Progressions-Directions

Karen Plumb has been appointed to the newly created role of commercial director, EMEA, for business listings at TripAdvisor.
 

She will lead the team, who are part of the new Tripadvisor for business division, and be responsible for positioning Business Listings as an essential channel for the EMEA hospitality industry to connect with travelers, according to the site.
 

“Tripadvisor are hoping to utilize Plumb’s years of experience in the hotel industry and in online media. Her last role at Pegasus Solutions saw her organizing the e-marketing for Utell Hotelts & Resorts,” the company says.
 

"Karen’s arrival and the wealth of experience she brings will significantly strengthen our B2B efforts and dramatically change the way the tourism industry markets to travelers," said Nathan Clapton, vice president of partnerships for TripAdvisor.
 

Business Listings was launched in January 2010 and provides an opportunity for hoteliers to connect directly to researching travelers with the aim of converting them to paying guests.
 

Todd Wynne-Parry has been named vice president, development, for Pan Pacific Hotels Group, North America.
 

“In his new appointment, Todd will focus on identifying, negotiating and securing hotel management contracts in North America to drive the development of the Group’s Pan Pacific brand in major gateway markets,” the company says.
 

He brings onboard 30 years of hospitality experience and has been primarily involved in the development aspect of the business – charting career successes with InterContinental Hotels Group, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Westin Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International.
 

In his most recent role as Director of Development for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific with InterContinental Hotels Group, Todd negotiated and closed management contracts which added 13 InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn branded hotels to the Group’s development pipeline in the Australasia region.
 

Scott Brodows was named new executive vice president for Travel Tripper, a provider of hotel direct distribution solutions.
 

“With the launch of our RezTrip 2.0 booking engine, Travel Tripper is poised to accelerate its growth and extend its product lead in the hotel direct distribution space”, says Gautam Lulla, Travel Tripper’s Chief Operating Officer, adding:
 

“Scott has a proven track record of scaling businesses in our industry, and we are excited for him to contribute his expertise to Travel Tripper”
 

Many properties are overly reliant on third party retailers to fill rooms because hoteliers find it difficult to generate sufficient business through direct sales channels. Travel Tripper’s singular focus is to help hotels grow revenue sourced directly from consumers.
 

Brodows spent a number of years at Sabre Holdings where he held several management positions including Chief Operating Officer of SynXis, a Sabre company. He has also held the position of Chief Operating Officer of Higher Ed Holdings – a service provider to public Universities – and worked in the Financial Services and Marketing Research industries.
 

By David Wilkening