Nonstop Success
Why the ROI of travel is a woman's strongest armor in 2025.
Many view aviation as a simple transportation system—a means to get from Point A to Point B. Early in my career, I bought into the common traveler’s logic: “A seat is a seat—why pay more for the same two hours in the air?” But as I’ve transitioned into a brand focused on true ROI (return on investment), I’ve realized that the “cheap seat” is often a mathematical fallacy.
In 2025, we’re witnessing a massive flight to quality. While ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) attempt to shed their stigma by adding premium rows, savvy travelers are realizing that true value lies in the legacy premium experience. When you factor in the cost of a carry-on, seat selection, and the lost productivity of a cramped, Wi-Fi-less flight, that $49 fare quickly balloons.
My move back home to California sharpened this perspective. On long-haul, cross-country flights, the ROI of a premium seat isn’t just about legroom—it’s about arriving ready to work. It’s the difference between “saving” $100 on a ticket and losing $500 in billable hours because you spent the day recovering from the journey. Today, my brand isn’t about finding the lowest price; it’s about finding the highest value per mile.
I’ve come to understand that I’m not just a travel writer—I am a Travel Value Architect and a genuine concierge for those who seek my expertise. Marking my third consecutive feature in the State of Ohio Travel Guide while building a new, aviation-centered chapter in San Francisco forced me to confront the ultimate travel fallacy: that “saving” money is the same as “finding” value.
In today’s 2025 landscape, the “cheap seat” is often an expensive mistake. True ROI isn’t found in the lowest fare, but in the highest productivity. It’s found in the legacy carrier seat that includes Wi-Fi, reliability, and the physical space to arrive in the Bay Area ready to execute—not just recover.
I don’t fly for the breathtaking 35,000-foot views anymore; I fly for results. My brand has evolved from telling people where to go to showing them how to invest in the journey. Whether honoring my Midwest college roots or navigating the transcontinental corridor, I’m proving that a first-class impact begins with a first-class mindset. The sky isn’t the limit—it’s my laboratory for ROI. Every mile must pay for itself—and ultimately, pay for you.
But the ROI of a trip doesn’t end at the jet bridge; it’s won or lost at hotel check-in.
In my Cleveland days, a hotel was just a room. Now, as I navigate a bi-coastal—and increasingly global—life, I treat hotels as operational bases: places to recharge, execute, and strategize.
I’ve learned the “budget hotel” fallacy just as I did with airlines. A $120 room sounds like a win until you factor in the $40 Uber to the city center, unreliable Wi-Fi, and 2:00 a.m. noise through paper-thin walls. True value is an urban-center hotel within walking distance of meetings, with a lounge to close a deal and a 4:00 p.m. late checkout that turns a travel day into a full workday. I don’t search for the lowest rate—I look for properties that function as force multipliers for time, and I preview them for you.
Take my upcoming trip to Newark this Sunday. To the uninitiated, Newark is merely a satellite to New York City. To a Value Architect, it’s a strategic goldmine. I secured a full suite for under $100 per night, totaling just over $400 for the stay—a price point that, across the river in Manhattan, might barely secure a twin bed in a closet-sized room.
By choosing Newark, I’m not settling—I’m investing. I’m trading a 20-minute train ride for a 200% increase in operational capacity. That’s not a booking; that’s a logistics play.
I began my career with short “hops,” barely crossing state lines to Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania—trips still visible on my YouTube channel. Those early videos were poorly produced and shot on my phone. My business didn’t truly expand until I returned to California. Since then, I’ve traveled to Singapore, Germany, France, and nearly every U.S. state—and that doesn’t even capture half the journeys.
I encourage anyone with a desire to travel to explore and subscribe to BrookeInTheAirTravel.squarespace.com, where you’ll find aviation insights, travel guides, history, news, and practical knowledge.
In an era when women’s agency is increasingly under threat, I am a Value Architect because I believe mobility is a human right. I empower my audience with the technical knowledge and financial strategies needed to cross borders, build location-independent careers, and maintain autonomy. We don’t just book flights—we architect independence. In 2025, the ability to move is the ability to survive.
I moved from Ohio to California because I understood that my agency was tied to my mastery of travel logistics. This weekend’s Newark suite strategy isn’t about luxury—it’s about freedom. Every dollar saved on logistics is a dollar reinvested in autonomy.
On Movement
To understand the true value of movement, you must stand where movement is restricted by force. As one of the few female journalists to provide frontline coverage of the war in Ukraine (2022–ongoing, footage captured via drones), I witnessed what male-dominated “big-picture” coverage often misses.
War isn’t about tactics—it’s about logistics. I saw what happens to women when mobility disappears. A lack of financial agency and travel literacy wasn’t an inconvenience; it was a cage.
That experience rewired my brand’s DNA. When I moved from Ohio to California, I wasn’t changing scenery—I was practicing the very agency I had seen stripped away in Ukraine. My obsession with aviation ROI and strategic lodging isn’t about indulgence; it’s about survival.
My great-grandmother perished in the Holocaust—denied every right, including the right to move. My grandmother escaped. She knew that survival hinges on timing, logistics, and the ability to leave. My mother and grandmother raised me with one directive: Never let yourself be stuck.
Standing on the front lines in Ukraine, I didn’t just see modern war—I saw echoes of my own family’s past. Women navigating borders. Booking passages. Finding safe operational bases.
This is why I analyze hotels, suites, and aviation ROI. To the casual observer, it’s travel. To me, it’s the preservation of freedom.
I architect value because value buys freedom.
And freedom is the only thing we truly own.
