Ben Charlton

Ben Charlton

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Senior Director Commercial, Asia Pacific
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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  • Cloudbeds
    Regional Director Asia Pacific
    Cloudbeds
    May 2026 - Current (4 months)
  • TravelManagers Australia
    Consultant
    TravelManagers Australia
    Dec 2025 - Current (9 months)
  • Mahala Projects
    Founder & Principal Advisor (Contract/Projects/Interim Engagements)
    Mahala Projects
    Oct 2024 - Current (1 year 11 months)
    As the Founder of Mahala Projects, I act as a strategic advisor to the tourism and hotel industry, navigating the chaotic intersection of emerging tech and commercial reality. My work is defined by a refusal to accept the way it's always been done. Our clients have included independent hotels, regional chains, technology start-ups and established enterprise as well as travel and tourism operators. Roles: Head of Sales • Head of Supply • Digital & ECommerce Lead • Implementation Expert Skills: Operations & Reservations • Digital Marketing • E-commerce • Systems Integrations • Sales Management • Retail Sales • Digital Marketing • E-commerce • Travel Planning
  • Cards From The Bench
    Founder
    Cards From The Bench
    Apr 2020 - Current (6 years 5 months)
    Cards from the Bench was an online store focused on bringing the NBA card collecting experience to Australians. > Launched a six-figure sales website driven by customer acquisition, service, and repeat business. > Created content for social, search, and podcasting to educate customers on trends and offer advice on cards sales, purchase, and retention. > Drove profitability by signing a distribution agreement with preferred terms and managing the P&L.
  • Air Design
    Co Founder & Director
    Air Design
    Mar 2020 - Current (6 years 6 months)
    Air8 Digital is a digital marketing agency working with SME & start-ups on website design, maintenance, search, social, email, content & lead generation. > Secured a full client roster across a broad range of industries within six months of launch. > Built a team of developers, designers & copywriters to assist in executing client work. > Completed fifteen profitable projects including website builds across the major platforms & lead generation activity. > Spearheaded the client diversification strategy and transitioned the agency to its current structure.
  • Mews
    Senior Director Commercial, Asia Pacific
    Mews
    Jan 2024 - Oct 2024 (10 months)
    Mews is the leading platform for the new era of hospitality. Powering over 5,000 customers across more than 85 countries, Mews Hospitality Cloud is designed to streamline operations for modern hoteliers, transform the guest experience and create more profitable businesses. Mews was named Best PMS by Hotel Tech Report in 2024 With the Mews presence in Australia and New Zealand continuing to grow, the Senior Director of Commercial for the Asia Pacific region is responsible for growth in existing countries and unlocking new customers and markets for the platform. The role is the lead figure for Mews in the region while developing, owning and executing the go-to-market strategy.
  • Mews
    Commercial Director, Asia Pacific
    Mews
    Jan 2022 - Jan 2024 (2 years 1 month)
    > Grew the Mews subscription footprint in the region by 43% through generating a pipeline of ICP properties & collaboration with the go-to-market teams. > 7x growth of the Commercial team uncovering the best talent to align with the Mews vision & culture > Received global recognition at the Commercial awards in consecutive years (2023 & 2024)
  • M
    Owner
    Mahala Collective
    Mar 2020 - Dec 2021 (1 year 10 months)
    The Mahala Collective combined the best minds in travel, tourism, and hospitality to bring solutions to B2B customers > Built out a client roster of travel industry start-ups, small owner/operator hotels, government and non for profit tourism organisations as well as large corporations. > Prepared and executed proposals for services covering strategy, sales, marketing, distribution, contract negotiation, operations, CSR, finance and recruitment.
  • Expedia Group
    Owner Relations Director, Asia Pacific
    Expedia Group
    Sep 2018 - Mar 2020 (1 year 7 months)
    > Launched the Asia Pacific division of the department by mapping the hotel owner/asset management landscape and taking ownership of 15 major accounts. > Strengthened the Expedia position and change negative mindsets with external stakeholders by securing and speaking at relevant conferences. > Created cross-functional teams to redesign processes leading to new customer driven solutions and revenue generating opportunities for the business.
  • Expedia Group
    Strategic Accounts Director, Asia Pacific
    Expedia Group
    Jan 2016 - Sep 2018 (2 years 9 months)
    > Recruited & onboarded 10 remotely located direct reports creating a high performing team with no turnover in 18 months. > Closed & coached commercial negotiations for the top 30 hotel partners in APAC in excessive of $400M annually. > Partnered & contracted with hotel C-suites to develop a roadmap for new technology products then aligned with internal stakeholders to monetise. > Completed Expedia’s high potential leadership development program hosted by Korn Ferry.
  • Expedia Group
    Strategic Accounts Senior Account Manager, Oceania
    Expedia Group
    Oct 2014 - Jan 2016 (1 year 4 months)
    > Launched the division in the region, established partnerships with revenue over $240M annually, expanded to 4 employees > Lead the successful commercial negotiation of the Wotif acquisition closing 16 group contracts in 4 months > Received the “Rising Star” award for work performed
  • Marriott International
    Cluster eCommerce Manager, Australia
    Marriott International
    May 2010 - Oct 2014 (4 years 6 months)
    > Launched and executed the digital strategy for the 8 hotels in Australia leading to revenue growth of 120% by modernizing processes for web, search social, email, content & analytics. > Redesigned the new business framework to actively engage third party distributors & affiliates creating a new revenue stream that grew to 14% of the overall production. > Achieved digital success with new opening assets throughout Asia by creating a digital playbook for local execution leading to +50% of business booked online. > Received the “eCommerce outstanding performance” award.
  • Emirates Airline  Saatchi  Saatchi
    Internet Communication Consultant
    Emirates Airline Saatchi Saatchi
    Nov 2005 - May 2010 (4 years 7 months)
  • Air Canada
    Sales & Marketing Manager Australia
    Air Canada
    Aug 2004 - Oct 2005 (1 year 3 months)
  • Singapore Airlines
    Marketing Executive
    Singapore Airlines
    Nov 1998 - May 2004 (5 years 7 months)
  • Hilton
    Food and Beverage Manager
    Hilton
    Dec 1996 - Nov 1998 (2 years)
Education verified_user 0% verified
  • WSET
    WSET® Level 1 Award, Wines
    WSET
    Jan 2020
    Completed with Wine inTuition as an approved WSET provider in Australia. The course delivers essential product knowledge and skills required in the service and retail of wine. What you will learn: > The main types and styles of wine > Common wine grapes and their characteristics > How to make food and wine pairings > How to store and serve wine > How to describe wine using the WSET Level 1 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine® (SAT) > Social responsibility surrounding wine consumption
  • Cornell University
    Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management Certificate
    Cornell University
    Jan 2019 - Jan 2020 (1 year 1 month)
  • S
    Tourism and Travel Services Management
    Sydney Travel Private Training College
    Jan 1996 - Jan 1998 (2 years 1 month)
    Certificate IV in Travel & Tourism Certificate III in Tourism (Retail Travel Sales) International Fares and Ticketing I & II
Projects (professional or personal) verified_user 0% verified
    Awards verified_user 0% verified
    • J
      Global Partner Group Rising Star Asia Pacific
      Jul
    • M
      eCommerce Outstanding Performance Award
      Marriott International eCommerce
      Awarded the “eCommerce outstanding performance” award at the Marriott Global eCommerce Services summit in June 2012 for Asia Pacific.
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