Our Clients
Our Team
Mike Appleton
Chief Executive Officer
Prior to joining Hotel Connections as COO, Mike worked at Credit Suisse in their investment management division. After one year at Hotel Connections Mike was promoted to President and assumed the position of CEO in 2019.
Mike received his law degree and MBA. Mike is on the board of directors of Make a Wish foundation for Southern Florida and is a member of the Florida Bar.
Chris Holdsworth
Chief Innovation Officer
Chris is an experienced travel, technology & marketing executive with experience in multiple business sectors. He currently leads our technology and infrastructure organization and is focused on building and enhancing our suite of technology offerings.
Chris’s previous experience in a multitude of technology, travel and digital marketing companies from startups to large conglomerates has led to his success as an industry innovator.
Zalman Makher
SVP Business Management
Zalman is responsible for supporting the various departments in driving and executing our company strategy and goals. He is focused on bringing competitive advantages to our company
Zalman joined Hotel Connections in 2016 as Director of Analytics and Reporting and later led Global Strategy and Execution.
Zalman has a strong background in Finance, Analytics and Business Management. Prior to Hotel Connections he spent 10 years at JP Morgan in various Finance and Business Management roles within Asset Management.
Zalman received his undergraduate degree from Baruch College in Finance and Investments.
Don Toh
SVP Asia & Global Sourcing
Don joined Hotel Connections in 2010 after spending nine years working in both Flight Operations and Ground Services departments for Singapore Airlines.
Don handled airport operations in various overseas stations for Singapore Airlines, including Shanghai and Nanjing in China, Penang in Malaysia, Paris in France, and Newark in United States. During his overseas assignments, he was deeply involved with hotel and transportation contract negotiations. He was also responsible for drafting and implementing delay and crisis management plans for flight disruptions impacting ground transportation and hotel arrangements for both crew and affected passengers.
Rodrigo Prado
VP Project Management
Rodrigo is a passionate Engineer with over a decade of experience in the operations, supply chain and project management.
He started his carrier at the British American Tobacco Co. as a Logistics Project Manager in Santiago de Chile. He served various management roles working as Regional Project Manager for IT Implementations, Quality Assurance Manager and Head of Production for the Southern Cone Factory. His areas of expertise are in project planning & implementation, process efficiency, lean manufacturing, supply chain planning and customer service. Rodrigo is responsible for all client implementations and for ensuring that our customer service team always surpasses the client’s expectations.
Manuel Ley
VP Account Management
Manuel oversees the account management team. His focus is to constantly develop ways to maximize customer delivery by obtaining the best hotel solutions for our clients’ needs at the best pricing.
He holds an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and comes to Hotel Connections from TravelClick, leader in Distribution Technology and Business Intelligence for Hotels worldwide, where he led the Key Account Management department. Before TravelClick Manuel spent time with Innwise/Idiso marketing and distribution provider in Madrid working with brands such as Melia, Tryp or AC hotels.
Michelle Alava
VP Accounting and Administration
Michelle Alava is our VP of Accounting and brings over 20 years of experience in the Airline Travel industry.
Michelle handled the Accounting department at the Pan American Hotel and was responsible for several critical financial functions in the accounting department. Michelle also has a wide experience in Reservations, handling Distress Passengers.
Michelle joined the Hotel Connections’ family in 2006 as the assistant comptroller and quickly made her way up through the Accounting Department into her current role. Michelle holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting.
Wolfgang Escobedo
Director Latin America
Wolfgang Escobedo joined Hotel Connections in early 2010 to lead the Latin American region. He previously held senior procurement roles for global firms such as Aeromexico, Revlon and GlaxoSmithKlein and has managed budgets well over $50 million. He has procured a wide range of products and services including catering, inflight entertainment and major vendor management. He is based in Mexico City and leads the region’s hotel and transportation procurement efforts.
Peter Mills
Director EMEA
Peter is a seasoned procurement professional and client director with over 20 years’ experience in the global Travel & Hospitality business. Prior to joining us in April 2012, he led procurement for multi-site, branded hotel, restaurant and leisure businesses – including a multi-award winning UK Hotel Group of the Year. Peter is a credible operator with a strong record of achieving commercial and quality improvements in very client-focused environments, and is also a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
Sue Polson
Director of Sourcing, Americas
Sue has great passion for the travel industry and more than thirty years’ experience in the airline and hotel procurement field. She started her career as a flight attendant at US Airways where she also served 10 years as a Union rep for the flight attendants on the hotel committee. She is an expert in hotel sourcing, has cultivated valuable relationships with industry representatives across the globe and possesses a sound knowledge and understanding of our clients and the marketplace. Since joining Hotel Connections in 2013, Sue has led the sourcing team encompassing North and South America.
Mavis Leong
Director of Account Management, Asia
Mavis oversees all accounts throughout the Asia region and brings over 15 years of experience in the Airline Travel Industry. Mavis specializes in strengthening partnerships, developing strategic plans to enable company growth, as well as the procurement and management of multi-million dollar accounts.
In her role, Mavis coordinates cross functional teams within Market Research, Operations and IT, including servicing and managing resources in order to meet account performance objectives and customer expectations. Prior to joining Hotel Connections in 2010, Mavis worked at Singapore Airlines for 5 years within Service Development and Customer Experience departments.
- EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
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Mike Appleton
Chief Executive Officer
Prior to joining Hotel Connections as COO, Mike worked at Credit Suisse in their investment management division. After one year at Hotel Connections Mike was promoted to President and assumed the position of CEO in 2019.
Mike received his law degree and MBA. Mike is on the board of directors of Make a Wish foundation for Southern Florida and is a member of the Florida Bar.
Chris Holdsworth
Chief Innovation Officer
Chris is an experienced travel, technology & marketing executive with experience in multiple business sectors. He currently leads our technology and infrastructure organization and is focused on building and enhancing our suite of technology offerings.
Chris’s previous experience in a multitude of technology, travel and digital marketing companies from startups to large conglomerates has led to his success as an industry innovator.
Zalman Makher
SVP Business Management
Zalman is responsible for supporting the various departments in driving and executing our company strategy and goals. He is focused on bringing competitive advantages to our company
Zalman joined Hotel Connections in 2016 as Director of Analytics and Reporting and later led Global Strategy and Execution.
Zalman has a strong background in Finance, Analytics and Business Management. Prior to Hotel Connections he spent 10 years at JP Morgan in various Finance and Business Management roles within Asset Management.
Zalman received his undergraduate degree from Baruch College in Finance and Investments.
Don Toh
SVP Asia & Global Sourcing
Don joined Hotel Connections in 2010 after spending nine years working in both Flight Operations and Ground Services departments for Singapore Airlines.
Don handled airport operations in various overseas stations for Singapore Airlines, including Shanghai and Nanjing in China, Penang in Malaysia, Paris in France, and Newark in United States. During his overseas assignments, he was deeply involved with hotel and transportation contract negotiations. He was also responsible for drafting and implementing delay and crisis management plans for flight disruptions impacting ground transportation and hotel arrangements for both crew and affected passengers.
Rodrigo Prado
VP Project Management
Rodrigo is a passionate Engineer with over a decade of experience in the operations, supply chain and project management.
He started his carrier at the British American Tobacco Co. as a Logistics Project Manager in Santiago de Chile. He served various management roles working as Regional Project Manager for IT Implementations, Quality Assurance Manager and Head of Production for the Southern Cone Factory. His areas of expertise are in project planning & implementation, process efficiency, lean manufacturing, supply chain planning and customer service. Rodrigo is responsible for all client implementations and for ensuring that our customer service team always surpasses the client’s expectations.
Manuel Ley
VP Account Management
Manuel oversees the account management team. His focus is to constantly develop ways to maximize customer delivery by obtaining the best hotel solutions for our clients’ needs at the best pricing.
He holds an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and comes to Hotel Connections from TravelClick, leader in Distribution Technology and Business Intelligence for Hotels worldwide, where he led the Key Account Management department. Before TravelClick Manuel spent time with Innwise/Idiso marketing and distribution provider in Madrid working with brands such as Melia, Tryp or AC hotels.
Michelle Alava
VP Accounting and Administration
Michelle Alava is our VP of Accounting and brings over 20 years of experience in the Airline Travel industry.
Michelle handled the Accounting department at the Pan American Hotel and was responsible for several critical financial functions in the accounting department. Michelle also has a wide experience in Reservations, handling Distress Passengers.
Michelle joined the Hotel Connections’ family in 2006 as the assistant comptroller and quickly made her way up through the Accounting Department into her current role. Michelle holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting.
- REGIONAL DIRECTORS
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Wolfgang Escobedo
Director Latin America
Wolfgang Escobedo joined Hotel Connections in early 2010 to lead the Latin American region. He previously held senior procurement roles for global firms such as Aeromexico, Revlon and GlaxoSmithKlein and has managed budgets well over $50 million. He has procured a wide range of products and services including catering, inflight entertainment and major vendor management. He is based in Mexico City and leads the region’s hotel and transportation procurement efforts.
Peter Mills
Director EMEA
Peter is a seasoned procurement professional and client director with over 20 years’ experience in the global Travel & Hospitality business. Prior to joining us in April 2012, he led procurement for multi-site, branded hotel, restaurant and leisure businesses – including a multi-award winning UK Hotel Group of the Year. Peter is a credible operator with a strong record of achieving commercial and quality improvements in very client-focused environments, and is also a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
Sue Polson
Director of Sourcing, Americas
Sue has great passion for the travel industry and more than thirty years’ experience in the airline and hotel procurement field. She started her career as a flight attendant at US Airways where she also served 10 years as a Union rep for the flight attendants on the hotel committee. She is an expert in hotel sourcing, has cultivated valuable relationships with industry representatives across the globe and possesses a sound knowledge and understanding of our clients and the marketplace. Since joining Hotel Connections in 2013, Sue has led the sourcing team encompassing North and South America.
Mavis Leong
Director of Account Management, Asia
Mavis oversees all accounts throughout the Asia region and brings over 15 years of experience in the Airline Travel Industry. Mavis specializes in strengthening partnerships, developing strategic plans to enable company growth, as well as the procurement and management of multi-million dollar accounts.
In her role, Mavis coordinates cross functional teams within Market Research, Operations and IT, including servicing and managing resources in order to meet account performance objectives and customer expectations. Prior to joining Hotel Connections in 2010, Mavis worked at Singapore Airlines for 5 years within Service Development and Customer Experience departments.
