Meet Richard Cantave From Haitian Nomad: A Travel Brand Hosting Amazing Trips Around The World

Richard Cantave was always known for his travel pattern. He would be in one place in one day and another in the next day. His friends started calling him “the Haitian Nomad” for his passion for traveling, meeting new people, and experiencing new cultures. He didn’t take him long to start with Haitian Nomad, a travel brand hosting several different trips throughout the year in numerous countries.

Additionally, he founded Haitian Nomad with the hope to share with the word the side of Haiti that has never been shared and explored. He walks us through his story in this interview.

Let’s start by telling us more about yourself. 

My name is Richard Cantave, born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; I moved to NY in the summer of 2003 to continue my studies and been living here since. Having traveled the world I found my calling—traveling, making people happy and giving back through all the friendly people I have met along the way.

What inspired you to start with Haitian Nomad?

I realized that Haiti’s image defined by the earthquake, poverty and natural disasters. Through all the travel groups I had access to, I could play a major role in changing the narrative on Haiti by showing people the Haiti I know. This happened after putting together a foodie’s party at my house in Haiti where 45 people flew in from all over the U.S. to attend—it was such a great trip that many people started asking when the next trip would be.

Why the name Haitian Nomad?

Well, I didn’t choose the name either. A couple of years ago, I was part of a band with my brother and a couple of friends. It came to a point where I was traveling so much that when the guys would see me at rehearsal, our manager would say “look, the nomad is the house today! “ that clicked in my mind, and I decided to add “Haitian” in front of it. Till this day, I’m amazed when people see me in airports, restaurants or randomly in the streets of Haiti and they recognize me as the Haitian Nomad.

What makes Haitian Nomad different than the other Haitian travel agencies/companies?

Well for one, we are not a travel agency, or company…we’re a travel brand; we’re different in the sense that we don’t just host trips, we put together experiences where people can come by themselves and automatically connect with a group of other like-minded professionals of all ages,  sharing the same passion for traveling.

We take it a step further and continuously try to find exclusive things that add value to our trips without breaking the bank: Helicopter transfers from airport to house in St Tropez, staying at a mega luxurious private mansion owned by a friend in the bay of St Tropez, having locals who welcome you inside their houses as friends in Cuba & Haiti. Besides, our motto “passion over profit” pushes us to deliver exceptional service to make sure every guest leaves with an amazing experience.

How many trips have you hosted since starting? Tell us some of the cities you have visited with the groups?

To date, we’ve hosted 15 successful trips since starting, and we’re proud of all the excellent reviews we’ve received from those trips. We’ve been to almost every corner of the globe with trips of course to Haiti (Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien, Ile-a-Vache, and Jacmel) Cuba (Havana, Vinales, and Trinidad de Cuba) France (Nice, St Tropez, Cannes, Monaco/Monte Carlo), Cambodia (Siem Reap), Canada (Montreal, Mont Tremblant) with an amazing trip to Egypt planned for NYE this year.

Having come this far, what is your hope for Haitian Nomad for the next three years?

I plan to continue to grow the brand, expand to more destinations, and work with local brands in the places we visit, give back as much as possible. But then, nothing makes me happier than being able to make others happy, so creating opportunities for others to travel with us on once in a lifetime opportunities.

What was your biggest challenge when you started? 

I’ve been lucky to have almost all positive things to say. Nonetheless, I think finding the right systems to handle payments and processes had been one of the biggest challenges; other than that, it seems like no matter how much info you put out there—people don’t read instructions. Sometimes having people provide needed information on time can be a pain.

What is the most significant achievement you have accomplished by far?

Having travelers in all kind of groups, who look at Haiti as a must-see place is definitely one of the big ones for me, BUT being able to give back to my country to my people is irreplaceable —on one of our trips to Cap Haitien, a souvenir merchant came up to me after our group had boarded the bus and whispered “I wanted to say THANK YOU—today because of you I will be able to feed my children.”

How do technology and social media help with your business?

Nowadays a significant part of running a business is through social media; using platforms like Facebook & Instagram, I can reach a broad audience and my friends’ friends, sometimes for free. Overall, technology has made it possible to connect to people at a moment’s notice regardless of their worldwide location. The use of Cell phone cameras has also helped in capturing every moment to document our experiences and help others see what they are getting.

What do you have to say to young people thinking of starting a travel business in this 21st century? What are some necessary tools and gadgets?

There are so many different genres of travel businesses, but first, you need to love what you do, make many connections. Don’t be afraid to network and insert yourself in the right places; don’t try to sell something you’re not seen as—build yourself first.

Tools and gadgets: of course a great workstation like a MacBook Pro, a phone which takes fantastic pictures: the iPhone X’s portrait mode and the Samsung phone’s night mode pictures are some great devices. You definitely need to have a stabilizer for capturing great footage and you MUST have a good DJI drone!