Pippa O’Keefe has shared the reason behind her departure from 360 Private Travel, six years after joining the VIP luxury concierge agency.
The industry veteran moved her travel business to ASmallWorld in February, bringing more than 15 years of experience to the elite travel network.
While O’Keefe enjoyed her time at 360 Private Travel, she found herself looking for a fresh challenge after growing “too comfortable” in her previous position.
“I was just ticking along,” she tells TTG Luxury. “There’s nothing like an opportunity to ignite you and this has given me extra energy for my travel business.”
O’Keefe adds that she was drawn to ASmallWorld’s expert team, which includes Zain Richardson as its new chief executive officer and Grant Holmes as global commercial director.
“The travel credentials are huge,” she says. “I thought, this is going to be something. I’ve been in the industry long enough to know when something has legs.”
O’Keefe will be wearing “two hats” at ASmallWorld: the first being the continued management of her luxury travel agency, Pippa Rose Travel. The Bath native founded the company in 2018 while helping to run a relative’s villa business in the Algarve, and today, she specialises in bespoke itineraries and concierge services.
O’Keefe will also oversee PR at ASmallWorld, having previously held the role of sales and marketing manager at Perowne. She says she’s excited to work on multiple areas of the business, hailing it as a workplace with a “start-up” culture that has the bonus of 20 years’ experience.
“I’m like a magpie who sees something shiny and realised I hadn’t considered this yet,” O’Keefe explains. “They are really open to suggestions at ASmallWorld. I’m intrigued to see where it goes.”
Having already contributed to the growth of 360 Private Travel, O’Keefe is now keen to elevate ASmallWorld’s profile across the industry.
“I want to see how it evolves, especially because that’ll be a reflection on me, as one of the founding ICs.”
ICs who join ASmallWorld will receive a number of benefits, including a “generous commission structure” and “dedicated flight resources.” Members will also have access to the Sugati booking system, the Safari Portal itinerary building tool and its exclusive hotel platform.
Another perk is supplier flexibility, which allows agents to maintain their current partnerships, as well as client retention and acquisition of ASmallWorld’s “huge untapped database of members.”
As for O’Keefe’s goals for her own business, the travel entrepreneur says she is focusing on increasing her client base and boosting the number of her larger bookings.
