That became the idea behind Destinations & Detours. We create travel and events with intention, combining thoughtful planning, personal attention and room for discovery so the experience feels less manufactured and more human.
Because sometimes a new place, a shared experience or one great conversation can give us something even more valuable than a memory: a new perspective.
Our Founders
Two perspectives. One belief in what connection can do.
Eric Harrison
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Eric brings a background in education, strategic sales, business development and event leadership to the travel and experiences D&D creates. A lifelong traveler who has explored all 50 states and more than 30 countries, he believes travel is at its most powerful when it creates an opportunity to understand a place.
Whether designing an incentive experience, corporate retreat, community gathering or special-interest event, Eric focuses on the people taking part and what will make the experience meaningful to them. His Appalachian roots, family connections to both Cherokee and Polynesian cultures, and years working with communities across the country have shaped his belief that culture, storytelling and connection should never be an afterthought.
For Eric, the goal is simple: create spaces and experiences where people feel welcomed, valued and curious about what comes next.
Shaun Strauss
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Shaun brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate events, operations and large-scale event execution, including work supporting major organizations such as The Home Depot. He combines a sharp eye for logistics with a deeply relationship-driven approach, bringing that discipline to corporate events, retreats, group travel and shared experiences.
Shaun understands that the smallest operational details often determine whether people can relax, participate and actually enjoy the experience around them. His philosophy is grounded in listening first, understanding what matters to the people involved and building the experience around those needs.
For Shaun, great planning should feel almost invisible. What people remember is how the experience made them feel and who they shared it with.
Travel Made Human. Events Made Human.
Our mission is to create travel and events that help people connect more meaningfully with places, with one another and with what matters to them.
Sometimes that looks like a family discovering somewhere new together. Sometimes it is a company recognizing the people behind its success. It might be an incentive trip that feels like a genuine reward, a retreat that gives a team space to reconnect, a conference that creates real conversation or a gathering built around a shared passion that turns strangers into friends.
Whatever brings people together, we believe connection is strongest when it is intentional. That is why we begin with people rather than itineraries, venues or schedules. We listen. We ask questions. We learn what matters.
Then we bring together the destination, setting, experiences, logistics and thoughtful details that allow something meaningful to happen. Because new experiences bring new perspectives, whether they happen halfway around the world or around a table closer to home.
What Matters to Us
Connection
Travel and events turn shared moments into shared stories. We intentionally create opportunities for people to talk, laugh, explore, celebrate and discover common ground. Connection is never an afterthought — it is part of the design.
Curiosity
The detours are often where the best stories begin. We leave room for discovery: a local restaurant you did not expect, a conversation between sessions, a cultural tradition, a new idea or a moment that changes the way you see something familiar.
Care
Being human-centered means paying attention. We listen closely, communicate clearly and think about how an experience will feel from beginning to end. The logistics matter because people matter.
Community
We give people a reason to connect once they arrive. Community grows through shared experiences, conversations and a sense of belonging — whether we are designing travel, events, retreats or gatherings.
Lasting Impact
A trip may last a week. An event may last a day. Its impact can last much longer. We want people to leave with stronger relationships, new ideas, memorable stories and perhaps a slightly different way of seeing the world.
Different talents. One shared belief in what experiences can do.
Destinations & Detours brings together people with backgrounds in travel, events, education, marketing, sales, hospitality, operations and experience design. That range of perspectives matters.
It helps us think beyond flights, hotels, venues and schedules to consider the entire experience: how people arrive, how they interact, where meaningful moments might happen and what they will remember afterward. Every group is different, so we start by getting to know the people behind it.
We ask one question again and again: What would make this meaningful for the people taking part?
Meet the People Behind Destinations & Detours
Ready to create something people will remember?
Planning a trip, retreat, conference or event? Tell us what you have in mind, and we’ll help shape it into an experience that feels thoughtful, personal and distinctly yours.