360 Uncovered – Kathryn

“I have been fascinated with travel since I was a little girl, inspired by my aunt who was a flight attendant for British Airways and shared her stories from all around the world. My insight into Thailand during Travel and Tourism college was a personal revelation which immediately compelled me to secure a profession in, and fall deeply in love with the travel industry!”

My role as Managing Director is looking after the growing Hong Kong team at 360, where every day brings new surprises! This ranges from training new team members, helping out with enquiries, advising them on ‘product’, assisting with research or helping input new bookings into our in-house reservation system. I often have meetings with our suppliers (which in the current climate, has been more online than face to face) to build relationships and organise training for the team, or ensuring that we are always one step ahead on key travel trends and new openings. I organise meetings and events for the team and make sure our communication with the Head Office is up to date.

The best part of managing, building, and being part of a growing presence in Asia is hearing from suppliers and clients, and seeing that my team in Hong Kong is recognised for all their hard work, dedication and passion in helping clients with their luxury travel requests! We have seen many new partners come on board this year as they proudly develop their own travel business as independent consultants under the 360 umbrella.

Travel is not just what I do, it has defined who I am! I started working for a Japanese inbound tour operator in London, to a UK luxury tour operator, then shifted into Business Travel, firstly as a travel consultant for the Australian High Commission in London, and then working on the Corporate VIP desk at HRG. After uprooting to Hong Kong with my family and spending quality time raising them, I then had the opportunity to work for 360 growing the team and their reputation in Asia, currently based in Hong Kong and Singapore.

All of my previous positions required confidence, knowledge, organisational skill and diligence. A luxury travel designer depends on all of these skills; on top of this, there has to be a strong passion for travel, understanding every client’s specific definition of ‘luxury’ and dedicating time and research into proposing suitable destinations and experiences. Our role is underestimated, and while it may seem glamorous (and sometimes is!), so much hard work goes into a job well done!

My favourite memories since joining 360 are ziplining through the Cambodian jungle into the bar at Shinta Mani Wild, our team FAM trip to the Maldives, staying in 7 resorts in 7 days and ticking off my bucket list destinations when traveling to Nihi, Sumba in Indonesia.”