Speakers

Danilo Zatta

Head of Sales, Pricing & TopLine Strategies, Partner Valcon

Danilo Zatta is one of the world’s leading advisors and thought leaders in the field of Pricing and TopLine Excellence. The Financial Times defined him as ‘one of the world’s leading pricing minds’.

Dan has also been recognized amongst the Top 5 Pricing Thought Leaders on LinkedIn, in the list of the most engaging and impactful pricing thought leaders globally. The leading Italian business newspaper defined him as ‘as one of the most recognized monetization authors in the world’.

He has led hundreds of projects both at national and global level for multinationals, small and medium-sized companies as well as investment funds in numerous industries, generating substantial profit increases.

Danilo has also written 20 books including The 10 Rules of Highly Effective Pricing (Wiley, 2023). He has also published hundreds of articles in different languages and regularly acts as keynote speaker at conferences, events, associations, and at leading universities. He also supports as personal topline coach several CEOs of leading companies.

Joonas Ahola

CEO and Founder of MeetingPackage

Joonas Ahola started his entrepreneurial career at the age of 14. Since then, Joonas has built and grown multiple companies. After running his own event agency for 8 years, Joonas recognized a need in the hospitality industry and started a business, which, after multiple pivots, turned out to be MeetingPackage. During the last 3 years, Joonas has grown the company to more than 40 employees. Joonas has been awarded with multiple awards and also made his way to one of the Forbes 30 under 30 list makers.

Amrita Makkar

Regional Commercial Director, Virgin Hotels

Amrita Makkar is a distinguished hospitality leader with a decade-long track record in revenue management, team leadership, effective communication, financial analysis, and contract negotiation.

 Currently appointed as the Regional Commercial Director for Virgin Hotels Scotland, she has been instrumental in positioning Virgin Hotels as 5-star luxury lifestyle destinations in the UK. Amrita excels in preparing and executing pre-opening and post-opening operating budgets, implementing innovative pricing strategies, analysing distribution costs, and fostering a revenue culture to maximize profits for her hotels.

 Amrita's strategic acumen extends to international ventures, as demonstrated during her interim role as Director of Revenue at The Standard, Maldives. She played a pivotal role in repositioning Carpe Diem Resort to The Standard, Maldives. Prior to her role at Virgin Hotels, she has led revenue and sales teams for hotel groups such as The Standard Hotels, IHG, Radisson Hotels, Principal Hotel Company, and Native Serviced Apartments.

Guy Barnes

Head of Sales Europe - Sabre Hospitality

Guy Barnes leads the Sabre Hospitality sales team for Europe and is passionate about helping hotels generate more revenues through innovative ecommerce and distribution technologies. A commercial leader with 25+ years of experience in driving revenue performance, he is used to dealing with complex challenges and working with senior stakeholders as an advisor to develop revenue opportunities.

Guy previously spent 18 years with IDeaS managing strategic relationships and leading new sales for enterprise hotel groups in EMEA, and latterly airport parking globally. Prior to joining IDeaS, he held a number of corporate revenue management positions with Forte and then Macdonald hotels.  

Gemma Hynes

Client Services Director, Net Affinity 

Gemma Hynes is Client Services Director at Net Affinity, a Hotel Technology company that simplifies the lives of hoteliers by delivering commercial success through direct bookings for Independent, Resort, and Group hotels. With almost 20 years of industry experience (and 10 at Net Affinity), Gemma has extensive knowledge of revenue, marketing & sales and has worked with large hotel brands like Sheraton/IHG, as well as smaller independent properties.

David Ohandjanian

Founder, UP Agency

David is a visionary entrepreneur and the founder of the award-winning Up Hotel Agency, which specialises in hotel marketing and website design. Boasting two decades of expertise, his passion for blending creativity with cutting-edge technology has propelled his agency to the forefront of the industry. Under David's leadership, the agency has gained numerous accolades for its innovative approach to elevating hotel performance online. With a keen eye for design and a commitment to exceeding client expectations, David has not only shaped the success of his agency but has also left an indelible mark on the hospitality marketing landscape.

Harriet Ruby

Head of Marketing, Thynk.Cloud

Harriet Ruby, with over 15 years in B2B marketing, stands out as a B2B marketing specialist and a CIM Chartered Marketer and mentor. Her tenure at Cvent significantly contributed to her expertise in hospitality and events. Now leading marketing at Thynk.Cloud, a hotel CRM and events platform powered by Salesforce, she brings invaluable insights and revenue-boosting strategies. Beyond her professional achievements, Harriet is an active advocate for women in hospitality technology and leadership.

