Deborah qualified as a Solicitor in 1997 and spent 5 years in the city specialising in Commercial Litigation matters. At the end of 2002 she changed career paths in order to pursue her love of luxury travel. As co-founder of Essential Escapes, she has spent the last 5 years acquiring first-hand knowledge of our spa hotels and working her way through an impressive list of spa treatments! She is a keen scuba diver, water skier and snow skier and enjoys working these hobbies into her travels wherever possible.

As the mother of a toddler and baby, her travels have experienced a slightly different focus of late, and she now researches the hotels and resorts which best cater for the family market.

Deborah has visited our hotels and resorts in the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Dubai, Egypt and South Africa.

After graduating from Italia Conti Drama School in 2002, Sam spent three years as an actress both on stage and TV, and then traveled extensively throughout South East Asia. On her return and unable to shake the bug for traveling Sam began working at Essential Escapes bringing with her a wealth of travel knowledge and experience.

During her four years with the company Sam has enjoyed researching many of our hotels in the Caribbean, Greece, South Africa and Thailand. We're delighted that Sam is now expecting a tot too, and we wish her well for her maternity leave in October.

Gerry Friel, Travel Sales Executive

Growing up in Ireland, Gerry always had a passion for maps, foreign places, languages and travel. He started working with a tour operator based in the Caribbean, followed by working as a team leader in Spain, learning a lot about the needs of families with children and babies when on holiday.

Experience working with Travel2 and Carrier has led to travel all over Europe, Middle & Far East, USA & Canada, with particular specialism in South Africa and Zambia.

Jonathan Brod, Non-Exec Director

Jonathan is responsible for our financial strategy. He is a frequent business and leisure traveler and extremely picky! He has been working his way through the Essential Escapes portfolio and particularly recommends the Maldives and South Africa. He is a founder of several businesses, several of which have raised venture capital funding and is the founding partner of Next Wave Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in consumer and business services companies. 

Julie Harris, Head of Marketing

After 10 years in advertising, 4 years in marketing and with 2 young sons, Julie appreciates the importance of a good holiday! She loves any destination where she can get the sand between her toes and create elaborate sandcastles with the family. Her past clients have been as diverse as Singapore Airlines, Diageo, Hasbro, Elida Fabergé, Kraft Jacob Suchard, Séraphine, Pfizer, Kimberly Clark, Reckitt Benckiser and NTL. She loves working with a luxury travel company as it keeps thoughts of sun-drenched beaches uppermost in her mind.

Nicole Spitzer, Marketing Assistant

Nicole recently graduated in Business and Communications with a strong focus on marketing. An adventurous traveller, Nicole has explored Thailand, Australia and Europe extensively. Her best ever trip was to the Maldives, indulging in the beauty of the white sands and blue sea, as well as the luxury spa treatments.

Meredith Atkinson, Travel Sales Administrator

With a background in real estate, training and charity work, Meredith has also enjoyed extensive travel through New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, the US and Europe. Her travel weaknesses are postcards, trains, markets, wine and music.