Today brings my last blog post as a member of the Global Traveler staff. I’d like to use this space to thank Fran Gallagher and the GT team for an incredible three years together. During this time I traveled across the United States and around the world, sharing the latest and greatest from GT with our top industry partners. We refreshed the magazine, launched a Mandarin edition, relaunched our website and kicked off the brand new TrazeeTravel.com. (If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do!) My work at GT gave me some of the top travel experiences of my life. Just a few notable mentions include

• My first Airbus A380 flight with Emirates from Hong Kong to Dubai
• My first Dreamliner flight with British Airways from Newark to London
• Staying in an expansive suite at Hotel Lotte, the Best Hotel in Korea according to GT readers in last year’s GT Tested Awards
• Arriving to find my initials embroidered on my pillow at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, Best Hotel in the United States according to GT readers
• Experiencing Etihad’s Diamond First Class
• Staying in the tallest building in the world at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa
• Experiencing the world’s most luxurious hotel: the Burj Al Arab
• Visiting the giant Buddha, Tian Tan, on a long weekend in Hong Kong
• Being one of the first to stay at the newest boutique hotels on South Beach: SLS Hotel South Beach, The James Royal Palm and The National

There are many more, all shared with you through various blogs, reviews and social media check-ins. As I transition from a GT staffer to a GT reader, I am excited to see where this incredible team takes us next. A big thank you to the GT staff, readers and partners who make it all possible. — Danielle Hudena Pitonyak, executive vice president