Guillermo Palacios Rufo

Group Director of Revenue Management and Distribution at Habitas

Guillermo, an accomplished professional in the hospitality industry, brings a wealth of experience and a foundation of teamwork, leadership, and analytical acumen. With over 15 years of experience in the hospitality sector, Guillermo has been a driving force as a Commercial Leader, specializing in the last four years in London. His proficiency in technology remains a cornerstone during his time with esteemed organisations such as Generator, Hyatt, edyn and most recently as the Head of Revenue Management at Our Habitas. 

Guillermo excels in creating an impact beyond the present, particularly in environments where technology and a strong commitment to sustainability define the company ethos. His extensive experience, spanning multiple continents and industries, positions him as a strategic thinker and team manager, ready to drive businesses forward into a tech-savvy and sustainable future.

Linden Beattie

General Manager Down Hall Hotel

Linden Beattie is a highly experienced UK hotel General Manager with 20 years of expertise in luxury hotels and resorts across the UK. Currently serving as General Manager at Down Hall Hotel, Spa & Estate, a prestigious property renowned for leisure, weddings and MICE, Linden's leadership earned the hotel numerous accolades, including East of England's Large Hotel of the year in 2023. Since Linden joined Down Hall, the hotel has seen a 25% rise in revenue, increased team retention and a strong growth in profit. With a strong background in the UK travel, events, and leisure market, Linden is passionate about building effective teams and has actively contributed to not-for-profit organisations, including The Cambridge Roar,  beam (formerly HBAA) and Visit Essex at Board Level.

Jonathon Liu

Chief Commercial Officer, Verdi Hotels

Jonathon Liu is currently the Chief Commercial Officer for Verdi Hotels, a new upscale, lifestyle brand launching in mid-2024 by Corinthia Hotels Group. 

Jonathon has a diverse background across the commercial discipline having held senior sales, revenue management & marketing roles across Accor in Australia, Asia & Europe, and most recently, transforming GLH Hotels into Clermont Hotel Group with the creation and launch of The Clermont brand in the UK.  

Jonathon has a track record on leveraging technology to be customer-centric, and value adding to the whole customer journey.   Putting & keeping people at the very heart of the business, giving them the best tools & insights to leverage, is his mantra in bringing hospitality experiences to life.

Julie White

Chief Commercial Officer of Accor Premium, Midscale, Economy Brands in Europe & North Africa

White brings with her over 20 years of commercial leadership experience in the global travel industry, having previously worked for airlines and an international hospitality company. She began her career in 1993 as a Legal Translator at KPMG España, where she worked for four years.

In 2000, she returned to the US as Senior Analyst International Planning at American Airlines. Over her twelve years at the airline, she progressed through the ranks and held senior roles, including Director Multinational Sales EMEA and Director Sales Planning EMEA/I. During this period, White worked in Texas, New York, and London.

Between 2012 and 2017, she was Global Sales Deal Optimization Manager – Selling & Distribution at British Airways and then VP Global Sales Planning and Distribution at Virgin Atlantic. Next, she joined PwC UK as Travel & Leisure M&A Advisor, where she provided industry expertise in the global aviation, travel distribution, and leisure sectors.

Julie White entered the hotel industry in 2020 when she was appointed VP Commercial EMEA at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. In this capacity, she oversaw sales, omni-channel distribution, revenue management, loyalty, and marketing for the franchisor’s more than 500 hotels in the region.

Vassilis Syropoulos

Founder and CEO of JUYO ANALYTICS

Vassilis Syropoulos is the Founder and CEO of JUYO ANALYTICS and Co-founder and Head of product at GET INTOMORE Vassilis has graduated from Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and has followed a master course at Cornell University. He has a 20 year experience in Hotel Revenue Management, Distribution, Pricing and Digital Marketing in senior roles in some of the largest Hotel Companies (Intercontinental hotels Group NASDAQ: IHG, Pandox Hotels, NASDAQ: PNDX-B)

These roles have been highly strategic where in the last one before founding Juyo he developed the overall Business Intelligence strategy for Pandox and implemented plans for deploying BI across hotels and other key areas. Furthermore he researched and developed Analytical and Predictive Capabilities across the organisation.

