OUR SPECIALISTS

As founder, owner and president of Universal Travel, Randolph Ney entered the travel industry in 1969 when his family’s store opened a travel agency department in their retail store. At a young age, Mr. Ney collected stamps from all over the world, and that combined with his interest in geography, generated an interest of seeing the world. Today, Randy enjoys traveling the world discovering new and exotic destinations, outstanding hotels, unforgettable guides, and favorite neighborhood restaurants and shops.

His most memorable travel experiences include traveling on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, visits to Amritsar and Varanasi in India, and spending the night in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. Randy has extensive knowledge of most areas of the world including train journeys, East and Southern African safaris, India, Turkey, New Zealand, Antarctica, Morocco, Europe, and particularly educational, group and family experiences.

Kristie serves as Universal Travel’s general manager of the Beaumont and Houston, Texas offices. Kristie is a Certified Travel Consultant, Accredited Cruise Counselor, and she is honored to be an IC Bellagio Silver Ambassador.

Whether you’re seeking a private yacht, an expert guide in a faraway land, a wonderful family trip or that perfect weekend getaway, Kristie can seamlessly plan the perfect trip. Kristie’s extensive knowledge of the travel industry combined with her attention to detail and relationship with her clients ensures every trip is full of memories to last a lifetime.

While Kristie has been fortunate to experience many memorable trips, her unforgettable experiences include a hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara in Kenya, visiting the Vatican with a private guide, holding a koala bear in Australia, and an entrance to the Taj Mahal before the general public.

Jill Goldstein serves as the manager of the Houston office. From her experience in luxury retail and the knowledge she gained from her educational background, Jill has outstanding attention to detail and commitment to customer service. Jill excelsin planning African safaris, trips to New Zealand, ocean cruising, multi-generational travel, group travel, and custom designed trips. And she was honored to be selected as a Virtuoso 2018 Rising Star Cruise Finalist.

Some highlights of her travels include Gorilla trekking in Uganda, wildlife safaris to East and South Africa, and enjoying the culture, food and wine Australia has to offer.

With years of experience, Lisa is a professional advisor who can help you no matter wherever you wish to travel.  From multi-generational family vacations, to luxury cruises, each trip is approached from a new perspective. Furthermore, Lisa has traveled extensively, and can leverage her destination knowledge and strong industry relationships to design detailed itineraries full of rich experiences.

Some highlights of her travels include hot air ballooning in Cappadocia, bungee jumping in New Zealand, biking through Brittany France, touring Myanmar, and wildlife safaris to East and Southern Africa.

Margaret began her travel adventures early in life, as she took many family trips growing up. After college, Margaret began her career in luxury travel at Neiman Marcus. Since starting her own family, Margaret has enjoyed family trips to Hawaii, Tanzania and South Africa being the most memorable.

Having visited many corners of the world either professionally or personally, Margaret is very familiar with the ins and outs of many destinations. Whether you are looking for an active adventure, escape to Europe, a trip of a lifetime to Africa or a beach getaway, Margaret can plan your unforgettable vacation.

With over 30 years of experience, Laurie is an experienced advisor with extensive product and destination knowledge to help you plan your perfect getaway. Laurie is an Accredited Cruise Counselor, Certified Travel Associate, and a graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge.

Laurie enjoys planning ocean and river cruises, trips to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, and Italy, and memorable vacations for Honeymooners. One of her favorite trips was seeing the dramatic coastal scenery of the Cinque Terre and eating the delicious food Italy has to offer.

I engage with clients in a uniquely personal way. Learning of your personal interests, style and taste and wrapping this knowledge into curating unique travel experiences. Drawing from a lifetime of personal travel experiences, two decades of service as a luxury travel advisor, and a dedication to delivering evocative memories worthy of your coveted leisure time.

Texas born and Midwest raised my passion for travel started at a young age. Mapping out many road trips across the United States, researching interesting food and culture to explore when sailing the Caribbean, and figuring out the best route to walk around Disney World opposite the crowd. At twelve years old I spent a summer travelling through Europe with my mother. This introduction to the tantalizing variety of food, language, scenery, and hostory solidified my answer to the “what do you want to be when you grow up” question.

