ADVISORY BOARD

Thomas is responsible for strategic and technical leadership of the global revenue management team, which operates more than 350 hotels in 40 countries. “I believe that decision making in innovative Revenue Management is a multidimensional process, based on all available parameters in order to optimize the result of each individual property. For a brand such decision making must be based on the strategic direction of its brand and requires the close collaboration of sales, marketing and distribution on all organizational layers.”

Fabian Specht joined IDeaS in 1999 as Director Business Development and Distribution for Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EMEA). Based in Düsseldorf (Germany), Fabian leads since April 2010 the EMEA business for IDeaS, dedicating most of his time to the subject of revenue management & pricing and meeting in the region clients, prospects, partners and attend industry events, conferences and trade shows. Prior to joining IDeaS in 1999, Fabian spent 6 years with Fidelio Software and later Micros-Fidelio in Munich and Slough, UK. Previous to starting his experience in the hotel technology sector, he worked 7 years for Inter-Continental Hotels & Resorts across multiple properties in Europe, Middle East and the United States.

Michael Hucho (born 1970) completed a training course in hotel management at the Arabella Alpenhotel on Lake Spitzingsee, Germany, from 1988 to 1991. In 1998 he was awarded the Bavarian State Government’s Master Prize as a “Hotelmeister” (Chamber of Commerce-certified hotel manager). Before joining Accor in 2006, Michael Hucho gained extensive experience with hotel chains and in privately owned hotels. This included positions of managerial responsibility in sales, online marketing and distribution and rooms divisions. For example, from 2000 to 2006 he was responsible for 35 franchised Holiday Inn and Best Western Hotels as Online Marketing Manager. At Accor, Michael Hucho initially took responsibility for online sales through third parties, as Director E-Distribution. Then, in 2009, he became Vice President Distribution, assuming overall responsibility for online direct marketing (accorhotels.com and Brand.com), online partner sales with global key account responsibility and groups distribution (business and leisure groups) and voice (call centre distribution). Since January 2014 Michael Hucho has been Vice President Distribution Central Europe, holding responsibility for the Group’s 400+ hotels in eight countries.

Since 2016, Richard Wiegmann is a member of the Sabre Hospitality Solutions Executive Team, responsible for the acquired Trust Group business, as well as for the Sabre Hospitality Solutions Business in the EMEA region. Based out of the Sabre Frankfurt/Germany office, Richard’s responsibilities include business development, strategy, marketing, client relationships, global contact centers as well as operations and financial and administrative services in the EMEA region. Prior to joining Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Richard Wiegmann held executive positions within IHS, a Battery Venture company, Trust International and Travelport (a former owner of Trust). During his time with Travelport he also served as Vice President of Hospitality EMEA & Asia Pacific. Before this he held several positions within AMADEUS, Bertelsmann and DER. His experience includes technology, distribution and reservation operations but also logistics and tour operator management.

Michael Simon re-joined Marriott end of 2014 as General Manager Distribution for EMEA & APAC. He started his career in mid-80s with the Walt Disney company in the US and later held various management positions within Airline segment before joining the hospitality industry in 1998 as Director Intermediary Sales for Marriott. As of 2002 he was in charge of Marriott’s Global Sales in Austria, Germany and Switzerland and later was leading the Sales & Marketing efforts for Marriott in Eastern Europe. Between 2009 - 2014 Michael served as Managing Director on the board of the HRS Group. First in charge of Hotel Procurement & Supplier Relations and later Corporate Solutions. Prior to his current position Michael served as a board member of Romantik Hotels & Restaurants AG.

Niels Schröder is the Managing Director of Fairmas GmbH, a software company specialized in the development of planning and controlling solutions for the hospitality industry and market analysis. As a Bachelor of Hotel Administration he gained his profound knowledge within the international hotel industry over a period of 12 years completing this career section with a regional Revenue Management Position. Due to his excellent business experience especially within Revenue Management as well as in Sales & Marketing, he is highly aware of the specific industry’s needs and requirements particularly from a user's perspective. In his current role, he is not only responsible for the overall business operation but also for the strategic positioning and product development.

Björn Nilse has been Director of Hotel Solutions with the HRS Group since July 2014. In this position, he leads the Sales Team for the DACH regions and is responsible for the acquisition and support of hotel partners. His team consults hotels with regard to optimal occupancy and sales increase. Before joining the HRS Group, Björn worked in several leadership roles at international hotel chains like IHG, Starwood and Radisson with a strong background in Revenue Management & Sales

Peter Hense advises well-known national and international companies in their implementation of digital business models in the areas of IT, data protection and competition law, especially in the commerce, travel, flight and hotel industries.
 He founded the partnership Spirit Legal LLP in the year 2011, their major area of focus being on those issues which arise when business meets technology. Before that his career included working for an Italian lawyer’s office specialising in public telecommunications and trademark law, a British law firm as well as a number of e-commerce and IT companies. Peter Hense studied and completed his practical training in Leipzig and Rome.
 Peter Hense is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the German Association for Data Protection and Data Security (GDD), the Travel Industry Club e.V. and the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association Deutschland e.V. (HSMA). In 2012 he became a Director of Hotelprotect e.V., an association run under the auspices of the German Hotel Association (IHA) which is dedicated to legal certainty in the travel and hospitality sectors.

