ROSEMARY Moss, widely
known for her long years of
service in the car-rental and
retail travel sectors, died
on November 10 in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, following a
brain haemorrhage.
Rosemary was a popular
personality, a regular
presence in the travel
industry’s social scene and
as vibrant as her red hair
(which she toned down to
blonde in later years).
Friend and colleague Lina
da Costa, regional sales
manager for travel of Bidvest
Car Rental, said Rosemary
began her working life as a
secretary but soon realised
her passion was travel.
She found a sales position
at Hertz Car Rental in the
’80s. She soon acquired the
nickname ‘150 questions’,
because she had so many of
them, recalls Lina.
When Hertz subsequently
disinvested, Imperial took
over and Rosemary stayed
on for a year, before being
appointed travel manager at
Budget Rent a Car in October
1987. She was with the
company for 12 years, rising
to national sales manager.
Thereafter she moved on to
Holiday Autos, a car-rental
broker, in 2001 for eight
years.
It was at this point that
Linda Wattrus, owner/
manager of XL HalloWorld
Travel in Nelspruit, met
Rosemary, noting that,
even though Rosemary was
md, she knew how to “get
her hands dirty and doing
reservations wasn’t beneath
her”.
Rosemary then moved
into retail, becoming gm
of Harvey World Travel in
May 2009 until February
2014. Remembers Linda:
“She quickly solidified
an unsettled franchise
network and built personal
relationships with every
single shop owner. She had
an incredible intuition about
people and if she recognised
potential in you, she pushed
you into a higher place and
supported you – she didn’t
care if you thought she was
smoking her socks.”
Monica Horn, product
manager of HWT Franchise
Support Team, says
Rosemary was the ‘network
queen’. “Since Rosemary
passed away, I’ve been
reading all the beautiful
memories of an amazing
lady who has been part of
my life and heart over the
last 24 years. I can only
say how honoured and
touched Rosemary would
have been to see everyone’s
messages.”
International speaker Alex
Granger, another former
Budget staffer, remembers
Rosemary as larger than life,
bringing colour to any room.
“When she was leading HWT,
she gave me my break as
a professional speaker at
two roadshows. After that
we would meet regularly
and she would ask me for
advice, but actually she was
teaching me about business
and life.”
Peter Schoeman, previous
sales and marketing director
of City Lodge Hotels and a
lifetime friend of Rosemary,
said she was one of the best
at working a room.
“She had an innate ability
to extract information from
you without giving you
any information about her
business. She loved the
good life, and we used to
joke about decadence. We
once drank three bottles of
champagne at Selfridges –
she described that as ‘superdecadent’.”
In later years, Rosemary
moved to the UK. She took
up an opportunity to work
in Barcelona and then
Sicily, and this year found
herself teaching English in
Riyadh. Rosemary’s children,
Cassandra and Ashton,
managed to be with their
mother at the end. Memorial
service details are still to be
announced.
