Meet The Founder

Experience on both sides of the industry. A passion for connecting exceptional properties with the people who sell them.

My journey in travel began in the luxury villa rental sector, working with a specialist agency operating across the UK and Mallorca. Selling luxury properties to an international clientele, I gained invaluable experience in direct consumer sales, working closely with property owners, negotiating rental agreements and B2B contracting.

It was here that I first developed an appreciation for the importance of understanding a property, its concept and the people behind it, alongside the commercial relationships needed to bring it successfully to market.

In 2016, I founded my own independent travel agency which I went on to build into an established, multiple award-winning business - both online and retail; specialising in luxury holidays, villas and worldwide travel.

Over the following decade, I developed strong relationships with hotel groups, tour operators, suppliers and travel professionals, gaining first-hand experience of the UK travel trade and what truly influences an agent's decision to recommend and sell a particular property.

What makes my experience particularly valuable is that I've been on the other side of hotel representation.

I've attended the training sessions, experienced the familiarisation trips, met the hotel teams and developed relationships with the people representing their properties.

And I've gone on to generate hundreds of thousands, even millions of pounds in bookings for hotel groups following those experiences. 

I know the commercial potential of effective representation because I've personally delivered those results.

I understand what makes a familiarisation trip memorable, what gives an agent the confidence to recommend a hotel and why maintaining those relationships is so important.

Equally, I've seen where opportunities are missed.

This first-hand experience gives me a perspective that goes beyond traditional sales and marketing. I understand the travel agent's mindset because I've spent years working as one.

As my career developed, I found myself increasingly passionate about the hotel side of the industry. Discovering new properties, understanding their concepts, meeting the people behind them and recognising their potential within the UK market has become something I genuinely love.

Samora Collective was born from a desire to bring together my experience in property contracting, travel agency ownership and trade relationships, offering hotels and resort collections a more personal and considered approach to UK representation.

For me, representation begins with genuine passion. I want to understand your concept, your vision and what makes your property different. I want to believe in what I'm representing and feel as enthusiastic about your hotel as you do.

Because when that passion is combined with the right relationships, market knowledge and commercial understanding, meaningful opportunities follow.

Samora Collective is built on experience, driven by relationships and inspired by a genuine love for the travel industry.

April Pembury
Founder, Samora Collective