Profitability is crucial when working for a hotel owner as this has an impact on property value. So the next natural step was to Implement NET REVPAR Analytics and build predictive models to optimise Sales and Marketing Spent. This knowledge led to him founding Juyo Analytics that focuses on Commercial and Revenue Optimisation and GETINTOMORE which is the N1 Revenue Management software for meeting and events space optimisation.

Sean Worker

Founder, Author, CEO, Board Member, Guest Lecturer

He is an advisor in Adaptation, Innovation and Employee Communication in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality (TTH) with expertise in Asset optimization, Contemporary Employee Communication, Customer Experience Tech, PropTech and Sustainability.
More importantly, he is one of ours, a Hospitality guy with LOTS of flight miles!
He has operated and redeveloped numerous hospitality and accommodation assets in the USA, Europe and Asia from resorts, convention centers, night clubs, boutique hotels, student accommodation, co-living, and serviced apartments. Additionally, he participated in the creation of several business intelligence platforms and architected a multi-million-unit platform in the space.
On the back of the success of THE ADPATERS book, THE ADAPTERS – an industry thought leadership video and podcast series came to life which includes ADAPTERS TechX, ADAPTERS GreenX. Most recently InsideOut – Connecting employees, an internal business focused communication platform that creates communication snacks, podcasts, videos, and on-site coverage to share the company’s stories, business goals, key priorities, and acknowledge outstanding employee work. He formed InsideOut with his business partner Brian Proctor of Tuesday Thanks fame.

Jeroen Vassen

Co-founder & COO of Expect Me

Jeroen is the co-founder & COO of Expect Me, a travel tech startup that provides a unique room selection and upselling solution for the hospitality industry. On the platform, guests can select their individual room from an interactive floor plan, as simple as picking a seat on an airplane. 

He is also the founder of Yerun, a boutique firm that unites a network of professionals who share a natural curiosity and love of cultural diversity. They work with executives and decision-makers in bringing strategy to action. With his unique ability to balance fact-based insights with a people-centric method of execution, Jeroen effectively drives the areas of strategy and growth, operational leadership, business transformation, and technology. 

Before this, Jeroen built his career at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, holding various commercial positions in hotels with a focus on new openings. He then took on several regional and corporate leadership roles. In his last position as Head of Revenue Management, Asia Pacific, he was responsible for the commercial strategies of more than 330 hotels and resorts in 26 countries. 

As a born global individual with over 25 years of living and working in Asia Pacific (including China), the Middle East, Europe and South America, Jeroen is passionate about operating in multicultural environments and emerging markets. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Dutch.

Kit Aspen

Founder at Thrust Carbon

Kit has ten years of experience within the technology, travel and sustainability sectors. Day to day, Kit is responsible for product development focusing on solving real customer problems. Spending much of his time speaking to customers to determine their pain points and leading the technology team to deliver effortless sustainability solutions.

Ashleigh Donald

Co-Founder, Halo Business Consulting

Ashleigh is a seasoned hospitality professional with over two decades of experience as a Marketing & Communications Director in the international hotel and real estate industry. Her career includes working with renowned brands such as Shangri-La, Luxury Collection, Hilton, Four Seasons, Resident Hotels, Kew Green Hotels and Hudson Yards.

In 2019, Ashleigh co-founded the award-winning Halo Business Consulting, dedicated to enhancing guest loyalty and retention in the hospitality sector. Serving a diverse global clientele, Halo offers flexible and hands-on support across Customer Experience, Marketing, and Communications.

Ashleigh's expertise spans Marketing Strategy & Planning, Digital Marketing, Launches and Re-branding. She also holds key roles as an Entrepreneur in Residence and Advisory Board Member at Sheffield Hallam University and as a mentor with The Girls' Network, where she empowers girls from underprivileged backgrounds through mentorship and inspiration.

Conor Jackson

Associate Director of Postgraduate Admissions for Sommet Education 

With over nine years of experience in the higher education sector, Conor is a passionate and driven Associate Director of Postgraduate Admissions for Sommet Education, a leading hospitality education group that includes Les Roches and Glion Institute of Higher Education. He is responsible for the recruitment and enrollment of postgraduate students from Switzerland, Southern Europe, MENA, and UK, working with a diverse and talented team of regional managers and counselors.

