It is easy to assume that working with family can bring its own slew of difficulties – but for mother and daughter, Karen Houston and Claire Huxley, it was a pleasurable advantage.
In 1996, along with other business professionals, Beachlands resident Karen set up the International Travel College (ITC) after moving to New Zealand. With decades of experience in international tourism under her belt, including working with Thomson Holidays, Karen continued to grow and expand the college.
Six years after the founding, daughter and Half Moon Bay local Claire, joined ITC as the marketing manager. She has an extensive background in international tourism, retail travel and marketing.
Now ITC has 350-400 students annually and is a leading provider of qualifications for the airline, travel and tourism industries. Mother and daughter worked together for 11 years before Karen retired.
From a business point of view, Karen says it’s been an advantage. “We trust each other implicitly. I could trust Claire with anything. If I went away on holiday, if Claire was there, I never worried. It’s just really lovely to have a high level of trust.”
Additionally, as they both knew the ins and outs of their respective backgrounds, they knew one another’s “strengths and lesser strengths” – handy knowledge when delegating tasks and roles.
“I don’t think we ever had a row,” Karen says. “We’ve always got on really well. In fact, we often didn’t tell people – she often called me Karen in the workplace!”
