Our Team

Darren is a seasoned expert in hospitality with two decades of experience in hotel sales, including roles as Director of Sales and Vice President of Sales at some of New York City’s most renowned lifestyle and independent hotels. Specializing in corporate, entertainment, and group travel, Darren brings his wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to Generation Guest. Leveraging extensive industry contacts worldwide, Generation Guest offers a full suite of services including travel arrangements, concierge and hospitality consulting. With a focus on personalized service and tailored experiences, Darren ensures that each client's journey is unforgettable.

Generation Guest is an IATAN accredited travel agency, and Virtuoso member, through affiliation with Travel Experts.

Katie Palencsar is an investor, advisor, and thought leader in high growth startups and venture capital investing. At Generation Guest, she specializes in travel arrangements for board meetings, fundraising, investor relations and portfolio company support. With her previous experiences in founding and leading companies, she enjoys advising startups on runway and budget (which always includes travel!) at each stage of company growth. 

Most recently she was Partner & Head of Venture Studio at Anthemis Asset Management, where she also led the Female Innovators Lab Fund. Since launching the fund at the end of 2019, Katie led its global expansion and AUM growth with backing by Barclays, Aviva, Visa and Bank of Montreal, investing across North America, UK and Europe, making it the largest fund focused on female founders in fintech. 

Katie was named American Banker’s Most Influential Women in Fintech in 2023 and is the recipient of the 99u General Electric Emerging Innovators Award, Drexel University Alumni Educator of the Year Award, SmartCEO’s Voltage Award, Women in Fintech Powerlist and is a USPTO patent recipient. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Crunchbase and The Wall Street Journal.