Who We Are
Lisa Rawlings
Lisa has been working in sales and marketing within the travel industry for approximately 30 years. For several years, Lisa was a Sales and Marketing Manager for some high profile small luxury hotels in the UK with Michelin Star Restaurants including Lords of the Manor, The Greenway, The Bath Priory and the famous 2 Michelin star ‘Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons’ owned by Raymond Blanc in Oxfordshire.
In 2001 Lisa set up LJR Consultancy representing a few luxury hotels in the UK and Italy. Her first clients included The Bath Priory, Sydney House Chelsea and The Londra Place in Venice. Since then, her portfolio has increased through mainly personal recommendation.
Lisa has travelled extensively across the world for both business and pleasure. Her travels have taken her throughout Asia, Australia, India, Bhutan, Maldives, South America and throughout Europe. From her earlier days travelling as a backpacker throughout Asia and Australia to her more recent experiences travelling on business, Lisa has developed a great understanding for real travel experiences and destinations.
Lisa particularly loves going off the beaten track to meet the local people and learning about their different cultures, experiences and way of life. In more recent years, she has become inspired by travel experiences that have a positive impact on both the environment and its communities.
Having dived in Australia, Asia and Indian Ocean, she has some amazing experiences swimming with manta rays, sharks, turtles as well other stunning marine life.
Four Memorable Experiences:
- Snorkelling with mantas in the Maldives.
- Zip wiring through the Cambodian jungle and then spending a day with the anti -poaching and logging police
- Being a guest at the auspicious and ceremonial opening of Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary.
- Spending 2 nights with the Iban head hunters in the heart of Borneo.
Sue Wright
Sue joined the LJR team in 2011 and was able to bring extensive experience having performed various roles in both the leisure and corporate travel industry over a 30 year span, working for some of the UK’s top companies including American Express and BCD Travel.
Reflecting her love of travel, Sue has travelled extensively all over the world including SE Asia, Indian Ocean, USA, Canada, Caribbean, South Africa and Europe to name a few. With a passion for nature and wildlife, not surprisingly her favourite travel experiences are all inspired by her love of animals.
Four Memorable Experiences:
- Outstanding safari at Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa for my honeymoon with some close encounters with lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants and other African wildlife.
- Watching turtles lay their eggs on the beach at Fregate Island in the Seychelles
- A close up experience with Orangutangs in Borneo
- Snorkelling with mantas at Amilla Maldives – all unforgettable moments!
Sophie McCarthy
Sophie has over 30 years experience in the travel Industry having started her career in 1993 working for Six Senses where she progressed through the ranks to European Sales & Marketing Director and then left to open her own luxury resort representation company in 2007. She has looked after a fabulous portfolio of clients over the years including Laucala Island in Fiji, Soneva Resorts, Alila Hotels, Le Toiny in St Barts and a host of others across the world including some niche specialist DMCs.
Sophie has extensive experience working with hotels and resorts across Europe, India, North Africa, Pacific, South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. Sophie’s key skills include contract negotiating, collaborative marketing, sales and budget management, agent visits and training, and writng sales & marketing plans. She has very strong relationships with the travel trade throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, and has a comprehensive understanding of the marketplace.
Her passion and strengths lie with working with luxury properties and she has a particular fondness and passion for the Maldives where she has career long experience. She has spent many holidays there, even her honeymoon, exploring the underwater kingdom and considers it a privilege to have been involved with Soneva before Soneva Fushi was even developed, up to just a couple of years ago when it is now considered one of the best resorts in the world.
Sophie is well known and respected for her honesty and straight talking. Sophie has known Lisa for over 20 years and is delighted to be working with her and the team at LJR. She is comfortable working alone but there is nothing like working within a team, sharing knowledge and experiences and doing the utmost best job for the clients.
Four Memorable Experiences:
- Being part of a resort family from conception to world renown.
- White water rafting down the Ayung river in Bali.
- Helping manage the fallout from the UK of the 2004 Tsunami as Soneva Resorts were affected in both Phuket and Maldives.
- Watching the horse whisperer at work at the Selman in Marrakech.
Zoe Saunders
Zoe brings more than 20 years of experience in the travel industry, having begun her career with ITC where she progressed to the role of Senior Product Manager, gaining extensive experience across both Marketing and Product teams. During her time with the company, Zoe managed luxury portfolios across Europe, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. Her in-depth destination knowledge has been built through regular travel and training and she has personally experienced many of the region’s five-star properties, giving her valuable first-hand insight into the luxury travel market.
More recently, Zoe held the position of Business Development Manager for Travelpack, where she further broadened her industry knowledge, developed strong relationships with travel agents, and represented the business at key trade events and conferences.
Zoe’s passion lies in creating successful, long-term partnerships by matching the right property with the right client or tour operator. She believes in delivering honest, strategic advice and is committed to finding solutions that generate mutual value and ROI. Her key strengths include account management, brand representation, marketing strategies, negotiation, budget management, training and development, and meticulous attention to detail.
All these skills are what have led her to join LJR Consultancy to develop her knowledge on different areas of the world, and reconnect with luxury Product Managers and Travel Agents and build mutual business. She is very excited to be learning about all the Asia hotels and their USPs (and maybe sample real Thai cuisine) and sit on the other side of meetings.
Four Memorable Experiences
- Swimming with sharks in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
- Travelling to Venice aboard the iconic Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.
- Arriving at the Monaco Grand Prix by cruise, exploring the French Riviera before finishing in Portofino.
- Being so close to elephants in Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka.
Associates
Nuria Galia – Europe, Americas, Middle East
Principal – Luxury Hotels International Sales & Marketing: Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia
Nuria Galia is a passionate hotelier specialising in upscale sales & marketing. Her background is in the luxury hotel industry and includes serving at the prestigious international hotel brand Relais & Chateaux as Director of Spain, Portugal and Latin America for over eight years where she has accumulated a strong expertise and an exclusive network.
Isabelle Bauer – Germany, Austria & Switzerland
Managing Owner of PURE Touristik Solutions
With more than 25 years’ experience in the tourism industry, Isabelle has worked as a product manager for different German tour operators and has represented brands and hotels such as Alila Hotels & Resorts, Sheraton Resorts, Hyatt Hotels, Qamea Resort & Spa in Fiji, The Selman Marrakech and DMCs such as Destination Asia, Cuba Private Travel, and others.
Isabelle is passionate about travel and her work and always aims to identify with her clients. Her expertise covers destinations including Asia, North Africa, Middle East, and Greece.
Frog & Wolf PR
Frog & Wolf PR is an independent communications agency specialising in travel, hospitality and lifestyle. A finalist in the TravMedia Awards 2023 ‘PR Agency of The Year’ category, Frog & Wolf PR is forging a reputation globally as one of the UK’s leading boutique agencies to manage public relations, corporate and marketing communications and events. In-house expertise encompasses luxury hotels and resorts; wellness and spas; restaurants and culinary; tour operations, visitor attractions and niche tourism ventures; and aviation.
With extensive experience across diverse sectors, the Frog & Wolf PR team of PR professionals has travelled widely, working across the globe, and built formidable relationships with travel writers, journalists, tourist boards and the wider tourism industry worldwide. www.frogandwolfpr.com.
