Our international guest speaker for 2024 is Hospitality Changemaker, Visionary and Co-Founder of citizenM  – Michael Levie.

Michael Levie; upon graduating from Essec MBA in hospitality management (IMHI Cornell / Essec), worked for various international hotel chains including Sonesta International Hotels Corporation and NH Hoteles all over the world. As Vice-President of Operations, he managed large hotel portfolios. Michael also worked for SynXis, where he started and headed up the European office.

Michael Levie is a founding partner of citizenM hotels and was responsible for the hotel side of the company. Currently Michael’s focus is on assisting organizations in the hospitality space, who accelerate and impact transformation.

Chip Rogers joined the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) as President and CEO in January 2019. AHLA is America’s only national association dedicated to serving the interests of the entire hotel and lodging industry.

In his role as President & CEO, Chip has led the AHLA team and the lodging industry to achieve tangible results for AHLA members. Subsequently, he has received numerous awards and has been recognized as one of the 25 most influential by Business Travel News, as one of the most influential people in Washington D.C. by Washingtonian magazine, Top 50 Most Influential Leaders in Hospitality, USA, and Global by Hospitality Index, a Freedom Award recipient from ECPAT-USA and twice as a top lobbyist by the Hill newspaper.

Under Chip’s leadership, AHLA was named as “100 Associations That Will Save the World” by ASAE, was honored with the White House “Presidential Award for its Pledge to America’s Workers” and was recognized with the PR Week Purpose Awards 2020.

In addition to leading AHLA, Chip is a member of the board of directors for the United States Travel Association, Community Leaders of America, and the California Hotel & Lodging Association. Prior to joining the hospitality industry, Chip served in the Georgia General Assembly. He was elected to office six times and was unanimously elected twice to serve as Senate majority leader.

Chip earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech and his MBA from Georgia State.

The inaugural CEO of Accommodation Australia – National, Michael has more than thirty years of experience at the highest levels of the tourism accommodation sector across Australia and New Zealand.

As head of Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA National and NSW) since May 2019, Michael spearheaded the sector’s response to COVID, steering it through its darkest days in more than 100 years and representing the accommodation sector in the halls of power in Canberra and Sydney and in the media. A former long-time general manager of four- and five-star hotels, Michael lives and breathes the industry and is committed to providing all members with the highest levels of service and representation.

As CEO of TAA – and interim CEO of the Accommodation Association of Australia since October 2022 (the first person to hold both roles) – Michael has been pivotal in the amalgamation of Australia’s two peak accommodation bodies – a merger he has described as a long-held “dream come true.”

Michael epitomises the resilience of the accommodation sector and whether it’s encouraging the next generation of young hotel workers to build a successful career in hospitality or drawing attention to the needs of the industry at the highest levels, he is an enthusiastic and effective ambassador for the accommodation sector.

Martin Bookallil is an Australian national hospitality technology leader who graduated with a Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management. He has been contributing to global hospitality groups for 40 years, including 25 years at Marriott and spent the early years of his career within hotel operations in Australia. Subsequently Martin has predominantly been based in Hong Kong and focused on Asia-Pacific IT.

Martin reports to the Global Chief Information and Digital Officer and Regional Presidents for China/non-China as the APAC IT discipline leader for a team of 1,500+ associates covering IT operations, field support, openings/conversions, guest experience, technology infrastructure/cloud, applications, digital partnerships, and PMO functions. Martin is a member of HTNG and ENTJ type for Myer Briggs.

The scope of coverage is to 31 brands amongst 810+ managed and 200+ franchise properties, 30+ company offices with 400+ active pipeline properties.

Brands include: Bulgari, The Ritz-Carlton, The Ritz-Carlton Reserve, EDITION, W, St. Regis, JW Marriott, The Luxury Collection, Le Méridien, Westin, Marriott, Sheraton, Renaissance, Autograph Collection, City Express, Moxy, Courtyard, Four Points, Fairfield, AC, Aloft, Element, Tribute, Delta, Design, and Marriott Executive Apartments, Gaylord, Marriott Vacation Club, Protea, Springhill Suites and Towne Place (some of which are year to arrive in APAC). Martin’s favorite brands are Westin and EDITION.

An industry all-rounder, Tish Nyar brings strong operational and strategic experience to his role as Senior Director of Operations for Australia and New Zealand. With TFE Hotels, currently amid a significant transition with a number of hotels in the development pipeline in Australia and New Zealand, Tish’s role has been to align the operations team and lay foundations for the growth ahead across six brands including TFE Hotels Collection and A by Adina properties. His wide range of expertise has been gained over 30 years in the hotel industry and has a proven track record in Operational & Strategic management. His overall industry experience can also be seen in his work with the NSW AA team & past involvement with on the Board Accommodation Australia Board, TAA – AHA National and NSW and National Accommodation Division Board, his Strategic Management Certification from Macquarie University Graduate School of Management, Advanced diploma of Hotel Manager form the Blue Mountains International Hotel School. Tish currently manages a team of three Area General Managers and 50 hotel managers across TFE Hotels’ Australia and New Zealand network.