In Memoriam: Bob Malmberg of Malmberg Travel Companies

January 4, 2016By: Ruthanne Terrero

Ruthanne Terrero, CTC vice president–Content/editorial director

I’m very sad to report on the passing of Robert Porter Malmberg of Malmberg Travel Companies. Bob, whose agency is based in Boston, was a true gentleman and one of the best “carriage” trade travel advisors out there. He absolutely delighted in pleasing his clients and would settle no less than for a completely customized itinerary for them. For example, meals on an African safari in the bush would include a client’s favorite scotch and paper napkins would have Malmberg Travel’s logo embossed on them.

I first interviewed Bob for the February 2008 cover story for Luxury Travel Advisor. It was that quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s and Bob and I ended up speaking on the phone for more than an hour; it felt like I was chatting with an old friend as he shared his views on luxury travel and how the industry has changed over the years. In 2015, I caught up with him again.

Bob Malmberg

Although he had just celebrated his 81st birthday he was as adamant as ever about providing only the best for his clients: “Unforgettable experiences are not just about putting ‘John’ on a camel, or having ‘Alice’ on an elephant to have her picture taken. It’s all about building memories to last a lifetime and we have a very large bag of ‘solutions’ to ensure those memories. Both before and after the actual journey, we see to it that the customer is prepared and has a ‘feeling’ of what to expect…what he’s going to experience.”

We will miss Bob Malmberg but we’re happy to have known him.

Please share your memories of Bob below.

Here’s a link to our most recent interview with Bob: http://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/agent-profiles/bob-malmberg