Bell de Souza

With over 30 years of senior management experience in the travel industry, I have brought considerable expertise in marketing and strategy to our industry. Earlier in my career, I directed publicity and promotions for the World Wildlife Fund, India. Later I became the Advertising Manager of the Taj International Hotels, a leading global luxury hotel chain, based in Bombay, India, during a time of rapid expansion of the chain. In the 1980s, I directed marketing for a special interest publication in Los Angeles, and then started my long innings in the travel industry, serving as General Manager of an upscale boutique travel firm, Advantage Travel, in Toluca Lake, California, before joining Mansour Travel Company in 1994. I am now VP and Chief Operating Officer of Mansour Travel Company and have instituted several innovative and customer-oriented business practices, including a company-wide commitment to, and investment in, state-of-the-art technology. My efforts in building a cohesive and effective team have yielded impressive results. Mansour Travel Company has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in LA by the Los Angeles Business Journal for over 12 years and in 2023 the prestigious Los Angeles Times named us as one of the Best Places to work in all of Southern California

I have also brought my expertise in marketing, promotions and strategy to my honorary work. I served a few consecutive terms on the executive board of SoCal ASTA and continues to chair its luxury events committee. I have served on the pre-opening advisory boards of 45 Park Lane (London), a Dorchester Collection hotel, The Rosewood Hotel, London, The Park Hyatt, New York, and The Baccarat Hotel in New York. More recently, I have served on the travel Agency Advisory Boards of a couple of Hotel Groups including the Set Hotel Collection's Hotel Lutetia on the Left Bank of Paris, and a few more.

I have also played a meaningful advisory role in the planning stages of two luxury hotel groups’ travel agency loyalty programs, The Peninsula Hotel Group’s PEN Club and the Dorchester Collection’s Diamond Club.

Awards & Honors: In 2016, I was awarded the honor of being named “Travel Agent of the Year” by the Southern California Chapter of ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents) and also received a certificate of recognition from the State of California. In 2018 I was voted Travel Advisor Mentor of the Year by SoCal ASTA. Other awards include "Top Producer" for the Dorchester Collection and the Ritz Carlton/Marriott Luxury Brands. In 2018 I was honored with a nomination at Virtuoso for Most Admired Advisor in the U.S.

I have been educated in the best traditions of Jesuit education, both in Bombay and Los Angeles, with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature & Psychology from St. Xavier’s College of the University of Bombay, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Communications Arts from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.