His mission is to promote the value and excellence of hospitality education and to empower the next generation of global hospitality leaders.

Benjamin Devisme

VP Sales, Quicktext

Ben is a European entrepreneur and investor committed to helping solve e-commerce challenges. He was part of the team that started PriceMatch their vision being to create a simple and affordable revenue management solution for hotels. PriceMatch was subsequently acquired by Booking.com in 2015. 

A passionate advocate of the power of AI within the hotel industry, since 2015 Benjamin has been applying AI to hospitality with Quicktext.

John Mullen

Regional Sales Director, Revinate.

An accomplished leader in hospitality technology sales, John has a proven track record of driving success through an unwavering commitment to data-driven solutions, exceptional guest experiences, and a specialisation in luxury hotels. 

Consistently delivering innovative technology solutions that redefine the standards of excellence within the hospitality industry, John firmly believes that data is king. 

Educating hotels on simplified technologies that allows for cross-departmental synergies in a way that hotels can optimise customer data to not only drive direct booking revenues but to deliver best-in-class hospitality.

Georgine Muntz

CEO, Visual Matrix

As a CEO of Visual Matrix, Georgine Muntz provides a technology centered perspective to the problem hoteliers face in driving revenue and growth. Her experience across multiple industries, building mission-critical partnerships and client relationships, and setting a foundation for results based on engaged teams and a thriving company culture brings a fresh perspective to hoteliers. With a belief that technology companies should collaborate to address core industry challenges she has joined forces with other like-minded industry leaders to create a Women's Executive Innovation Working Group.

Georgine is also an avid investor in technology and a proponent of women's leadership and ownership initiatives.

Debbie Neate

Head of Marketing, Sutton Hotel Collection

Debbie is Head of Marketing for Sutton Hotel Collection, a relatively new and independent collection of hotels.  Across her 20-year commercial hospitality career, she has successfully held senior management positions and led marketing teams for brands such as Macdonald Hotels, QHotels and Principal Hayley. Debbie specialises in repositioning projects, brand development, digital marketing and data driven insights, which are then used to drive topline revenue results.   Based in Bristol, Debbie also works with the University of West England as a mentor to students diversifying their career choices and striving to enter the world of digital marketing

Roxanne Mongie

Partner Recruitment Consultant, Edwards & Finn

A seasoned hospitality leader with 20 years of international experience, is currently a Partner Recruitment Consultant at Edwards & Finn Ltd. With a decade-long focus on commercial roles, including Revenue Management, Sales and Marketing, Roxanne plays a pivotal role in realizing Edwards & Finn’s goal of becoming the premier Commercial Recruitment firm within Hospitality and Travel.

Previously, she held key positions at Lamington Group, contributing to the group’s revenue and distribution strategies. Notable for her three-year tenure as the Commercial Director at Hilton London Heathrow Airport, Roxanne has consistently demonstrated expertise in developing comprehensive commercial strategies to maximize revenue, profit performance, and market share penetration.

Christina Deeny

Managing Director - Sales and Revenue at Soneva

Christina Deeny is an accomplished commercial professional who has led senior roles in some of the most prestigious luxury hospitality brands in the world, Aman, Mandarin Oriental, Dorchester Collection, Auberge Resorts, Soneva. With over 25 years of luxury hospitality experience, with an extensive network of global clients including Sales, Marketing, Communications and Revenue Management track record of achievements. Expertise in building high performing multi-cultural teams, strategic decision maker and profit driven. Christina has an entrepreneurial approach and stakeholder engagement at both owner and board level

Catt McLeod

VP Brand Development Elegant Hotel Collection

Catt McLeod is a respected face in British hospitality. Over the last 20 years, she has carved a successful career as a highly experienced commercial leader within the sector, leading sales and distribution strategies for hotels worldwide. Her latest role is her most exciting yet, as she leads the newly launched Elegant Hotel Collection, a carefully curated global collection of luxury properties characterised by their style, elegance and charm.

Martine de Geus

Director of Marketing & Communications at Mayfair’s Beaumont Hotel

Martine de Geus started her hotel career at The Dorchester as PR Manager and rose to become VP of Marketing for Dorchester Collection, launching the brand globally in 2006. She ran her own consultancy for six years, with famed London restaurateurs Corbin & King as one of her clients. She joined the company full-time, responsible for marketing, communications and distribution strategies for all the restaurants, including The Wolseley and Brasserie Zedel, as well as The Beaumont, where she remained when the hotel was sold to a private investor in 2018.

