Meet Our Team: Daniel!

It’s great to meet you all!  I’m Daniel Naughton, the owner of Detours since November 2025.  I’ve been passionate about aviation and travel ever since I was a little boy.  In fact, I still have a pair of those plastic American Airlines kiddie wings that a flight attendant gave me on a DC-10 (remember those?) back in 1992, as my family was traveling from Chicago to San Francisco.  I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area but grew up in Syracuse, NY, with a brief interlude in Dijon, France.  It was that early experience that sparked my lifelong curiosity about language, culture, and life beyond my own backyard.

I started my career in strategy consulting, then pivoted to corporate finance at a variety of aviation and hospitality companies, including Delta, Virgin America, and OpenTable.  Over time, though, I found myself yearning for a career that was less centered around spreadsheets and forecasts and more focused on people, shared experiences, and exploration.  I met Miles Mitchinson - the former owner of Detours - over a video call in August of 2025.  I was drawn to Detours almost instantly and, as they say, the rest was history.  It was clear that each and every team member shares the same passion for travel that I do, from our trip leaders to our office staff.

What excites me most about Detours is the way our trips create space for genuine connections between travelers, with our trip leaders, and with the places we visit.  Whether it’s a meaningful conversation on a long bus ride or shared laughs over a bottle of wine, those moments are what tend to linger long after the trip ends.  My goal is to honor what makes Detours special while continuing to evolve thoughtfully, always keeping our travelers at the center of everything we do.

Outside of work, I enjoy long-distance running, learning Japanese, practicing my French and Spanish, and chasing my two little kids around the house with my husband.  Needless to say, I also love discovering new places: Machu Picchu and Bhutan are high on our bucket list for when the kids are a bit older.  Unlike the rest of the team, I’m based in San Mateo, CA, but I’m getting to know the Vancouver airport and Skytrain system quite well these days.

If you have any feedback, questions, new trip ideas, or just want to say hi, please feel free to email me at daniel@detourstravel.com.  My door is always open.