How choosing family over profit during COVID confirmed for us that we were still the company we were always meant to be
In March 2020, the entire world seemed to stop, and we were just about to start our season. The entire world stopped traveling, and we faced an impossible choice that would define not just our survival, but our soul.
Every business consultant, every industry expert, every “smart money” voice said the same thing: Cut costs. Issue refunds. Lay off staff. Hunker down and hope.
We chose differently. We chose family.
What happened next defied every business textbook – and transformed us into something far greater than we ever imagined.
The Choice That Changed Everything
When COVID-19 brought international travel to a grinding halt, we had guests who’d just paid their full balances for our 2020 season. We had vendors across Italy and Portugal who depended on us. We had a team who trusted us.
The easy path was clear: follow industry standards, protect the bottom line, and hope we’d still be standing when it ended.
Instead, we did something radical in this industry, but really nothing strange for us. Instead of panic, we just chose to remember who we have always been. We simply treated everyone – our guests, our vendors, our team – exactly like the family they were to us. Even when tested by the biggest crisis in travel history.
The result? Our guests trusted us with their payments. Every vendor honored our advance commitments. Our team stayed intact. Not only did we survive – we thrived.
The Transformation No One Saw Coming
What emerged from that crucible of crisis wasn’t just survival for CDV. It was deep and meaningful transformation.
Five years later, the numbers tell an amazing story that we never would have believed:
- 300% + growth in guests traveling with us
- Team size tripled across multiple countries
- Geographic expansion from Italy and Portugal to Croatia, Spain, and soon Argentina and Uruguay
- Vertical integration by merging with our Portuguese DMC and bringing them fully into the CDV family,
- Innovation in travel with our own ultra-small-ship cruises
But the most important transformation isn’t measured in numbers.
The Real Revolution: Remembering Our Roots
COVID didn’t just test our “business” model – it revealed and reminded us of our true identity. In the forced stillness of lockdowns, we rediscovered what we’d always known but sometimes forgot in the busy rhythm of normal operations:
It’s all about the people.
Period. Full stop. Nothing else matters.
Our guests simply aren’t customers – they’re family members we haven’t met yet, or those that are returning home. Our team isn’t staff – they’re the heart that keeps our family beating. Our vendors aren’t suppliers – they’re the soul of every destination we share. All family, none more important than any other.
This wasn’t a marketing revelation. It was a homecoming. In a sense, it reminded us that we still were everything we set out to be almost two decades ago. Family.
Virtual Family, Real Bonds
During those dark months, something amazing happened. We wanted to stay connected, so we started doing frequent Facebook live streams. We brought our scattered family together from around the world. Nonnas teaching pasta-making from their kitchens in Tuscany. Vintners sharing stories from empty vineyards. Guests cooking along from their homes in America, Australia, and beyond. We bonded.
We hosted cooking classes, wine tastings, and even streamed our internal business meetings for complete transparency. We organized international sales drives to help struggling vendors sell their products directly to guests, taking no commission. Why? Because at the end of the day, we were all in the same boat, and if we were truly a big family, let’s all do this together!
These weren’t marketing events. They were family gatherings.
The Proof Is in the Journey
When we became one of the first companies to restart European travel in 2021, we didn’t just reopen – we revolutionized safety and care. We organized everything from pre-trip testing, to organizing testing before guests returned home. With ever-changing travel rules, we made sure that we knew exactly what each individual guest needed, and helped in every way. If someone tested positive while with us, we guaranteed full care for anyone who tested positive – and we would foot the bill. Simple concept: Care for family, right? Amazingly, there were zero COVID cases across all our 2021 tours.
But more than safety protocols, we brought something unprecedented: a travel family that had already bonded through crisis, ready to explore the world together.
Why This Matters
This isn’t ancient history. This is who we are today, tomorrow, and forever.
When guests travel with Culture Discovery Vacations, they’re not joining a tour. They’re joining a family that chose love over fear, community over isolation, and people over profit when it mattered most. It’s not a business decision. It is baked into our DNA.
For us, it reminded us that:
- We Proved our values under pressure (not just when it’s easy)
- We Invest in relationships that span continents and decades
- We Grow thoughtfully while maintaining our intimate, family feel
- We innovate constantly while honoring timeless traditions
From Crisis to Community to Global Family
Today, as we prepare to welcome guests to Argentina and Uruguay in February 2026, we carry forward the lessons learned in our darkest hour. Every new destination, every team member, every guest experience is built on the foundation of that impossible choice we made in March 2020.
We chose family. And family chose us back.
See Our Story in Their Words
The most powerful testimony to this transformation isn’t our words – it’s theirs. Our team, our guests, and our vendor family tell this story better than we ever could.
Watch until the very end of this video to see our entire team’s heartfelt message of gratitude. See the faces behind the choice. Hear the voices of the family that weathered the storm together.
This video captures not just how we survived, but how we discovered who we really are.
An Invitation to the Family
The doors of our family are always open. Whether you’re drawn to the rolling hills of Tuscany, the dramatic coastlines of Croatia, the amazing people of Portugal, vibrant culture of Argentina, or any of the magical destinations where we create memories together, our guests are not just booking a vacation.
They are accepting an invitation to become part of a story that renewed in crisis and bloomed into something beautiful.
At the end of the day, the most beautiful destinations in the world are just places. What makes them matter is the people you discover them with.
And we can’t wait to discover the world with every new guest we meet.
Co-Founder of Culture Discovery Vacations. I am a native American from Los Angeles that has been living with one foot in Italy and the other in the US for more than 30 years. I usually write about oddities I see in Italian culture from an American perspective, and the humor I find in it. However, after decades of living in both countries, I often see the reverse as well. That is, where the Italians got it right, and we can certainy learn from them!
Sunshine in a dark time.
Optimism, hope, and supporting each other!
I think that was the most important thins… supporting “each other”. Amaing that when I look back at it, as bad as it all way, there was a lot of silver lining. <3
❤️