23 Tradewinds is a hospitality operations consultancy. I help owners open properly, turn losses around and get audit-ready, remotely or on site, across Southeast Asia, the Pacific, India and beyond.
Most jobs touch more than one of these. Each line below says what I do and where I've done it before.
I set up the operation before the doors open: structure, systems, recruitment, training, menus and the opening plan, so day one isn't the first real test.
Mei Ho House, a 129-room heritage hotel in Hong Kong. Brisbane City YHA, 113 rooms and 372 beds, where I was General Manager.
I go through the numbers and the floor together to find where the money is leaking: pricing, distribution, labour, costs and service. Then I fix it with you, or hand you a plan your team can run.
Held about 92% occupancy year-round at Ramada Resort Port Douglas. Ovolo Southside ranked first in its competitive set on RGI while I was General Manager.
Concept, menu design and costing, service flow and staffing. I've opened venues, relaunched tired ones and run several outlets at once.
Ovolo Southside F&B ran at about HKD 50,000 a day across roughly 200 covers. I opened Te Quiero Mucho and relaunched the rooftop bar Above by Komune.
Send me the plans before the money is spent. I review them as the person who will have to run the place: guest flow, back of house, kitchen layout, staffing, and what each choice will cost to operate. You get marked-up notes, usually done remotely.
Three full redevelopments, from Cairns Central YHA to Mei Ho House, plus renovation proposals across the Ovolo properties.
I check your property against brand standards, food safety, liquor licensing and heritage or council requirements, then give you a short list of what to fix and in what order.
Ran compliance and licence tracking across a three-property group in Rotorua. Kept Mei Ho House inside its heritage requirements while it operated as a hotel and museum.
Shared services, manning models tied to occupancy, rate and distribution audits, and one operating system across the group. I'm also available as interim General Manager while you recruit.
Built a shared services model and an occupancy-based manning framework for a three-property group, and took all three properties onto one property management system.
Remote, on site, or both. I scope each job to the problem, so it suits a family business as well as a group.
Tell me what's happening. If I'm not the right person, I'll say so and point you to someone who is.
I go through your numbers, plans or operation and give you written findings with priorities, so you know what matters first.
I can stay on to put the changes in place and train your team, or you can take the plan and carry it out yourselves.
Often a first-time owner or a family business: new to hospitality, stretched thin and watching money disappear. I help you open properly, stop the losses and build something you can run.
More often an established operator who needs to pass an audit, meet brand standards or run several properties more efficiently.
Based in New Zealand, and available anywhere in the world, remotely or on site.
A few jobs that show the range. The full career history is on the portfolio page.
YHA Mei Ho House, Hong Kong
A former public housing block turned into a hotel and museum inside a HKD 280 million government joint venture. I was pre-opening General Manager and ran it to 2017 with a team of more than 50. Annual revenue went above HKD 40 million, and the project won a UNESCO Honourable Mention.
Ovolo Southside, Hong Kong
160 rooms in Wong Chuk Hang with three F&B venues and a black-box event space. I was General Manager from 2019 to 2024. F&B ran at about HKD 50,000 a day on roughly 200 covers, and the event space hosted launches for Bentley, Aston Martin and Ferrari.
Ramada Resort Port Douglas, Queensland
199 rooms run as a mix of timeshare and a letting pool with individual owners. Occupancy held at about 92% year-round, with a guest satisfaction score of 8.9 across twelve months, by managing owner and paying-guest inventory tightly.
Three properties, Rotorua, 2026
I ran Princes Gate (51 rooms, heritage), Black Swan Lakeside and Hana Lodge. All three went onto one property management system, with a shared services model, an occupancy-based manning framework and a full rate and OTA audit run by an interim revenue advisor.
Three redevelopments, from plans to opening day. This is the experience behind the design reviews.
A new three-storey building joined to the renovated original. I was assistant manager through the project, then General Manager.
A knock-down and rebuild of a five-storey building, joined to a renovated front building. Rooftop pool and bar, large communal kitchen and co-working space. I was General Manager.
A heritage conversion with a public housing museum on site. Pre-opening through to full operation.
I'm Damian, a New Zealander who has spent more than twenty years running hotels, hostels, restaurants and bars in Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and New Zealand.
I started with YHA Australia in 2002, ran regional development for Hostelling International across Asia Pacific and the Indian Subcontinent, opened Mei Ho House in Hong Kong, ran Ovolo Southside, and most recently ran three properties in Rotorua. I've also built a business of my own from scratch on Cheung Chau Island in Hong Kong.
23 Tradewinds is the consultancy I set up for this work. The name comes from the earth's 23.4° tilt, which draws the tropic lines around most of the markets I work in. The trade winds blow between them.
A few lines is plenty. I read every message myself and reply personally.
Prefer LinkedIn? Message me there.