60 seconds with… Eventful’s Caroline Lumgair

After starting her career in the hotel industry, Caroline Lumgair took a leap of faith at the age of just 24, launching her own luxury event planning agency Eventful: “My aim was to develop a business which combined several of my key passions in life: connecting people, excellent service, inspiring experiences, seamless event planning, luxury hotels and travel.” Fifteen years later, the business is still going strong and Caroline continues to work with the first two corporate clients she signed up back in 2002. Outside of work, she has a passion for Portugal, “especially the West Coast which is wild and totally unspoilt. I learned to surf there this summer. Correction, I tried to surf there this summer!”

Brand promise
Eventful delivers a highly personalised, consultative event planning service to corporate clients.

What’s #trending?
Clients are seeking out truly authentic experiences in the destinations they’re selecting. They want their guests to experience the culture of the country or region, and to feel a genuine sense of place in the hotels and resorts that they choose for their programmes.

Luxury defined in 140 characters
Luxury, to me, means excellence and quality. Anticipatory service is what differentiates luxury service from good service.

Townhouse or treehouse?
I love a great city hotel where I’m able to walk out of the front door and am immediately immersed in the city, however, I’m a country girl at heart and so my first choice will always be a country retreat. My favourite destination in the UK is the Cotswolds – I love Foxhill Manor and Soho Farmhouse.

Bucket list
I would love to experience the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and the Rovos Rail journey through South Africa to Cape Town or to Victoria Falls. The Maldives, Mozambique and Argentina are also at the top of my bucket list.

Last meal
Berner’s Tavern at The Edition hotel in London. It’s one of my favourite restaurants in town. I would recommend their signature Edition punch and the macaroni cheese with ox cheek. Delicious!

Old fave
Claridges – I love to meet clients there for breakfast and whenever I have any reason to celebrate.

Proud moment
Watching my team develop over the past fifteen years. I’m so proud of all of them – both those who have moved on in their careers – and those who have stayed with the company for the long haul. From an events perspective, we have planned, created and produced many incredible events for our clients. One particular gala dinner for 600 at the Natural History Museum in London stands out in my mind – we projected autumn leaves on to the brick arched ceiling above the dinosaur, the entire night felt magical, and the guests were blown away.

Bragging rights
I have travelled all over the world in this role and been lucky enough to visit many of the world’s finest hotels and meet so many interesting people. I still have to pinch myself some days and I hope that feeling of excited appreciation never goes! I once had a hilarious and memorable conversation with John McEnroe at a Masters Tennis as a guest of Jumeriah Hotels which I thoroughly enjoyed. But probably most impressively for me, I bumped into the actor Mandy Patinkin (Saul from the TV series Homeland) at the Edition in London last week. I love the show but more importantly, I’m a fan of the work that he is doing as an activist to bring attention to the refugee crisis.

It’s all in the detail
We strive for excellence in the delivery of the service we offer to our clients and we search for excellence in all of our partners, from hotels to DMC’s, airlines, florists and entertainers. We like to work with likeminded people who are passionate about what they do. I believe that when people love their work, it shows in every detail, resulting in a memorable experience for each guest.

Aperol or agua?
My favourite drink is a French 75. It’s made up of equal parts gin, lemon juice & sugar syrup topped with champagne. Heavenly but lethal – be warned!

What inspires you?
Personal travel, the stories that I read and hear about destinations, hotels and service from friends and peers in the events industry.

Final word
I’m passionate about providing clients with genuine, generous hospitality and service. We are privileged to provide clients with activities like team building or a fabulous location for their staff to learn in and to be able to mark special occasions, or honour people for work well done. Most importantly, as with all of life, it is the people who make it what it is and I’m thankful for the teachers, peers, colleagues and friends I’ve made and continue to make in this industry. Whatever it is that you do in life, it’s all about people.

Article by InVOYAGE