Meet the Team

Pierce Synnott

With a French mother, Irish father, Argentine wife, South African children and family living on 4 different continents, it is perhaps not surprising Pierce ended up in travel and tourism.

After immigrating to South Africa from Ireland in 1997 he established an overland travel company and then guided groups throughout Southern Africa.  In 2000 he settled down in Cape Town and founded Hidden Vintage Tours.  Strong links with Europe have given him a unique perspective into the needs of the exigent international traveler and well over 10 years experience in the southern African tourism industry has given him the opportunity to identify the product and team to match.

In the office Pierce gives the Hidden Vintage team its focus and direction.  As well as being responsible for business development, sales and marketing, he is also heavily involved in the organizing and running of our special interest tours.  When not in the office Pierce is dedicated to his wife Val, two young children Sofia and Mateo and his Nespresso machine.  When time permits he enjoys the odd game of tennis and, of course, travelling.

Andrea Hatem

Born to Austrian parents living in Namibia, Andrea settled in South Africa after coming to Cape Town to study after school.  Her international family life and early exposure to travel drew her towards a life in tourism, where she has now been for 13 years.  In 2002 Andrea joined Pierce at Hidden Vintage, where her dedication, efficiency and mind boggling patience were instrumental in building up the company to where it is today.  With first hand knowledge of most areas of Southern Africa and experience in almost every aspect of consulting she has become an integral part of the Hidden Vintage team and at the beginning of 2009 become a fully fledged partner in the company.  

In the office Andrea has assumed the responsibility of office manager and senior consultant and has also used her fluent German to make inroads into this market.  Outside of the office Andrea dedicates much of her free time to her son, Robbie, enjoys playing the flute and, rumor has it, has never in her life declined a party invitation!

Valeria Synnott

Val travelled from her homeland of Argentina in 2000 to join Pierce and help establish Hidden Vintage.  With her Spanish parents she regularly returned to Europe when young and always maintained an independent and international spirit.  It therefore came as no great surprise to her friends in Buenos Aires when she told them she had had enough of trading sugar cane and avocadoes and was off to live a life of travel in Africa.  After many years grafting to establish Hidden Vintage Val has now taken a more passive role in the business and juggles family life, Hidden Vintage and her own professional ventures.  However tapping into her Spanish gives Hidden Vintage an extra dimension and with a real flair for design and a ruthless eye for detail she is instrumental in quality control and is Hidden Vintage’s unequivocal ‘minister for esthetics’.