My most recent travels included stargazing in the Atacama Desert, Chile; exploring the Galapagos Archepeligo through the eyes of my 10-year-old son; meandering slowly along the coastal Scottish Highlands; delving into the ancient traditions and culinary mastery of the Basque Culture in Northern Spain; and excelling my golf game on the challenging courses of New Zealand.

I have enjoyed exploring this big and beautiful globe under the care and guidance of travel legends. It is a privilege to use this wisdom in assuring every client enjoys a seamless experience with complete trust and peace of mind.

Stefanie's early career background was in Corporate Human Resources, which fed her love of working with people. After a 16 year hiatus from working in the corporate world to raise her family, she landed in the travel industry in 2016, and has since fallen in love with this as a full time career.

Stefanie loves the challenge of researching a destination to perfectly match her clients' travel wish lists. Her astute attention to detail and customer service shines with repeat, satisfied clients. The travel industry feeds Stefanie's passion to learn about our big, beautiful world, while allowing her to enjoy her love of working with and getting to know people.

Stefanie specializes in group travel, multi-generational family travel, and romantic vacations for couples. She is also a Certified Accessible Travel AdvoAdvocate, which helps her to plan smooth and enjoyable vacations for people with any type of special travel needs.

Sheila took an eighteen-year break from her career in the energy industry to raise her family. Two years ago, she decided to get back into the working world and joined Universal Travel. Sheila has really enjoyed learning about the amazing and incredible world of luxury travel.

“Better late than never.”

That saying can pertain to so many aspects of our life, whether it be a new career, new relationship, or a new travel destination.  After years of working as an Outside Sales Representative, I believe I have finally discovered my calling. I may be new to Universal Travel, but I am far from new to travel.  For me, a vacation is never merely just a vacation.  It is an ADVENTURE.  Travel has always been a vital part of my life. I have been blessed to have been able to create many travel adventures with my children as they were growing up.  Now that they are all grown and I have a new granddaughter, the fun is just beginning.

With the knowledge and skills that I have learned throughout my years of traveling, I am confident that I can assist you with your next travel adventure.

“It’s the not the Destination, It's the journey.”

Sarah Katherine has a B.S. in Marketing from LSU and spent her younger years working for companies such as Gatorade, Merck, Inc. and Coldwell Banker. As a young girl, she loved to travel, and that love turned into a passion as she grew older. After experiencing many trips across the world, and dealing with the new "Covid way of travel", Sarah Katherine realized that it was time to turn her passion into a career.

“I have very high expectations when it comes to luxury travel and I expect nothing less for my clients. I use personal connections and firsthand expertise to craft luxury trips, including unique experiences, special values, complimentary perks, VIP treatment and rare access.”

Favorite vacation moments include: Swimming with manta rays in Hanifaru Bay, in the Maldives, riding a camel on the beach in Oman, shopping in the souks of Dubai, seeing the great pyramids in Egypt, and sailing through the BVI on a catamaran.

Jordan has accumulated extensive experience abroad, thanks to regular family vacations and studying abroad in foreign countries. Having explored more than 35 countries across five continents enables her to create amazing journeys and share first-hand knowledge of distant lands with her clients.

Her most memorable travel experiences include snorkeling the shores of Mozambique, seeing the Pyramids and temples in Egypt, viewing the Great Barrier Reef from a seaplane, and petting lion cubs in Zambia.

At 18, Carole took a trip to Australia which awakened her love of travel, from flying, to seeing new and different places, and meeting people. With over 40 years in the industry, Carole still appreciates the diversity of travel - exploring new places, historical finds, wild animals or just relaxing.

Her most memorable experiences include taking a helicopter flight over the Kakadu National park in northern Australia, the first glimpse of Machu Picchu and the golden glow of Cuzco at night as the train descended the mountain; but truly every journey has left her with a memory to treasure.

From childhood travels with family, to working with Delta Airlines as a flight attendant, Laura’s favorite places are where you get off the beaten path and get active. She has extensive knowledge of luxury hotels and airlines and is particularly adept at booking air.