Maximum
Occupancy New Zealand's Leading Accommodation Industry Conference

Haley Purdon leads Expedia Lodging Partner Services in New Zealand and Pacific Islands, responsible for developing the strategies for the Group’s lodging supply business in the region.

With more than 12 years’ experience with Expedia Group, she leads the team to establish and develop strong partner relationships with hotel partners, helping to maximise their exposure to the Group’s 200+ travel booking websites. 

Prior to her role as Director of Market Management, Haley held various roles at the company. She started out as a Senior Market Manager for Orbitz Worldwide, where she was responsible for building a team on the ground, developing the brand awareness and expanding its presence to New Zealand and Pacific Islands region.

Haley brings valued knowledge of the online travel landscape to her role. Her passion for leading and developing people is instrumental to the rapid expansion of the NZPI team over the past four years.

Hazel has established a strong career within the hospitality industry, joining Village Accommodation Group and Rooms Online at the end of 2019 as Chief Commercial Director. Prior to joining, Hazel worked in senior management roles within hospitality in the UK and Ireland, with her most recent role being Director of Marketing & eCommerce Australia/New Zealand at Grand Chancellor Hotels.  She has knowledge in a diverse range of hospitality systems and processes, from ecommerce, data integration, revenue, sales, loyalty, brand management and is also a Chartered Marketer, audited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK and recognised by the Marketing Association NZ.

A skilled tourism and hospitality specialist, Andrew Belsham heads up Best Western Hotels & Resorts’ New Zealand and Pacific Islands presence. With over 16 years’ tourism industry experience including senior management and director roles with the Flight Centre Group UK, Ten Lifestyle Management UK and Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Andrew’s real passion is the people behind the business and partnering with them for a mutually successful future. He has broad of international accommodation and tourism sector knowledge, gained through visiting and consulting with over 250 properties worldwide ranging from the top end luxurious to mid-scale accommodation. 

James is the Co-founder of Yonder, helping tourism providers deliver exceptional customer service 24-7, through chat.  He is focused on using technology, like Artificial Intelligence, to help solve problems and deliver exceptional user experiences for tourism providers like hotels and activities.  James trained as an Engineer at the University of Auckland and worked in the oil and gas industry for 12 years around Europe, Russia and New Zealand leading large projects and technical teams.  James saw an opportunity to use his skill set together with Letitia Stevenson.  For 3 years they've been helping solve problems for tourism businesses, and founded Yonder in 2018.   

Wim joined Horwath HTL in March 2016 with over 28 years’ experience in financial leadership and general management positions in international hotels and resorts. Prior to joining Horwath, Wim was Area General Manager responsible for the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) portfolio in New Zealand.

He specialises in hotel asset management, market demand, supply and feasibility analysis and has worked with a wide variety of owners and investors, from high net worth individuals, to institutional owners and private equity funds.

His extensive international experience includes hotel management roles in Australasia, Europe, USA, China, Japan and the Caribbean.

Julie White, is Chief Executive of Hospitality New Zealand which represents some 3,000 hospitality and accommodation businesses across Aotearoa.  Julie's experience expanses across two decades working within the travel and hospitality sectors and has expertise in sales, marketing and revenue management.

Bharath Satyavolu is Group Commercial Director for Scenic Hotel Group –  New Zealand’s largest locally owned and operated hotel chain that prides itself on offering true Kiwi hospitality at each of its eighteen hotels. Bharath is a seasoned hotelier with extensive experience in Digital Marketing, Revenue Management, and Distribution Technology. Prior to joining Scenic Hotel Group, Bharath spent close to two-decades in Singapore where he held several senior Revenue Management positions. Prior to joining Scenic Hotel Group, Bharath was heading Revenue Management & Distribution for a leading hotel-cum-serviced apartment chain with a foot-print of 6,000 keys across 11 countries/19 cities. In his current role at Scenic Hotel Group, Bharath heads Corporate Sales, Marketing, Revenue Management, Distribution & Central Reservations departments, and is tasked with integrating the functions of all these five departments providing a more holistic approach to overall revenue strategy and distribution.

Stephen Mansfield is the CEO & Founder of the Quest Apartment Hotel Group in New Zealand.  Stephen was originally the Managing Director of the Quest business in Australia based in Melbourne. However identifying the opportunity to establish and grow the Quest Business within the New Zealand market place, he relocated his family to New Zealand in 1999, and from the original two operations secured in Auckland, he has grown Quest to be the largest accommodation provider by number of outlets within New Zealand. Quest continues its track record of being the fastest growing accommodation business with 8 new operations scheduled to come online over the next 24 months, bringing the total number of Quest properties New Zealand wide to 43.

Stephens focus is developing the organisations capability and infrastructure that provides the platform for future corporate growth, sustainability and performance with the view to enhancing the position of the Quest business as a well regarded, dependable and relevant corporate citizen within the New Zealand environment.