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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.

David Visser leads the South Island team as a Senior Account Manager in the Auckland office for Booking.com. David started his career in the hotel industry over 10 years ago and joined Booking.com in 2011 as part of the opening team for the New Zealand office. He has worked in a variety of roles including connectivity and account management. 

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.

Les Morgan is the Chief Operating Officer of Sudima Hotels and Hind Management. The Group has an annual turnover in excess of $50m and employs over 450 people. Sudima Hotels is currently is undergoing a significant expansion phase with numerous new Hotels under development, and is contracted to have 1,600+ rooms under management by 2021.

Les recognises that whilst commercial success is a primary function of any business; strong organisational values and community empathy are vital ingredients to a healthy prosperous company. 

Les is a previous recipient of a Westpac Excellence in Leadership Award, was the 2018 Winner of NZ Hotel - Industry Senior Hotel Executive Award and recently received the Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Tourism Industry Champion Award.

Originally from Rotorua, he now resides in Auckland. He holds a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and is a Sommelier by trade. His background includes experience in 3 to 5 Star Hotels from boutique to substantial in both the UK and New Zealand with several of the World’s leading Hotel Brands.

Gavin has over 35 years experience in hotel management and operations under his belt. He started his career as an accountant for The Peninsula Group, Hong Kong. In 1983, he was made chief executive of Kingsgate International Corporate Limited, a publicly listed company that owned several hotels in Australia and New Zealand.

He worked for a start-up hotel management company Swiss-Belhotel group in 1990, before taking over the ownership of the company in 1999. Apart from his illustrious career in the hospitality industry, he also runs a number of agricultural companies in his native New Zealand. Gavin holds hold a Bachelor Degree in Accounting from Victoria University of Wellington.