Monty Swaney named president at Chai Travel Advisors

Monty Swaney has been named president of Chai Travel Advisors, a host agency based in New York.

Swaney was most recently chief business officer of Global Travel Collection, Internova Travel Group’s luxury division. He was previously co-president of Tzell Travel Group, which became part of Global Travel Collection in 2020 after its merger with Protravel International.

At Chai Travel, he replaces David Buda, who moves into a new role as senior consultant with the agency.

Chai Travel was founded by Michael Liben, Rebecca Liben Levy and Daniella Liben Pally in 2022 and officially launched in January 2023. Its founders are the children of the late Barry Liben, who had been Tzell’s chairman, CEO and the CEO of Travel Leaders Group, which is Internova today.

“Our early success has proven that there is a place in our industry for a company built on the values of family, fun and hard work,” Michael Liben said in a release. “Building a leadership team with experience providing the level of service our advisors expect is at the core of what we set out to do. Monty shares that vision, and we are thrilled he has chosen to partner with us at Chai.”

Chai opened its first office in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood a year ago. The host agency said it has “attracted a core group of high-value and high-touch travel advisors” in its 18 months of operation. It is an affiliate of Virtuoso member First in Service Travel.