Meet Camilla Catlin
LOCAL FOREIGNER’S TEAM OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
This post is part of our series celebrating our Independent Contractors and Hosting Program. The Local Foreigner's Hosting Program provides a platform of systems and support for independent travel advisors.
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The very first Local Foreigner IC, Camilla will always hold a special place on Team Local Foreigner. Her brilliant smile, exotic style, and quintessential “Hi Everybody!” greeting brings lightness and levity to our office. A friend to all who know her, Camilla is an eager team player, a generous spirit, and the most intriguing personality at any dinner party — the epitome of her character on full display the time she outfitted the entire Local Foreigner team in vintage Hawaiian dresses for a special Aloha themed teach-in.
The founder of Global Patina, a travel planning service as culturally tuned and creatively spun as she is, Camilla utilizes her years of merchandising experience and the Local Foreigner’s industry connections to help grow her business.
A true local
What started as a passion project quickly turned into a full time career, which is where the Local Foreigner stepped in to help.
Born in Massachusetts but raised in Manhattan, Camilla became a savvy traveler at an early age. Her most vivid travel memories include skiing to the tune of “Dream Weaver” on Maine’s Sugarloaf Mountain and counting scorpions on the front steps of her family’s Grand Saline villa rental sometime in the spring of 1976. She carried a love for all things unique and unusual to Tiffany & Co, where she spent 14 years as the Vice President of Merchandising. In 2011, craving a change of scenery, she packed up her kids and moved to Paris, where she spent two years navigating the quagmire that is French culture. When Camilla returned to New York, however reluctantly, she instantly became the go-to travel advisor for friends and loved ones when they wanted to find the best offbeat destinations and under-the-radar experiences in Europe. What started as a passion project quickly turned into a full time career, which is where the Local Foreigner stepped in to help.
establishing herself in the industry
When Camilla became the Local Foreigner’s first Independent Contractor in 2018, she already had a lifetime of travel experiences and customer relationship skills under her belt. We nourished her new business with the organizational tools and industry connections needed to launch her travel career. A year later, Camilla was named a Travel + Leisure Rising Star, a prestigious honor that recognizes a select group of emerging travel advisors from top agencies across the United States. She represented Global Patina and the entire Local Foreigner team at the Rising Stars lunch at ILTM Cannes, the world’s largest luxury travel forum.
“Local Foreigner is incredibly meticulous and process-oriented. They have created tools and systems to help streamline my job, so I can spend my time servicing clients. There is a tremendous focus on customization and really getting to the heart of what a client is looking for.”
She loves that she’s able to take the best of Local Foreigner’s business model and tailor it to her own needs, knowing that she has the support of the team behind her every step of the way.
A perfect partnership
For Camilla, aligning herself with a responsive, knowledgeable, well-organized team was a key part in ensuring a successful business: “The Local Foreigner’s impressive knowledge-sharing resources allow me to sell destinations with confidence, and their industry connections have given me access to a critical network of contacts that is essential for growing my business.” She loves that she’s able to take the best of Local Foreigner’s business model and tailor it to her own needs, knowing that she has the support of the team behind her every step of the way.
Camilla enjoys working from our Soho office — bouncing ideas and talking through problems in person are invaluable parts of being connected with a team. She’s a mainstay at our daily supplier meetings, often greeting sales directors and general managers as if into her home.