Leave Your Baggage Behind

An avid and experienced traveler, Jehana Ray ’03 first felt the freedom of traveling light on a 2022 trip to Cuba. Exhausted from lugging multiple bags around the country, she suddenly felt compelled to donate her belongings to a local resident. “I didn’t keep much other than a swimsuit and the dress I had on,” Ray says.  

It might seem impulsive — but Ray felt relieved and unburdened for the rest of her travels. And it gave her an idea.  

After breezing through U.S. customs on her way home to Boston, she scrawled a business idea on an airplane napkin, tucked it away and promised to come back to it. When the small health care company she worked for was purchased in 2021, Ray seized the opportunity to leave the corporate world, and in 2024 she created PackLess Travel, a clothing rental service for travelers. 

Unlike typical clothing rental services that ship items to customers’ homes, PackLess Travel offers a unique local option, delivering a personalized capsule wardrobe to travelers’ hotels before they arrive. Through the PackLess website, travelers enter their destination and length of trip, then select seasonal clothing items vetted by local fashion consultants. PackLess sends the selected wardrobe to the destination hotel. The traveler wears the clothes during their trip and then returns them to the hotel reception desk at checkout. Pricing is based on the length of the trip. 

In addition to sparing customers the stress of packing and checking luggage, as well as baggage fees and even post-travel laundry, Ray says PackLess Travel promotes sustainability by deterring travelers from shopping for new clothes before a trip. 

“People often think their current wardrobe isn’t suitable for wherever they’re going,” Ray says, “so they often shop for inexpensive items to meet their short-term needs. Unfortunately, these clothes are frequently thrown away soon after and pile up in our landfills. With PackLess, travelers don’t have to buy new clothes or stress over what to wear as they can rent high-quality, stylish items that are suitable for the climate and activities at their destination. When our clothes fail to meet our rental quality standards they’ll be donated to local communities in need.”   

PackLess Travel launched in Boston in May 2024, and Ray plans to expand services across the U.S. through hotel partnerships. 

The goal of PackLess Travel, she says, is to encourage travelers to experience the world more meaningfully, prioritizing spontaneity and adventure. “The whole point of a trip is to get away, to leave everything behind,” Ray says. “Yet people bring all their clothes and items — and all their stress — with them. With PackLess Travel, the only things you need to pack are joy and excitement.”