22 January 2009

No Vacancy attracts strong support

SYDNEY - A powerful speaking line-up has been announced for No Vacancy - Australiaââ¬â¢s leading accommodation industry conference, being held in Sydney on March 19, 2009.

The No Vacancy programme features industry leaders, panels, case studies, presentations and debate. The central themes are Inspiration, Distribution and Innovation.

One of the highlights is an interview with Robbie Cooke, CEO of Wotif.com, which last financial year sold almost five million room nights and now claims 41 percent of Australiaââ¬â¢s online accommodation market.

Thereââ¬â¢s a focus on distribution and marketing strategies while the spotlight also is thrown on the budget hotel sector market, new online entrants, pricing and revenue management and the challenges ahead.

No Vacancy also takes a step back from pure profit to hear from Ronni Kahn, founder of Oz Harvest, a charity which ââ¬Åâœrescuesââ¬~ and recycles food that would otherwise be discarded by the accommodation industry.

Other confirmed speakers include:

Rachel Argaman, CEO Toga Hospitality; Paul Constantinou, Chairman, Quest Serviced Apartments;

Grant Colquhoun, Director of Hotels - Asia Pacific, Travelocity; Len Cordiner, CEO, whl.travel;

AdrianCurrie, MD Australia NZ, Booking.com, Chairman of Agoda.com; Dean Dransfield, MD, Dransfield Hotels & Resorts;

Alan Featherby, CEO, Rendezvous Hotels and Resorts International; Paul Fischmann, CEO, Eight Hotels

Ryan Flanagan, Associate Director - eComerce, Marriott International; Sebastian Fontanarossa, Director of Strategic Marketing ââ¬'Pacific, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts International Operations;

Gabi Kool, Managing Director, Voila Hotel Rewards; Nick McCaw, Director, Hotel SO.

Ken Minnikin, Director of Marketing, Stella Hospitality Group; Cyril Ranque, VP Partner Services Group, Asia-Pacific, Expedia;

Maria Taylor, Vice President Distribution, Accor Asia Pacific; Adrian Williams, General Manager, Formule 1 Hotels Australia;

Michael Walmsley, General Manager, Hitwise; Jon Wild, Global Marketing Director, HotelClub.com

Almost 240 delegates attended the 2008 No Vacancy event.

No Vacancy is produced by Travel Trends, which also owns the TRAVELtech and Search Engine Room conferences, plus the Travel Trends newsletter and website ââ¬' www.traveltrends.biz.

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