Who We Are & Mission
La Jolla Mom® is owned and operated by La Jolla Living, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company headquartered in La Jolla, California. Founded in 2009 by Katie Dillon as a personal blog, it quickly evolved into a trusted travel resource driven by reader demand.
Our mission is to simplify your travel planning through our cutting-edge hotel booking technology, expert recommendations, exclusive hotel perks, discounted theme park tickets, and local insights—saving you time, money, and stress. While San Diego travel is our specialty (most of our team lives or has lived here), our global network provides VIP benefits and personal service worldwide.
Our Story & Expertise
Katie Dillon launched La Jolla Mom in 2009, following her family’s return to La Jolla after living as expats in London and Hong Kong—where she lived at Four Seasons Hong Kong.
Readers quickly began seeking Katie’s family travel advice on planning their trips to San Diego, known for its (almost) year-round sunshine, family-friendly attractions, and world-class theme parks. To serve her readers better, Katie formed La Jolla Living, LLC in 2011, formally turning La Jolla Mom into a dedicated travel business.
In 2017, to help make San Diego vacations more affordable, we partnered with San Diego-based aRes Travel to offer legitimate discounted tickets to popular local attractions like LEGOLAND California, San Diego Zoo, and SeaWorld as well as other major theme parks like Disneyland and Universal Orlando.
Our hotel booking services grew naturally from Katie’s extensive personal hotel reviews and a strategic partnership in 2019 with Cadence Travel (a Virtuoso® agency), also headquartered in La Jolla, providing readers VIP perks thousands of luxury hotels globally.
While our name still reflects our original roots in motherhood and local experiences, our expertise, partnerships, and personalized service have evolved to provide travel solutions trusted by millions each year.
Why We’re Different
No one knows San Diego travel quite like we do. Our founder, Katie Dillon, personally advises thousands of travelers annually, maintains direct relationships with local hotels and attractions, and is the top referrer to several luxury properties in the County.
Our tech-forward hotel booking tools provide immediate access to exclusive VIP perks and preferred rates. Yet we are still very much a human-powered business. Our expert team personally reviews every reservation for accuracy. Theme park ticket clients benefit from dedicated phone and email support through aRes Travel—we can help facilitate requests as well.
Beyond hotels and tickets, we share authentic insights into San Diego’s best beaches, restaurants, shopping, and things to do—even those we don’t book. Our extensive network includes hotel concierges, local businesses, attraction staff, and a community of over 2,000 clients who provide first-hand experience and insider intel in San Diego and other popular destinations worldwide. They help shape the content on this site. You can learn more about our commitment to independent travel content in our Editorial Guidelines.
Why Trust US
Since 2009, millions have relied on La Jolla Mom’s trusted San Diego travel advice. Katie Dillon’s deep local experience and professional affiliations ensure recommendations—whether beaches, restaurants, attractions, or hotels—are as accurate, relevant, and reliable as possible.
We believe it’s truly our insider network or hive mind, if you will, that allows our team to deliver the best recommendations and service no matter where you’re headed.
We spend our money on places we’ve been to. The content on this site is not influenced by free hotel stays or free stuff. We also promise to point you to a better deal elsewhere if we discover one.
Our Team
Katie Dillon
Katie Dillon is the managing editor and owner of La Jolla Mom. She is also a travel advisor, a hotel expert, and has written most of the articles on this site. More from Katie.
Madeleine Collins
Madeleine Collins is a British, San Diego-based writer and editor who has been published in Marie Claire, The Hollywood Reporter, Cosmopolitan, and more. She writes and edits some of our articles. More from Madeleine.
Edward Castro
Edward helps keep our theme park ticket articles current with the latest prices and information. He also used to work at San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Tonya Waite
A lot goes on behind the scenes here. Tonya works on our hotel side to keep our bookings organized and liaises with hotels. She is a travel advisor with a CTA from The Travel Institute.
We have a lot of help behind the scenes, so stay tuned for more team introductions.
How We Earn — Our Services
For additional details on all of our offerings, please visit our comprehensive Services Page.
cadence
Hotel Bookings
When you book hotels through us—either directly or via our online booking tools (TravelWits and Virtuoso.com)—you receive access to exclusive VIP perks. Hotels pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Many advisors charge for this access, but we do not.
lajollamom.com
Website Ads & Affiliate Revenue
We earn revenue through affiliate links when you book select hotels, theme park tickets, and other travel services or gear through lajollamom.com links. Our tickets.lajollamom.com ticket site is powered by aRes Travel, who provides our guests with a dedicated support phone line. Our partners meet strict standards for quality, privacy, and security. This revenue helps keep our content updated and free to read.
Client Testimonials
In the Press
A few fun appearances. Katie has also written extensively about San Diego for USA Today 10Best and Pacific San Diego (now San Diego Union-Tribune).
Contact Us
La Jolla Living, LLC (La Jolla Mom)
888 Prospect Street, Suite 200
La Jolla, CA 92037
Email (fastest response): contact@lajollamom.com
Phone: (858) 346-7888
Our Commitment to You:
We’re dedicated to transparency, accuracy, and continuously improving our travel guidance. Please feel free to reach out—we’d love to hear from you!
Last updated: April 3, 2025
