Aimee brings a diverse range of skills as customer success lead. She has spent 15 years in a range of positions within the travel sector, from hospitality management to sales and operations. She especially loves working in dynamic start-up environments. So we thought it was well and truly time for everyone else to meet her.
Welcome, Aimee! First of all, tell us what made you want to get involved in Travel?
I grew up in the best (no, I’m not biased) tourism destination in the world, Cape Town, South Africa. “The Mother City” is filled with natural beauty and cosmopolitan culture, and I loved showing off my home whenever family would visit us from overseas. We would take road trips up the Garden Route or head off on Safari in Kruger National Park on our school holidays. These were always the best of times, and initially, I wanted to study Game Lodge management so that I could be in the bush all the time!
In the end, I decided to study Travel and Tourism Management, and I have never looked back. My career in travel has taken me around the country and East Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. I have been so lucky to work as I travel and spend time getting in-depth experiences in the local cultures of all places I have visited.
So how did you then make Travel Customer Success your career?
One of the things I have enjoyed most about working in travel is the relationships you make. It is a fun industry full of interesting people!
As I moved into the operational side of travel, I became inquisitive about creating systems that help built a more productive team. I enjoy assisting others in getting the most out of the tools at their disposal, so they can spend more time talking about what they love and sharing their experiences and less time on admin!!
In addition to that, I have become extremely interested in software in the last few years and all of the great technology startups doing such exciting work. So combining all of those three things and a career in Customer Success in Travel Software that makes life easier for tour hosts couldn’t have been a perfect fit for me.
What makes you passionate about customer success?
I am curious about finding solutions that help increase productivity and maximise the time spent on meaningful work, like at indie, where the focus is on assisting hosts to spend more time hosting and less time on business admin! Having a great product is an integral part of any business, but ensuring that the users are happy and know how to reap the maximum benefit is key. I enjoy looking ahead and finding solutions and answers for clients before they even have the question!
How did you hear about indie Travel?
I’ve been interested in all of the fantastic travel tech startups popping up for a while. So in 2021, I spent a lot of time researching these companies and finding out who were doing cool and exciting things. I was doing just this when I came across indie Travel on Travel Massive, and as fate would have it, they were looking for a Customer Success Lead at that exact moment!
Thanks, Aimee; finally, can you tell us three fun facts about yourself?
Ok, so number one (and most importantly), I am obsessed with open water swimming. If you want to make me happy, just take me to the beach! So far, my biggest swim has been the Robben Island to Blouberg (7.5km cold water ocean swim). If you are ever in Cape Town, hit me up and let’s swim, or if you have great tips on any rad swims in your area, don’t be shy and invite me!
Number two, I live in a UNESCO biosphere reserve in the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the world’s smallest yet most diverse floral kingdom. We have 1880 plant species (77 found here and nowhere else!). Baboons love foraging on these plants and often visit my garden… so if we are ever on a call and you hear my dogs going mad, you now know why!
And finally, my random fact for your amusement, my sister used to tease me as a kid that sharks lived in our pool pump … I still to this day swim faster when I swim away from that end of the pool. Yet I swim in the Atlantic Ocean with no problem … go figure!
I also went on a 5-day hike in Scotland on my own, and on the third night, it was so cold that I was lying in my tent imagining the newspaper headlines "South African Girl underprepared for the Scottish weather, dies in a blizzard". Luckily I am still here, but if you ever decide to go and hike in Scotland, please don't pack light!
Oh, and I love wine. So if you are ever in Cape Town and want to drink wine, hit me up!
Thanks again, Aimee, and welcome to our team
Looking for a tour booking software for your experiences? Extend your distribution with indie Travel marketplace and manage all your bookings in one place. Try for free today or contact us now for a demo.
