A-List travel advisor Holly Monahan joins Origin

We expand our fabulous team of travel curators with the addition of Holly Monahan as Senior Travel Curator. “What drew me to Origin is the juxtaposition of travel professionals and tech specialists, all at the top of their game, combining forces to invent an entirely new way of curating travel using AI,” Holly enthused about her new role.

Holly comes to us from Ilex Luxury Travel, an Asia-focused bespoke tour operator she founded in 2017 while living in Singapore. Before launching Ilex, she spent a decade designing personalized luxury tours to Asia, Northern Africa, Europe, and other locales for a leading Virtuoso tour operator.

Originally from the Philadelphia region in the US, over the years Holly lived and worked in New York City, Bangkok, Berlin, Dublin, Barcelona, and Singapore. At the moment she is based in the UK, but is confident she will be calling yet another country home before too long. Her varied travels have already taken her to 55 countries on 6 continents.

Travel + Leisure magazine recognized her outstanding expertise in 2015, when it named her its “A-List” Travel Advisor for Thailand and Southeast Asia. She has since made this esteemed list three more times.

“Curating the perfect itinerary is a creative process not unlike compiling a ‘mix tape’ playlist for a friend,” Holly explains. “You include some well-known hits, but the real fun comes from introducing them to obscure, surprising tracks you know they will love.

Of course, I want my clients to tour the extraordinary UNESCO World Heritage Sites that inspired their wanderlust, but for me, the true joy is in discovering their unique tastes and orchestrating a personalized, delightful encounter. Depending on the individual, this could be a coffee in a quirky-themed cafe, picking up a new skill in an immersive creative class, or perhaps a private blessing at a rarely-visited temple. It’s those perfect travel moments that make trips special and memorable.”

Favorite experiences she has included on her own travels include hosting a vegan feast for friends at a secret supper club in Bangkok, feeding dozens of strays at Siem Reap Pagoda Cats in Cambodia, and co-designing a party dress with a tailor in Hoi An, Vietnam.