Meet Alexandra Hepworth | Director of Operations & Senior Travel Curator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexandra Hepworth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandra, how do you think about risk?
I am someone who has never really shied away from taking risks. Thats not to say I do things on a ‘whim’, I would always say any risks I have taken have been thought through, and the pro’s and con’s weighed up, but my choices have not always been the most conventional ones when looking at the journey I have taken in my career to get to where I am today. One thing I can say is I have never regretted a decision I have made or a risk I have taken!

I actually graduated from University with a Bachelors Degree in Equine Science and Management and was working in the North of England within this field, when one day, decided it wasn’t for me anymore, and I booked a return flight to Australia along with 2 friends, only knowing that I had a bus ticket to travel down the East Coast from Cairns and end up in Sydney 3 month later. 3 months turned into a year and before I knew it I had been to nearly every state in the country, made some amazing friends and worked along the way to keep my travels going! On returning back to the UK via a final 2 weeks in Thailand, I had no idea what I would do next until one day my father said to me ‘all you do is talk about Australia and how great it is, I wish you could get someone to pay you for that!’ And thats where my journey in the travel industry started, 18 years ago when I applied for, and got a job working as a Travel Designer selling holidays to Australia and New Zealand – and since then I have never looked back!

My career since then took me from sales, into destination marketing and travel representation. With that role, came an introduction to an owner of a travel company in Vietnam, who later approached me to go and work in Vietnam in a Sales & Marketing role for a group of hotels the company had just acquired. As it happened, I had just been offered a new role in Marketing in London for a large travel company, and this is where my pro’s and con’s list came out and I spent a weekend going over everything and took the slightly crazy decision/risk to leave the apartment I had just purchased and travel half way across the world to a country I had been to for only 7 days previously, and threw myself into a life and culture I was not expecting!

What was supposed to be a 2 year stint, led to 10 years based in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and Phnom Penh Cambodia, working not only in hotels but also with tour companies. I worked with wellness resorts and also city hotels working my way to Director of Sales & Marketing positions over that period. It was an incredible time in my life, one where I grew in my career and also as a person, making friends and connections from all over the world in a place I never imagined I would live, and an experience I would never have had if I didn’t take the risk!

Now, I am living in Bogota, Colombia, a country I had never been prior to arriving here in 2021. I have had to adapt to a new culture, learning Spanish and a whole new way of life- its a new adventure and one I grow with every single day.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As I mentioned earlier, my career hasn’t necessarily taken a fixed path to get to where I am, and I would consider myself a little bit of a ‘hybrid’ in the industry as my experience spans many areas of the business – this is something I am actually incredibly proud of! I’ve never been scared to try something new or throw myself into an area that I do not have experience in – after all, that is how we learn! 2 things always spring to mind when I think about this, both relating to Managers I have had the pleasure to work with.
Whilst working in destination marketing in London for a National Tourist Board, I will never forget the General Manager coming around the office on particularly stress-charged Friday afternoon and he told everyone to walk away from their computers, take 5 minutes to walk, breathe, get a coffee…. whatever they needed to take a little re-set. After all ‘we are not here making life-threatening decisions, our purpose is to showcase our beautiful country so that people can have amazing experiences. We need to live our brand!’

During an interview for a large independent city hotel in Ho Chi Minh City I was asked whether I had experience in the Corporate Market. At that point, I knew I had to be honest even though the Corporate segment was important for the property. My answer was a simple ‘no, I don’t, but I would love to learn more’
The answer that came back was ‘It’s not rocket science, but is something that is important’
Luckily, the Board of Directors saw something in me and took a chance to offer me the role – I had an incredible 3 years there, learning a lot and making some life long connections.

So I think that takes me back to how I got here today – quite simply by taking some chances, and people taking chances on me!

Along the way I have learnt that relationships are key in this industry, as they are in life and it is very important to nurture every meaningful relationship that you have both personally and professionally.

In terms of what sets me apart from others, I would have to say my all round experience in the industry, this really helps me deliver exceptional service for my clients from initial consultation right until the point where they return home and everything in between!

My marketing background helps me get to know my clients, understand their needs and match destinations and experiences to what they are looking for. My sales experience has undoubtedly brought in some healthy revenues! My time as a hotelier on the other side of the business helps me understand the inner workings, knowing the right people to connect with to ensure my clients have unrivaled experiences during their stays. Working in operating, renovating and pre-opening hotels has taught me to multi-task on a large scale and also manage projects at different stages of their ‘life cycle’, this really helps me when juggling my day-to-day tasks and multiple client requests all at different stages of the planning and execution process. And finally, my experience working in different cultures has taught me patience and understanding.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh! This is a tough one! I have been lucky enough to have some incredible mentors through my career in the tourism industry this far, people who have believed in me and pushed me to achieve my goals.

I am also lucky that I have never had any pressure from my family to follow a certain path, instead I have been encouraged to forge my own way and be happy in what I am doing. I have made mistakes along the way, but I have always had their back up to bounce ideas off, take encouragement when needed and who are always there for advice – whether I choose to always take it or not is another story!

Right now, where I am in my career, I have incredible support to follow the journey I am on, it was not where I thought I would be at this stage in my life and career but it’s definitely a place I like! In the short time I have been on this side of the business, in this new part of the world, people have not only believed in me, but encouraged me to stay true to myself and my experience and ultimately do what I love. For that, I am extremely grateful!

Website: www.alexandrahepworth.com

Instagram: luxurytravelbyalexandra

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-hepworth-a857a235

Other: Our company website it www.curato.us however, this is currently under construction