Meet our team

Lauren Barnard, Personal  Travel Advisor

Lauren joins the Ker & Downey® Africa B2C division as a Personal Travel Advisor with over 14 years experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. Her extensive knowledge makes her a valued asset to the team.

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Born and Bred

Lauren was born on the east coast of South Africa in Durban and grew up in the Jacaranda City of Pretoria before calling Cape Town her forever home in 2012.

Highlight of Lauren’s time in the industry

Lauren’s 14 years in hospitality and tourism began with a hotelier internship for the Ritz Carlton in Florida, USA. After returning to South Africa, she worked with the esteemed Singita group before relocating to Cape Town where she became an accredited Western Cape Tour Guide. Her highlight in the industry was successfully starting and running her own private touring company together with her husband. “I have always known that working with people is my forte and customer service excellence has been ingrained in me from the offset,” says Lauren. “The opportunity to create memorable and life changing holidays for people with Ker & Downey® Africa is the perfect addition to my portfolio.”

Travel Expertise

Lauren has visited the pristine beaches of Mozambique, the mountains of Lesotho and the lush greenery of Swaziland. Her dream destinations are Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Lauren’s favorite destination in Africa

South Africa is Lauren’s home and passion. She has experienced all 9 provinces and met people from all cultures in our beautiful rainbow nation. “I believe I have the best kept local secrets of places to visit and look forward to sharing that with our clients.”

Lauren’s Top 3 Recommended Safari Lodges & Hotels

Grootbos, Overberg, South Africa

Singita Sweni, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Tintswalo Atlantic, Cape Town, South Africa

Client Review

“The trip was excellent, the Ker & Downey Africa team provided a professional and responsive service from initial enquiry to creating a personalized package .
I would particularly like to thank Lauren for her work throughout.
Solutions on flights , golf tee times, COVID requirements , game drives etc. enabled my wife and I to enjoy the trip with full confidence that everything was arranged and available.
My best testament of the Ker & Downey Africa service is the I have passed your contact details to friends re an extensive trip they are planning for October/ November 22 in SA .”

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