Renee Murrieta

Founder of  Show.Tell. Hospitality Marketing

Renee Murrieta, founder of  Show.Tell. Hospitality Marketing , is a passionate hospitality professional with 18+ years of experience across diverse sectors of the industry. Her early years in restaurant and hotel operations are complemented by 12+ years leading and innovating in hospitality marketing roles. She developed a passion for digital marketing, copywriting, consumer engagement, and public relations in these roles, which led to her tenure as the Director of Marketing for Noble House Hotels & Resorts, one of the U.S.’s top independent hotel and resort collections.

A move to London in 2021 inspired the creation of Show.Tell., where Renee and her team play an integral role in the marketing strategy of top-tier hotels, resorts, and hospitality tech companies.

John Seaton

Chief Evangelist and Managing Director International, Cendyn

John is responsible for driving Cendyn’s growth and expansion across the globe. Prior to joining Cendyn, John’s 20+ years in the hospitality industry has been focused in sales, marketing, distribution and hospitality technology. John has held a number of senior management positions at companies including eRevMax, Pegasus Solutions, HBSi and Global Hotel Alliance.

Susanne Williams

Consulting Director at Journey Hospitality

Utilising her unique industry experience - both on-property and in consulting roles - Williams acts as an outsourced CCO for hospitality groups, creating commercial frameworks which drive profit for operators, asset management firms and investment funds. 

Prior to joining Journey, Williams was Client Director at Alliants where her role included revitalising a UK Leisure hotel brand acting as Interim CCO and running projects for global luxury brands focussing on the online guest experience. 

She previously spent 10 years as managing director of an agency driving commercial performance for independent hotels, which is her driving passion. Growing sales for luxury hotels and brands.

Martin Paice

Head of Data and Technology, Valcon

Martin leads the Data and Technology capability pillars at Valcon. He has spent the last 15 years working with a range of clients across industries to implement and industrialise innovative Data Science and AI solutions to drive their business operations.

Louisa Watson

Director of Marketing, Wyboston Lakes

Louisa Watson is a hungry and dynamic Marketing & PR Director with over 20 years’ experience in her field. Offering professional expertise and experience in Brand strategy, web development, PPC and SEO, digital comms including social media strategy, CRM strategy, commercial product development. Fundraising, sponsorship and partnership activity, lead generation, as well as traditional marketing & PR strategy. 

Louisa is experienced in both B2B and B2C markets in both the UK and internationally. 

As Director of Marketing for Wyboston Lakes Resort and Wyboston Venue Management, Louisa is fortunate to combine her passion and experience with Hotel, Spa and Leisure along with Conference, Management Training and Events. She is also heavily involved with the sustainability projects on the Resort and is such Sustainability Director for beam Association.

Rita Varga

CEO, RaizUp

Rita is the CEO of RaizUp, a non-profit organization and consultancy that aims to scale diverse teams globally in the travel and hospitality industry. She is also a business development consultant for the travel and tech industry, certified Intercultural Trainer, facilitating programs and workshops that challenge the status quo, and promote equity and inclusion in the workplace, and beyond.

With 20 years+ of experience in sales and account management roles in various travel technology companies, such as D-EDGE, Infor, and Availpro, Rita has a deep understanding of the market’s needs, trends, skills, and competencies required to succeed in this dynamic and competitive sector.

She is also a founding team member of HERA by Hotel ResBot, an AI-powered email reservation assistant for hotels.

Tanja Furby

Director of Hotel Opening and Transitions Yotel

An all round hospitality professional with first hand experience in both independent, standalone restaurants, bars and hotels as well as fully immersed in largest hospitality brands on the market. Between direct management and consultancy capacity, Tanja covered the entire spectrum of operational and strategic, including conceptualisation through to delivery in hospitality roles across London, UK and abroad.

Jakob Lindh Tripolitis

Head of E-commerce, Nobis Hospitality Group

 Jakob is serving as the Head of E-commerce at Nobis Hospitality Group. With experience in the e-commerce landscape, Jakob leads strategic initiatives to enhance the digital presence of the group, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience for guests across their diverse portfolio of hospitality offerings.