About Us

WHO WE ARE

We are a lifestyle travel company that curates amazing
experiences inspired from the individuality of our clients.

Our name DISTINCTE embodies who we are… French in origin and in spelling, but pronounced the same as it is in English…
“Distinct”, is defined by Oxford as “recognizably different in nature from something, or someone else of a similar type”.

That’s the central concept behind DISTINCTE, where we subscribe to the belief that
each person is independently unique and not one travel experience is identical to another.

Our one-of-a-kind travel concierge prides themselves on identifying your individuality, taking your desires and wants,
and personalizing an amazing travel experience to that one special place you have always aspired to travel to.

OUR STORY

It’s all because of a weather delay on a golf course!

The only reason that the brand actually became a reality was a result of a weather delay on a golf course when a chance meeting between our founder and the powers that be at HSN shifted the direction of his career. True story, just ask him!

Originally, the Distincte brand’s primary purpose was to provide aspirational travel content and booking services to the discerning audience of the travel clothing and accessories brand, TravelSmith (subsidiary of HSN / QVC).

Today, Distincte has evolved to become a full service travel company powered by its ever-growing client base and community of influencers, our Inspired Travelers. This is our differentiator and whether it is you, our clients or it’s the natives within the destination, we subscribe to the belief that travel it is about the relationships you make that ultimately cements a life long memory or a lesson learned, simply because you were willing to travel to see a different side of you.

Our Team

Sean K. Winton

Founder, President •

Born in Glasgow, Scotland and raised in a small west coast village called Maidens, Sean immigrated to New Hampshire at...

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Sean K. Winton

Founder, President

Born in Glasgow, Scotland and raised in a small west coast village called Maidens, Sean immigrated to New Hampshire at the age of 15 with his family. His first taste of travel apart from flying to the States, was at the age of 18 when he received an invitation to join a crew to deliver a forty-two sailing vessel from Newport, RI via Bermuda to St. Thomas, USVI. The adventure alone is a story in itself but having experienced the cultures of these two amazing destinations as a young adult, he was hooked on traveling. His passion for travel evolved over the years where he became known to his friends as “that guy”; the one that does all the travel planning on behalf of the group! As far as a career in travel, that only became a reality after a humble firing from his first cooperate job in 1995. After a summer of self reflection, he acted on his entrepreuneuial spirit and decided to explore starting a travel company that leveraged one of his native Scotland’s most sought after commodities… golf! So in 1996 and thanks to a very fortunate introduction to a fellow ex-pat, Sean began his travel career “proper” in New York City running the golf desk for Protravel International, a well known Virtuoso travel agency. In his time on Madison Avenue his understanding for servicing high net worth and discerning clientele was refined. Also, having personally traveled with his golf clients over the years, Sean quickly learned that it was much about what you did after the round of golf than it was playing it. After all, a round of golf only takes on average four hours and it was from all of the other destinations interests that his clients requested and did while on tour, pre and post round, that became the inspiration for the next challenge of his career – Distincte Travel Group, a lifestyle travel company. In 2016, the Distincte lifestyle brand was established initially supporting a partnership that Sean had established with HSN and its subsidiary brand, Travelsmith. Today, Distincte has evolved to become a full service travel company powered by the passion points of its clients that continue to trust in its leadership and team of knowledgeable travel advisors. Although Sean is still very much involved in the golf travel side of the industry, Distincte is a result of the natural evolution of a successful career in the travel industry; an industry that Sean remains passionate about and always has him thinking outside of the box.

Karen O’Neill

Director of Operations •

After 20 years in the hospitality and events industry, Karen joined our team to follow her true passion in travel....

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Amy Kunkel

Director of Marketing •

Amy joined Distincte Travel to head up the company’s marketing responsibilities. Passionate about travel, her true qualifications for this position...

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Sandra Romeo

Director of Business Development •

Sandra has a passion for travel and decades of experience in sales and marketing within the travel industry. She has...

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Bill Curtin

PGA – Travel Director •

A proud member of the PGA of America since 1997, Bill offers a wide range of experience in golf, including...

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Taylor Dudley

Marketing Executive •

Taylor is part of today’s new generation of travelers whose passion for this industry has only just begun. He is...

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WHO WE ARE

We are a lifestyle travel company that curates amazing
experiences inspired from the individuality of our clients.

OUR STORY