Trade your desk for a deckchair, and make a living, too. Tony Clayton-Lea meets some Irish people who have set up travel businesses abroad
RORY EGAN Safari lodge-keeper in Tanzania
The idea of the Octagon Safari Lodge came about when I visited Tanzania a number of years ago; my wife Pamela is Tanzanian. She was in Ireland studying law, then working, and then we went to her country to get married. Once we arrived, we began to hatch a plan for the lodge. Gradually, we both decided we wanted a change of scenery, and came up with a plan that would involve the two of us. I used to be a professional actor - I was on Fair City a few years ago - but that side of my life has taken something of a back seat.
The property is on a farm which belonged to my wife. With the help of about 50 locals, we built the lodge within a year. Setting it up was a lot of hard work, but in terms of opening the business and getting it moving, I'd have to say it wasn't too difficult. Tourism is quite strong in Tanzania at the moment, and the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Conservation Area - which the lodge services - are very popular attractions. From the time we opened last September, it has been quite busy. The client-base is broad. For example, when we were cooking Christmas dinner, the clients on the night were from Brazil, Korea and Europe. On any night, we could have any nationality, really. Irish people, too, of course; some honeymooners.
Pros and cons? In terms of moving over here, I realise I'm in something of a privileged position as my wife is from here, which means I had relations on the ground who were able to facilitate the legal side of setting up the business. That's a real advantage over someone arriving fresh off the plane. The pros are what you'd imagine them to be: the wildlife, the weather and the scenery are spectacular, and the people are particularly nice, which is a real bonus. It's a very beautiful place and a special country.
While I'm in Tanzania, the acting is on hold. I'll be busy enough, anyway - we're fairly stuck into running the lodge by this stage; it is a substantial investment, and we're quite settled. Everything is going well, and I can't see myself anywhere else for the foreseeable future.
www.octagonlodge.com
SIOBHAN BASTABLE, Art tours to Italy
I own an art gallery in Monkstown - the William Frank Gallery - and I do a lecture series from there, as well as organising cultural trips to Europe. I'd been on a couple of these trips myself; I went back to college as a mature student. When I decided to do something with my studies, one of the things I thought of doing was cultural trips. People can see so much. I also bring along a lecturer, who is an expert in the field.
The trips began in 2004 - we went to Florence in February 2004 and then Madrid in September. We've just come back from Florence.
The number of people I bring on each trip varies from city to city, but the average is no more than a dozen. Their backgrounds range from art lovers, and people working in the field, to those that really wouldn't know a huge amount about the subject, but want to learn. We keep it at an accessible level, and as the lecturer is with us, even around the dinner table, questions are answered. Essentially, I structure the trip around the people on it.
How good is it as a business? In the beginning it was difficult enough - it was virtually a labour of love - but now it's better. While I do the trips through a travel agent, I always make a point of visiting the cities before we go, to check out the accommodation. Where you stay is so important. In Florence, for instance, you have to stay in the centre for our kind of trip. It is the same in Seville and Venice. I give the travel agents terrible grief if I'm not happy with the hotel. The trip might be a cultural one, but it's also a holiday.
Usually, the trips last for no longer than six days, which is plenty of time. On the last trip, one or two people expressed concern that five or six days was too short, but when they arrived home, they said they couldn't have done another day. There is a lot of information to take in. I keep it quite structured, because if groups start splintering, then you've lost the point of the trip.
Of course, they have time on their own, but aspects of the trip need to be scheduled. People tend not to mind this. I also choose the lecturers very carefully. Some lecturers have terribly boring voices; others grab your attention. I make sure I choose the best ones; each expert would also know the history of each city.
I love doing these trips. Before I entered the art world, I was in financial services, so I'm used to dealing with people. But I have a passion for my subject, and I love to see people getting something out of it. You can go to lectures, and they're fine, but when a lecturer is talking you through a painting, and you're standing in front of it, there is no comparison to seeing it in a book. People just light up.
It's hard work, getting it all together and making sure it runs smoothly. I've had no negative comments. Trips planned, so far, for this year are to Venice in May, when artist, Peter Pearson, will accompany us, and a trip to Seville in September, with TCD's Dr Peter Cherry - he's a specialist in Spanish art.
www.williamfrankgallery.com, 01-2148547
SIOBHAN KEARNEY Hotelier in Majorca
I trained as a chef in the Shelbourne Hotel and set up my own catering business in Dublin about 13 years ago. My dream, though, was to buy a property abroad. Myself and my husband, Brian, were both self-employed and had worked very hard. When I was pregnant with my son, Dan, we travelled to Majorca, fell in love with the island and started to look at properties there.
Casa Salvia is a 200-year-old private house that has been totally refurbished. It's located in the region of Sóller, which is not a resort area, but more agricultural and provincial, a bit like Ireland was 60 years ago.
We saw Casa Salvia in June 2002, and shortly after, my husband went over and videoed it. In September 2002, with husband and new son in tow, I went over for a look, too. We spent three weeks checking it out, but we knew the house was everything and more than we had dreamed about, in terms of having an upmarket guesthouse. The three major considerations were the climate, the house and the environment. It was all there for us. We made the owners an offer, and by December 2002 we were in. We opened for business in March 2003 - we didn't hesitate. When we moved in, it was about 70 per cent renovated, so we had to put our mark on it.
Business is very good, and steady for seven months of the year, from Easter to the end of October. At the moment, we stay seasonal - we feel we need a break from the intensity of the work, so we come back to our Dublin house. That said, from next year, we plan to stay there off-season. The local population is 14,000, so it's a busy little town all year round.
