TIA Hotel Regional Chairs

Auckland Region

Paul Columbus

General Manager, Novotel Auckland Airport

Paul Columbus has more than 35 years’ experience in the hotel sector, including 10 years in senior management roles in New Zealand with Millennium Copthorne Hotels and other groups in a variety of hotels. He returned to New Zealand from the UK in 2011 to pilot the launch of Novotel Auckland Airport. In 2012 he also became responsible for the ibis Budget hotel, overseeing a 73 room extension project to that hotel. He has always had a strong involvement with the local community, including a representative on local Chamber of Commerce groups and chairing the Sheffield hotel sector group. He won the Senior Hotel Executive Award in the 2015 New Zealand Hotel Industry Awards.

Central Park Region

Rob Poole

General Manager, Art Deco Masonic Hotel Napier & Expressotel Napier

Rob Poole has over 30 years’ experience in the tourism industry, having worked in senior roles for hotels, visitor attractions and airlines. He has recently moved to Napier as the General Manager of the Art Deco Masonic Hotel & the Expressotel.

Prior to moving to the Hawkes Bay, Rob worked for Skyline Queenstown for six years. He then joined Accor and has taken on various General Manager roles for 12 years in Dunedin and Wellington. More recently he was with Air New Zealand as the Customer Service Manager at Wellington Airport.

Rob has been involved in many local community and business groups and is looking forward to the opportunity of getting out and exploring Hawkes Bay on his bike, time permitting.

Wellington Region

Anthony Dey

General Manager, Brentwood Hotel

Anthony Dey has been General Manager of the independently-owned Brentwood Hotel for the past seven years. Prior to that he was the hotel's Executive Assistant Manager for 13 years.

Anthony has 25 years experience working in hotels in Wellington and Melbourne. He has been a member of the WelTec Industry Partnership Committee since 1999 and a Kilbirnie Business Improvement District Committee member since 2015.

Nelson/Marlborough Region

Lynley McKinnon

General Manager Chateau Marlborough

Lynley has 30 years’ experience in the travel and tourism industry. Her experience in the hotel sector started 20 years ago at the Chateau Marlborough where, after five years, she went on to become the Hotel General Manager. Prior to this, Lynley worked in the training sector as a travel and tourism tutor.

As General Manager, Lynley dedicates a lot of her time to training and upskilling employees across all departments and is involved in many community initiatives.

Lynley recently joined the Destination Marlborough Board as a Trustee and was appointed as Nelson/Marlborough Regional Hotel Chairperson for TIA in September 2019.

Canterbury Region

Reinier Eulink

General Manager, Crowne Plaza, Christchurch

Reinier has over 25 years’ experience in the hotel industry covering a number of large international hotels throughout London and New Zealand.

Reinier joined the InterContinental Hotels Group in 2008 at Holiday Inn Wellington before moving to Christchurch in 2010 as General Manager of Holiday Inn City Centre.

After the Christchurch earthquakes, Reinier relocated to Crowne Plaza Queenstown where he was General Manager for 6+ successful years.

In 2017 the opportunity to open the new Crowne Plaza Christchurch meant that Reinier and family relocated back to Christchurch. With the city recovering from the earthquakes there are exciting times ahead with some of the major anchor projects finishing over the coming years.

Reinier has been Deputy Chairman of the Central City Business Association in Christchurch and is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees at Merrin School. Originally from The Netherlands, Reinier now calls New Zealand home.

Queenstown Region

Catherine Bone

General Manager, Edgewater Resort Hotel, Wanaka

Edgewater has always been and still is a supportive member of TIA and is the largest active TIA member accommodation provider in Wanaka.

Edgewater has very close affiliations with Queenstown and the Queenstown GMs and Wanaka have always worked closely together. Catherine's appointment of the Queenstown Lakes District Regional Chair for TIA is important, and she is excited by the opportunity to be able to have insight into the industry at this level. Catherine has also recently been nominated onto the Board of Lake Wanaka Tourism.

With a diploma in Hotel Management, an Adult and Tertiary Educator qualification and an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability, Catherine's career in the hotel and hospitality sector spans over 30 years. She has international experience having managed hotels & resorts in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. She has also worked in the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Catherine is also a tutor at Queenstown Resort College teaching Business and Hotel Sales & Marketing. She sees this as an opportunity to give back to the industry and help to bring on the next generation.

Rotorua Region

Ann Gregor-Greene

Lodge Manager, Peppers on the Point

Ann Gregor–Greene has over 25 years' experience in the tourism industry, cutting her teeth with the opening of Novotel Rotorua in 1996.

She has held two roles within RTOs, the first with Destination Rotorua as Conference and Incentive Manager and then in Hawke’s Bay as International Trade Manager.

Other roles saw her involved in the 1999-2000 America’s Cup, where she managed a fleet of eight luxury charger vessels for On Board NZ; joint-venturing with America's Cup Village Ltd; eight years with Volcanic Air and, prior to coming back to Rotorua to manage Peppers on the Point, supporting the launch of premier Manuka Honey Brand, The True Honey Co, now a global brand.

TIA Hotel Regional Chairs

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