Choice Hotels reacts to soaring tourism growth with hire of new Development Manager

Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, one of Australasia’s largest hotel franchise groups, has just announced the appointment of new Development Manager Liz Galea in response to soaring tourism growth over the past 12 months, both in New Zealand and abroad.

Ms Galea is tasked with supporting rigorous franchise growth within New Zealand and Australia and will be responsible for continuing Choice Hotels’ drive towards adding new properties to its ever-increasing portfolio. Ms Galea will utilise her 20-year career in hospitality, sales, brokering and business development to help Choice Hotels continue its strong growth momentum from the past 12 months.

This momentum is reflected by Tourism New Zealand’s latest figures, highlighting that the total international visitor numbers are forecast to grow 44 percent from 2015 to 2022. Total international visitor days are also projected to increase 48 percent within the same time frame[i]

The appointment of a new Development Manager couldn’t have come at a better time for the franchisor, with international visitors staying an average of 20 nights whilst in New Zealand[ii]. Capitalising on the expected tourism growth and adding more properties to the Choice portfolio throughout New Zealand will be an important task for Ms Galea.

Following her appointment, Ms Galea said, “I’m thrilled to join the Choice Hotels Asia-Pac family in the development team. Having worked in hospitality for two decades it’s exciting to see how the hotel industry is growing and evolving. I’m really looking forward to helping Choice Hotels grow its presence of brands across both Australia and New Zealand.”

“As a former owner and operator of two hotels, I understand how demanding and difficult it can be to manage a hotel on your own. I look forward to developing relationships with prospective new franchisees across Australia and New Zealand, and showing them the significant benefits that come with partnering with Choice Hotels,” Ms Galea added.

Choice Hotels provides franchisees with significant benefits and system tools, including an award winning property management system, global distribution and reservation systems, national sales and marketing programs and operational support.

General Manager for Development for Choice Hotels Asia-Pac, Daniel Kitch, said last year Choice Hotels delivered 550,000 overnight stays to properties in Australia and New Zealand, an increase of almost 30 percent on the previous year.

“It’s clear that in order for us to keep up momentum we must continue to add fresh and new properties to our portfolio. We are excited by Liz’s appointment and have the utmost confidence in her to help lead the property growth throughout Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Kitch said.

Choice Hotels Asia-Pac is one of the largest hotel franchisors in Asia Pacific, with more than 270 hotels across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

                                                                                                                                                                  

[i] New Zealand Tourism Forecasts 2016-2022 Report, Ministry of Innovation and Employment, May 2016

[ii] New Zealand Tourism Forecasts 2016-2022 Report, Ministry of Innovation and Employment, May 2016