A powerful speaking line-up was today announced for No Vacancy - Australia’s leading accommodation industry conference, which is being held in Sydney on March 19, 2009.

No Vacancy features a provocative, relevant program packed with 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% of Australia’s online accommodation market.

There’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 “rescues” and recycles food that would otherwise be discarded by the accommodation industry. Confirmed speakers include:

  • Rachel Argaman, CEO Toga Hospitality
  • Paul Constantinou, Chairman, Quest Serviced Apartments
  • Robbie Cooke, CEO, Wotif.com
  • Grant Colquhoun, Director of Hotels - Asia Pacific, Travelocity
  • Len Cordiner, CEO, whl.travel
  • Adrian Currie, 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 –Pacific, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts International Operations
  • Gabi Kool, Managing Director, Voila Hotel Rewards
  • Ronni Kahn, Founding Director, OzHarvest
  • 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 1Hotels Australia
  • Michael Walmsley, General Manager, Hitwise
  • Jon Wild, Global Marketing Director, HotelClub.com

Over the past two years No Vacancy has established a strong reputation for dynamic programming and great networking - almost 240 delegates attended the 2008 event.

No Vacancy is produced by Travel Trends, which also owns the successful TRAVELtech and Search Engine Room conferences, plus the popular Travel Trends newsletter and website –

If you have any questions, please call Martin Kelly on (02) 9882-1575.

Mark Harvey
Managing Director
+61 7 5510 5101
TRAVELtech