Chris is the Director of Revenue, Distribution & Digital Strategy at Rocco Forte Hotels, a major player in the luxury hotel market, with a diverse portfolio comprising of 12 hotels and resorts in Europe and the Middle East. Chris' career in Revenue Management spans over 16 years. Having completed his BA (Hons) in Hospitality Management in Edinburgh, he joined InterContinental Hotel’s Fast Track programme. During a ten year tenure, Chris worked in numerous Operational and Revenue Management roles throughout Europe, latterly assuming the role of Divisional Revenue Manager UK & Ireland across all IHG brands. From IHG, Chris moved to the role of Head of Revenue and later onto Head of Commercial at the Mint Hotel Group.

Torsten has 25 years experience in the hospitality industry. Started in many different areas like catering and F&B his core career was built in the Front Office area. After being a Front Office Manager for many years he moved into a central revenue management position for 25 hotels. He worked for Holiday Inn, Best Western, Lindner Hotels, Queens Hotels and Four Points by Sheraton. Now he is with Worldhotels for 8 years being responsible for distribution, technology and revenue related matters on a global level. If he is not taking care about the almost 500 Worldhotels properties he is spending time with his family and friends and he likes to spend his free time with mountain biking.

Henning Möhn joined Steigenberger in Nov 2011 as Regional Commercial Director North Based in Hamburg ( Germany ) Henning advises dedicated hotels in topics of revenue management, pricing, sales, marketing and analysis optimizing hotels fair share and revenue performance. Before joining Steigenberger, Henning held various positions in revenue management. From 2006-2011 Henning was member of a national sales office Frankfurt driving RM for 21 hotels in Germany. Prior he started his revenue expertise in the Kempinski and Grand Elysee hotel in Hamburg. Starting his hospitality carreer back in 1992 Henning bring along a longtime responsibility on local as well as on regional management level as well as a bright network both on customer and industry level.

Brendan May joined Snapshot.travel in early 2015. Prior to that he was working on a number of projects focused on Revenue Management. For the last 6 years Brendan was responsible for Business Development and Sales, Central & Eastern Europe with IDeaS – A SAS Company and has been helping hotels and chains solve difficult challenges in Revenue Management. Before joining IDeaS, Brendan was Director of Client Services at h2c consulting, a consulting firm specialized in hotel distribution, and Technology Research Analyst at the travel research company PhoCusWright, a position which further increased his broad travel technology expertise. Prior to that, Brendan gained operational experience with various hotels in Europe and North America including both chains and independent properties, such as the prestigious Hotel im Wasserturm in Cologne. Brendan graduated with honors from the University of Guelph School of Hotel and Food Administration (HAFA).

Wilhelm K. Weber, Partner at SHS Swiss Hospitality Solutions graduated from the Swiss Hotel School in Lucerne and continued his studies in Zurich, St Gallen, UK and at Cornell. Wilhelm started his first business importing Mountain Bikes from South Corea at the age of 14 and could not stop his entrepreneurial enthusiasm till today. The latest investment was in Top-Alliance, a limousine company specialized in large events. Wilhelm is the president of the Swiss Hospitality Marketing Association and serves on several boards. He won Cornell’s award for strategic pricing and was named “Europen Young Industry Leader” for his role in defining a job role for revenue managers. His passion for this subject can also be seen as the author of two books and numerous articles on Revenue Management and Distribution, which he also lectures at various Hotel Schools and Universities.

Hajo is the CEO of Ennit interactive, a leading developer and provider for websites and eCommerce concepts, like individual web booking engines, shop applications and so on. ennit has knowledge in internet travel and hotel business since 1997.

Heiko Siebert (49) is currently in the process of founding a company in Switzerland. The focus of his consulting and training services will be online marketing and distribution in the hospitality industry and tourism, including strategic questions, planning, technical requirements, implementation, and training support. Until June 2013 Heiko worked 12 years at Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts, first as Director Reservations and Revenue Management, and later as Vice President of Distribution. His activities included the development and implementation of distribution strategies, the management of the MH&R Reservation Systems and Reservation Offices, and maintenance and development of the corporate website site. He was also in charge of the analysis, contract negotiation and integration of new distribution technologies and channels. He has a broad industry experience due to his previous activities at Arabella Sheraton, Intercontinental and Holiday Inn. He holds a Certificate in Hospitality Management of Cornell University, and a Master of Business Administration of Rotterdam School of Management.