I suppose it's difficult to detach ourselves from the business; we don't have a normal home life because we've got guests staying with us all the time, but that's the nature of the hospitality business. We're on call 24 hours a day. But the summers are fantastic - breakfast al fresco every day is hard to beat.
www.hotelsalvia.com, 00-34-971634936.
RICHARD CONWAY Extreme sports in Chamonix
There are three of us involved in Steep and Deep - myself, Cian Reynolds and David O'Driscoll. We've been friends since school. We caught the snow bug and made a decision that when we finished college, we'd come out and set up a business. Steep and Deep provides fully-catered chalet holidays for the Irish market. The company is based in Chamonix, about an hour's drive from Geneva airport.
We set up the business in 2002; we had always seen the chalet market as a growth market. For years Irish people have been going on self-catering package holidays and, in my opinion, not getting what they were looking for. Irish customers account for 80 per cent of our business. And we are not just for experienced skiers - we cater for all levels. A lot of people who come out have been skiing before, but I would say that about 30 per cent of our clients are beginners.
We expanded this season, taking on a second chalet, also in Chamonix, which means we can now cater for up to 30 people per week. Now we're looking to expand beyond Chamonix for next year. Up until now, we've been running the business on a seasonal basis, but there's a huge summer/adventure sport market we plan to tap into. The winter season is from the start of December to the end of April - it's short, which is why we've been thinking of other business opportunities.
We intend to run holidays in the summer season, with a different activity on offer every day. So, day one could be white-water rafting, day two parapenting, day three rock climbing, day four mountain biking, and so on. Chamonix is the extreme sports capital of Europe, and it is as busy during the summer as it is in winter. Pros and cons? The lifestyle out here is amazing - it just isn't comparable to Dublin. But it's tough to start with, and we're always on call - you just don't leave the office and expect a free night.
www.steepanddeep.com
JENNIFER KEEGAN, Yoga teacher in Ibiza
I've been doing yoga for about 11 years - I studied it abroad - originally in India, which I keep going back to. But I also went to Ibiza to study, and it was there I thought it would be a good idea to do yoga classes abroad. I could, of course, have rented some incredible luxury villa in the hills of Umbria, but I wanted to make it financially accessible for people. So last year, I organised a holiday to a remote part of Ibiza.
A crowd of people - experienced and not - did yoga in a more intensive way than they would if they were at home. Although doing yoga abroad is a trend, it was my first time doing it - an experiment that worked really well. I couldn't believe the degree to which it worked, to which I enjoyed it and to which other people got so much out of it.
If I had tried this even seven years ago, it would have been different. People go to yoga classes now in the way that people go to the gym - it doesn't have the bohemian tint it had some years back.
I thought people would have a good time, but the feedback I got from most of the people on the trip was that it was the best holiday they had ever had. One of the things they loved most about it was doing the yoga in such an intensive way - rather than going on holiday and lying on the beach.
I did yoga instruction for three hours a day for a week. Then I had an optional stay-on week for people who wanted to practise what they had learnt. However, I found having just the one week worked better, because it was a bit more structured.
Initially, I was apprehensive of putting strangers together - it's a fairly intimate situation - getting up early together, having breakfast together. If there's one cranky egg in there, it might spoil it for everybody. As it turned out, we all got on very well.
Was there conflict being both teacher and organiser? A little. One of the difficult things is that you are responsible for keeping everyone happy - you can't change people's minds or moods. I feel it's best to keep it a small grouping - eight is good.
We did the yoga classes outdoors. In fact, one of the things that people loved was when I did a sunset class at the villa, which is situated at the top of a cliff. Everyone adored that class, and next time around I'll be doing more of those.
I'm planning a trip to Ibiza at the end of May, and then another at the end of the summer. But I also go to India quite a lot. I was there last Christmas - in Goa - and looked around to see if it would be suitable, so I'm considering doing one there next Christmas.
jenniferk@eircom.net, 01-4537386
ROSEMARY BURNS Teaching painting in Spain
For the past six years I have taken groups of people to beautiful locations to paint. The locations are very important because they inspire people, and also because they enjoy it from a non-painting aspect. My core location is Spain - but very much the other Spain, a mountain village called Comares, a lovely, white Andalucian village close to Malaga. It's one of the few places in the world, I believe, where you have a 360-degree view; you're looking down over valleys, mountains, river beds and out to the sea on one side, and on the other side, the Sierra Nevada.
I went back to college as a mature student to the National College of Art and Design, and after I got my degree in 1994, I began giving art classes in my studio at home. After two years doing that, I realised I was doing no painting myself. I have a brother in Comares, and he suggested I bring a group of people out there. Since then we've been going in May, which is a nice time of the year. The biggest group I've taken over to Spain has been 12, but I've found the best size is between eight and 10 people. I feel the group dynamic is important, and if you go beyond eight, they automatically splinter into sub-groups.
Last year we went to the south of France, to a small village called Montcuq, which was gorgeous. In Comares, we rent a group of villas that are very well appointed and beautifully situated in gardens outside the village. In 2006, we hope to have a custom-built art centre with very good accommodation and a swimming pool; we also hope to run holidays combining walking and painting, and yoga and painting.
As artists, the participants are of varying standards, from complete beginners - and I mean complete beginners, people who might just want a change of holiday or to start a new hobby - to people who are very good painters and like the idea of going away with a group.
I look on it less as a job and more as a pleasure. I love the places we go to, and I love teaching, and passing on whatever I get out of it. At the end of each week, we have an exhibition, which the beginners in particular get very excited about. It takes a bit of courage for people to go on holiday on their own, but we go out of our way to make them feel comfortable. Some are fearful of spending a week in the company of people they don't know.
This year I'm taking groups to Spain from May 28th to June 4th, and September 3rd to 10th. I'm also planning a trip to Croatia on June 19th to 26th.
www.arc-designs.ie, 045-432104.