Meet Pam Murphy
LOCAL FOREIGNER’S TEAM OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS
This post is part of our series celebrating our Independent Contractors and Hosting Program. The Local Foreigner's Hosting Program provides a platform of systems and support for independent travel advisors.
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Will Fly for Food
Ask Pam Murphy to name her favorite restaurant in Paris, and you’re not going to get a pat response. “What kind of food are you looking for?” she’ll counter. “If I want to eat oysters, I am going to Huguette, and if I am looking for Thai food, Crying Tiger. French food? La Petite Chaise. And I love Café Varenne when I’m looking for a bistro.” Of course, her apartment on the Left Bank has afforded her the opportunity to develop favorites over the years, but this specific level of expertise and generosity is not limited to the City of Light. “I come from a hospitality background, and I find joy in putting something together,” she says. “I love picturing people out in the world being able to experience something that I think they will truly love.”
“I come from a hospitality background, and I find joy in putting something together. I love to share what I find in the world, from a pair of rainboots to the best hotel. My impulse is to tell people about it.”
-Pam Murphy
Having “a hospitality background” doesn’t quite do justice to Pam’s breadth of experience. She has come by her passion when it comes to travel (and to food) through years in the worlds of both restaurants and magazines. “I got my Master’s in Magazine Journalism at NYU and worked across the industry, including at Fitness, Mirabella, Elle, and Glamour; I launched a magazine called Madison that had lifestyle, beauty, and fashion at its heart. My husband is a chef with several restaurants, and I worked alongside him, running marketing, PR, and branding. I also started an online magazine called The Select 7, which highlighted a different personality each week and showcased one of their ‘selects’ each day - their favorites in philanthropy, food, beauty, travel, fashion, interior design, and tech.” And while she’ll present her professional background with typical self-deprecation (calling it a “twisty path”), the throughline is immediately apparent - a passion for discovering and presenting beautiful things and experiences. “I love to share what I find in the world, from a pair of rainboots to the best hotel. My impulse is to tell people about it.”
Up to Speed
Maintaining such an enviable little black book of people, places, and things seems like something she’s always done, but as a kid growing up in New York City, her geographical horizons weren’t quite so broad. “I didn’t go to Europe until I was 30, when I was in between jobs and my mom and I went to Paris and Venice. We were overwhelmed and came back to the room every night and ate room service.” She leveled up her travel game quickly over the following few years, though, crisscrossing Europe with the help of a very savvy guide. “My husband is half French and was born in Milan, and early in our relationship, we spent three months in Europe - London, Amsterdam, Rome, Umbria, Tuscany, Paris, Deauville, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Genoa. He speaks every language and traveling with him is just so easy.”
While it seems clear in retrospect that is all leading to a career planning travel, it took the quiet time during the pandemic for that idea to crystallize. Like many travel advisors, she was doing the job before she was doing it as a job - friends were constantly asking for recommendations and itineraries, running their plans past her and tapping her for intel on new restaurant openings and charming hotels. “I’m a people pleaser,” she admits, “which is the best and worst personality type for this job - when I recommend something to someone, it’s because I really believe they will love it.” Given this personal connection, there was no doing things by halves. “At first, I thought maybe this was something I could do part time, but I very quickly realized that my emotional investment in each trip means there’s no such thing as part time. And as my business grew and I got to know suppliers in the industry, I kept hearing about Local Foreigner. I loved the intimate size of the company, I loved how long it took me to do my application - it really felt like I was being vetted, like I would be in a place where the community support and advice is so strong.”
“Of course I love sending people to my favorite spots - and I will always make dinner reservations for my clients, because food is why I travel. But I also love planning new places that I don’t know as well, because this industry is an ongoing education for me, too.”
Phone a Friend
Process is fundamental at Local Foreigner, and Pam’s depends in equal parts on experience, instinct, and an insatiable appetite, both literally and figuratively. “Of course I love sending people to my favorite spots - and I will always make dinner reservations for my clients, because food is why I travel. But I also love planning new places that I don’t know as well, because this industry is an ongoing education for me, too. My gut will tell me if something is good or not if I haven’t visited yet.” The food analogies and puns write themselves - that Pam is an advisor whose taste - and tastebuds - are formidable; that you can trust her gut (as in instinct) and her gut (as in appetite.) But in an industry that can feel like it’s built on gatekeeping, Pam’s biggest strength is her generosity. On the Wandrist Travel website, she paints a picture: “Think of us as that friend we all wish we had. You know the one — she reads and researches and tests everything, everywhere — from where locals go to get the freshest fish in Mallorca to which hotel has the perfect view of Parisian rooftops and the most comfortable bed. And not only does this friend gather all of this information, she shares it.”
