Traveling Overseas with Felix Brambilla
CEO, Overseas Network
Back in 2000, travel guru Felix Brambilla founded the Coral Gables-based Overseas Network, a luxury travel service that plans vacations for the uber-wealthy. Today, his empire has expanded to 47 offices across 38 countries and boasts a vast web of local contacts that range from ranchers in Montana to villa owners in Tuscany.
Brambilla himself is an international mix — half-Italian and half-Scottish; the CEO was born in the south of France and now lives in the Gables. From here, he targets the rarified upper echelons of the travel market, creating bespoke travel experiences around the world with individual itineraries. “We take full responsibility for the trip,” Brambilla says. “We go from design all the way to delivery and support at the destination.”
Latest Achievement
In 2022, Overseas Network pulled off a last-minute project at the behest of the Qatari government during the FIFA World Cup. The government reached out and asked Brambilla to organize special experiences for all of its state guests. He and his team rapidly constructed two luxury Bedouin camps, pitched in the desert, where 150 VIPs relaxed between matches.
The event was such a success that the company has since opened up a permanent office in Doha and collaborations are expected to continue with the Qatari government as well as with FIFA.
RELATED: Want to read more latest achievements by fellow Gableites? Check out our People section.
What He Says
“Every destination has a story to tell. People sometimes misunderstand this. We’re not telling the story — we’re putting it together. The destination is the core to the story, and then you have the characters we introduce — our local guides; people that, to us, are an authentic representation of the culture and the destination. And then the other character is the traveler himself,” Brambilla says.
“If you and I go to the same place, we’re probably going to bring back a different story, right? Because we influence the story. So, what we’re doing is we’re trying to understand the client’s profile. This is what they like, what they dislike, what they want, what they’re willing to explore. Then, we create an environment and we throw the client in that story and let them influence interactively.”