Today we’d like to introduce you to Trina Hendry.
Hi Trina, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you for having me! My name is Trina Hendry and I am a Canadian expat who has been living in Los Angeles for almost a decade as a marketing and communications director in the hospitality industry.
My journey to starting One California Day Co. begins with me finding the courage to follow my dreams and move from Toronto to Los Angeles in 2015. I packed up my car and embarked on the quintessential U.S. road trip along Route 66 from Chicago to LA, where I enrolled in a Digitial Marketing certificate program at UCLA Extension. This provided me not only a student visa to study but the opportunity to gain US work experience for one year following graduation. Since then, I have worked in hotel and hospitality marketing at various agencies, as well as Director of Brand Marketing at The Culver Hotel and most recently as Complex Director of Marketing for the Thompson Hollywood and tommie Hollywood, where I opened both hotels and their respective restaurants, nightclubs and event spaces, including Mother Wolf, Ka’teen, Mes Amis, Desert Five Spot, Bar Lis and Citizen News.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and my goal has been to open a travel business that supports local businesses and promotes California as a destination. I conceived One California Day during the pandemic when travel options were limited and travelers took to road-tripping as a safe and fun way to satiate their desire to get outside and explore.
We officially launched in October 2022 with nine themed itineraries departing from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ha! Great question. Well, if Instagram were to tell the story, it would look like life has been rosy throughout this entire journey. But the truth is moving to a new city and country is not easy. It has actually been the most challenging yet rewarding time of my life.
Settling in – from work visas and job searches to apartment hunting and making friends – are the normal struggles one would expect with moving to a new place. But then the pandemic hit and suddenly, I found myself unable to visit family and friends back home for nearly two years, I was unemployed and, the worst part, isolated from the rest of the world (as we all were). During that time, I reevaluated my life, my values and what I wanted for my future. This reflection motivated me to keep busy and dream big.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about One California Day Co.?
Based in Los Angeles, One California Day Co., is a new sustainably minded experiential travel company that offers travelers a uniquely fun way to explore California by taking self-guided day trips with a catch: they won’t know where they are going until the day of their trip. Departing from three major cities–Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco–the mystery itineraries are designed to surprise and delight, revealing a beautiful California destination, one memorable stop at a time. With nine itineraries to choose from currently (and more to come), the gift-worthy day trips are perfect for anniversaries, girls’ getaways, birthdays and other celebrations and cost $80 for a digital pdf download and $95 for a mailed packet.
We partner with local businesses, offering them another way to market to travelers, and we promote sustainable travel through our business practices and by offsetting carbon emissions through memberships and donations to organizations like 1% for the Planet and One Tree Planted, as well as offering responsible travel tips.
How it works:
1. Choose a trip: Travelers select a themed mystery trip departing from any of California’s three main coastal cities—Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco. Whether looking for a full-day adventure (a “Journey”) or an afternoon casually discovering a new place closer to homebase (a “Jaunt”), travelers will embark on a perfectly curated California day in the desert, along the California coast or even in wine country.
2. Receive the itinerary: Travelers can opt for a mailed packet ($95) or a digital PDF ($80). The mailed packet includes a Destination Reveal postcard, a ‘Trip Essentials’ guide, a series of sealed envelopes designed to guide travelers through their day, sustainable travel tips, a hand-selected list of hotel accommodations should they decide to spend the night and a small keepsake. For those who can’t wait to see where they are going, they can download a digital itinerary to immediately reveal all of the secrets to their exciting California adventure. Note: Travelers only need to purchase one itinerary per car.
3. Head out on that adventure: On the eve of their departure, road trippers are encouraged to open the envelope labeled “Trip Essentials” which outlines when to leave, how to prepare, and what to pack. Before hitting the road the next morning, they will open the envelope labeled “Stop #1”. As they leave the first stop, they will then open the second envelope…and so on. Each envelope contains information about the next attraction, as well as notable pit stops along the way, where appropriate.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
No risk, no reward–that’s how I approach life. I risked everything to move from Canada to LA. Granted, I had a student visa to get me through the first year but I had no plan for how I would be able to stay here long term. With a lot of perseverance, I figured it out as I went along and the payoff has been incredible.
Pricing:
- $80 for digital PDF download
- $95 for mailed packet
Contact Info:
- Website: www.onecaliforniaday.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onecaliforniaday.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onecaliforniaday.co
