About Rebecca

As a hoteliers daughter there was never a doubt that I was going to be working in any other industry. Perhaps around the age of 8 years old I fantasized about being a veterinarian mostly fuelled by my love of the BBC television series “All Creatures Great and Small”. That was soon crushed when I realized that although average at Maths and Sciences they weren’t my strongest subjects, and with my wonderful father indulging me with my first pony “Golden Sunshine” I quickly forgot about that career.

I started to realize what I loved and seemed to be good at was being with people. More specifically adults when I was younger, one of my fondest memories was accompanying my father to a business dinner in place of my poor sick mother. Daddy was insistent that I accompany him and that I should wear a fuchsia pink Laura Ashley dress, quite possibly where my love for the color pink was founded, black velvet jacket with a pair of court shoes. As it turned out I was the only “lady” in attendance but enjoyed the four course menu and adult male conversation at the tender age of 12. Needless to say my father would still like me to dress like that today!

It wasn’t long after that when I started my first job waitressing on Sunday afternoons at the local Garden centre café. After a year I graduated to The Chester Grosvenor and Spa, one of England’s highest rated, five star hotels, where I was quickly expected to learn all the skills of a fine silver service waitress. When I look back at the ten years that I spent working at the hotel they are filled with fantastic memories, the hotel is where I grew up for 21 years of my life. I was privileged to gain experience working within the Private Dining department, where I worked on and off for my whole part-time working life, accompanied by lots of school friends which my father was happy for me to recruit. On all school holidays I held various roles in other departments; hostessing and being an assistant Manager in La Brasserie, starting in the most junior position describing the 20 different breads on the bread trolley in Simon Radley, formerly the Arkle restaurant, working as a Receptionist and then later in the Grosvenor Spa when it first opened.

Naturally I graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Hospitality Management from Manchester Metropolitan University, where I was also the university student representative for the HCIMA.  With further opportunities at the hotel I decided to move from Operations into the Sales and Marketing department where I started as a Sales Executive and worked my way up yet again, to my final position as Marketing Manager.  During this time I was also a member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, UK & Ireland marketing committee working with other independently owned luxury hotels.

Being privileged to travel to America from a young age I always dreamed of living there one day. My first thought while looking across a magnificent Bay to the Golden Gate Bridge, was to live in California. San Francisco is still one of my favourite cities in the world, and living there is still on my long “to do list”. However at the end of 2004 through relationships I had been fortunate to develop with the American travel trade, working with marketing consortia and chatting to travel agents who my parents hosted at our family house on familiarization trips, from my tender age of 13 years old, I took the initiative to start my own luxury hotel and services representation company. It was then when I first moved to live in Pennsylvania, accompanied by my loyal chestnut mare Lottie, who also needed a passport and various paper work to reside across the “pond”. This was when I created my company formerly named  Highgrove Hotels & Services.

The idea to change my company name was really at the suggestion of my clients, I am so fortunate to work and have developed not only amazing relationships with some of the finest travel professionals within America but also friendships which have resulted in so many people trusting my hotel and travel service recommendations. All of my clients are focused on personalizing every guest experience so I felt there could be no greater personalization than to use my own name to represent me and the companies I am so proud to recommend.

I continue to enjoy travelling within America, to new countries near and far, riding Lottie and residing in Manhattan when time allows! As I look to the future I look forward to continuing to grow my list of places, properties and services that I can recommend though all the great opportunities that are available to us all within the wonderful business of true hospitality and travel.