What is OTE –
Olive Tree Escapes?
Olive Tree Escapes is a tour operator that provides luxury bespoke journeys to Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. We specialize in designing upscale and customized experiences for the discerning traveler. What sets us apart is that we focus 100% on the Mediterranean area in order to achieve a level of expertise a notch higher than large- spanning operators, and our sales team is US-based to help you plan the trip, while your clients still get the full support from our on-site offices in Italy and Croatia.
Our Goal
OTE is a boutique travel company that focuses on Travel Agent relationships and partnerships. We know that referrals are the key result every agent would like from their clients. So, our main goal is to make Travel Agents look good to their clients, which in turn makes them satisfied and happy to refer you to a new possible customer. We will give you all of the insider info you need in order to turn every customer meeting into a successful sale.
Our Location
OTE’s main office is based in Chicago, and our second office is located in New York City. Our travel experts are available to talk and assist you from Monday to Friday, 9:00AM to 5:30PM Central Standard Time. And for all of those who are traveling to Europe with us, we have two offices (one in Florence and one in Zagreb) ready for support and assistance on site.
Who is Olive Tree Escapes?
Our Founder & President: Beth Rubin
While she can plan romantic getaways to Florence or family vacations to Rome, Rubin encourages travelers look beyond popular destinations. In Calabria, she has helped clients track their ancestors. From Milan, she’s set up excursions to such cities as Mantua and Cremona. Even on classic trips, Rubin tempts clients with unusual day trips or excursions like visiting a saffron producer in Umbria as an addition to a winery-filled vacation in Tuscany and Piedmont.
Travel + Leisure
Beth Rubin started her career in the travel industry in 2000, designing unique Italian itineraries loaded with first-hand tips after her return to the US from a study abroad experience in Cortona, Tuscany. After 17 years of success in the travel industry and two Travel + Leisure® A-List of Top Travel Advisor awards, Rubin’s passion led to the opening of Olive Tree Escapes, her own Chicago-based bespoke luxury travel company.
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Maja Gudelj
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Philip Kinsella
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Liz Rominski
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Nikolina Borak
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Gigi
Our Team
Olive Tree Escapes has brought together a team of experts with over 50 years of combined experience in the travel industry. Our group of agents includes natives from Split and Zagreb, and we all have lived in Italy or Croatia for an extensive period. We are the local experts, who work in your time zone.
Why Choose Olive Tree Escapes?
Our Experience
We are travel experts with first-hand local knowledge.
Our team is either native to the country, or has lived in the country for an extensive period of time. Our knowledge goes beyond the well-known sites and popular tourist spots.
Destination expertise.
We focus exclusively on Italy and Croatia (Slovenia and Montenegro).
Award-winning consultants.
With over 50 years of combined experience, developing a strong network of connections in our destinations.
More than a vacation.
We design bespoke experiences tailored to meet your clients’ every need, crafted just the way they want it.
Unique Service
Personal travel consultant.
You will work with the same travel expert throughout the whole process. Our goal is to create itineraries that are tailored to each client’s personal style. The proposal is refined to perfection in every detail with you and your clients, creating dream vacations with the degree of involvement you prefer.
Expertly-led tours.
Our guides and services are hand picked and yearly reviewed for quality control, and all of our guides and staff speak English.
Unexpected extras.
To make the client’s trip truly unforgettable, we give personal recommendations for a unique experience even when they are visiting on their own.
On Site & At Home Support
We are your Italy and Croatia experts based in Chicago.
Our travel planners are located in Central Standard Time, available during your office hours. Our on site representatives are available in local time while your clients travel.
Concierge service.
On-site support and English-speaking staff fluent in Italian and Croatian.
Real support before, during and after the trip.
Delayed flight, missed connection, weather problems? In case of unexpected events, a travel expert is available on call to help resolve any issues.
Partnership Value
We value our partnership with our Travel Agents more than anything else.
We want to make you feel comfortable and prepared when you are communicating with your clients.
Quarterly Webinars for your benefit & knowledge.
Sales tips, new product education, updates on trends and insider info you might find useful in your next sale.
Commissions on all of our bookings.
Bi-monthly commission checks.
What to Expect
Olive Tree Escapes is a tour operator that provides luxury bespoke journeys to Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro. We specialize in designing upscale and customized experiences for the discerning traveler. What sets us apart is that we focus 100% on the Mediterranean area in order to achieve a level of expertise a notch higher than large-spanning operators, and our sales team is US-based to help you plan the trip, while your clients still get the full support from our on-site offices in Italy and Croatia.
From personalized travel tips, to ensuring your dietary needs are met. Nothing is final until you and your clients’ are satisfied. And once you confirm the itinerary, we go ahead and process all the services and create a personalized booklet: a printed and digital itinerary with all activities, vouchers, and confirmations neatly gathered in one place and shipped directly to you.
Reaching Out
Quarterly Webinars
Olive Tree Escapes Webinar series is part of our ongoing efforts to keep our travel agent partners up-to-date with the latest Italian and Croatian travel trends, accommodations, and experiences. It’s also an informal way to get to know our knowledgeable team of experts. Each Webinar is 30 minutes: approximately 20 minutes of presentation followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. The Webinars are free, exclusive for travel agents, and recordings are available for all the registrants.
FAMs
Gain first-hand experience and knowledge of our destinations with our FAMs. Site inspections, tours, meals, you’ll be ready to share your newfound expertise with your clients.
Travel Agent Mailing List
To receive invitations to our Webinars, FAM’s, and more, please join our Travel Agent mailing list.
We Are Social
Follow Olive Tree Escapes on social media to keep-up-to-date with the latest travel trends, destination highlights, company news, and more! Connect, follow and have a conversation with us.
Facebook Group
Join our very own group for travel agents. Ask us your questions about any of our destinations.
Commonly Asked Questions
Yes, that is totally fine. But we do require packages, no a la carte services.
Minimum of 3 services bundled in one package.
We do villa rentals across the country (even off the beaten path) and apartment rentals in the cities. Remember: villa rentals are weekly, Saturday to Saturday, and apartment rentals usually have a minimum of 3 nights.
No, we don’t. We book it with a consolidator but we are more than happy to leave it up to you or your client directly.
Yes, it can. 3 hrs from Venice to Rovinj. Not the easiest, but doable.
Pretty easy. Ljubljana is 1.5 hours away from Zagreb. Slovenia has a lot to offer, you can do Ljubljana and Lake Bled in a day trip.
Deposit in the amount of 30% is due at the time of booking. Final balance will be due 60 days prior to departure day. In the event of cancellation, deposit and final payments are non-refundable and non- transferable. Olive Tree Escapes strongly recommends purchasing travel insurance. Additional information about it can be provided upon request.
Yes, we will send a list of recommended restaurants for each city where the client will stay. We can certainly make reservations.
No, we cannot provide itemized costs as we have contract rates that are contingent on the prices remaining confidential and in a package. If your clients are trying to meet a specific budget, we can always suggest ways to cut back on the overall package cost.
No, the deposit and any subsequent payments are non-refundable. We highly recommend travel insurance – you can find more details about travel insurance on our website.