2027/2028 Board Elections

Nominating statement

In my role as Director of Product Management (Indirect Distribution), I help shape solutions that support how hotels connect with guests, partners, and the wider travel marketplace. That work depends on listening closely to customers and partners, understanding where the friction points are, and turning those insights into product decisions that create meaningful value. HEDNA’s role as a place for open discussion, shared learning, and industry progress strongly resonates with me. I would be honored to bring my product perspective and hands-on distribution experience to the board, and to help support the continued value HEDNA brings to its members as the industry evolves.

Nominating statement

As a Product Leader in Expedia, I have worked in supply distribution for over 9 years; specifically overseeing our API Lodging Supply Connectivity portfolio.

And, while the ecosystem is fragmented and complex it is also in an exciting time for innovation and change.

My leadership in Expedia has lead to a step increase in API growth in both VR and hotel APIs.

HEDNA represents a forum in which industry leaders can come to a collective table to develop the future standards of distribution.

Whilst I represent Expedia today, what is important is the broader vision of hospitality and technology. I have served on the HEDNA board for the last two years and have supported the association as a whole, and specifically work with our Future Leaders of HEDNA team. I would be honored to continue in another two-year term, to be a voice in our future.

Nominating statement

Sylvain Courtial brings more than 27 years of experience in the travel industry to his current role as Head of IT Account Management and GDS Product Management for Amadeus Hospitality Distribution, based in Miami, USA. In this position, Sylvain leads teams responsible for hotel connectivity initiatives and technical projects with Hotel Suppliers and technology partners. Sylvain also oversees Amadeus GDS Product Management for Travel Sellers across the Americas.

Throughout a long-standing career, Sylvain has been actively engaged in industry organizations, including HTNG, OpenTravel, and HEDNA. Sylvain participated for many years in the Connectivity Working Group and co-chaired the HEDNA Content Working Group, established in 2016. Currently serving on the HEDNA Board of Directors, Sylvain previously acted as liaison for the Content Discipline and continues to contribute actively as a member of the Conference Committee.

It would be a great honor to continue serving alongside the rest of the Board members for one final term in this role.

Nominating statement

She has been an active and highly engaged member of the HEDNA community, helping to drive meaningful improvements across technology and connectivity. This year, she has also played an important role in bringing Choice closer into the fold, helping ensure that hotels, intermediaries and the wider HEDNA community continue to work more closely together.

She brings a genuinely global perspective to HEDNA. She speaks multiple languages, has an international profile, and works for one of the world’s leading travel businesses. This combination of industry experience, global reach and understanding of different markets enables her to contribute valuable perspective across HEDNA’s initiatives, regions and events worldwide.

Nominating statement

Over the past year as HEDNA’s Board Secretary and a member of the Executive Committee, I’ve worked to make sure HEDNA delivers real value to its members and sponsors and is seen to deliver it. I’ve led several of our content publications, including the HEDNA Pulse educational briefs on surveillance pricing and on taxes and fees, and launched the Voices and Partners formats. I also led the rebrand of HEDNA, with a new brand system and a clearer position for the organization with members and sponsors. Working with our management company, I’ve overhauled how we approach marketing so that more of the best work from our conferences, disciplines and community reaches our members. I’ve also contributed to our conferences in Lisbon and Dallas, including speaking in Lisbon. I bring over 20 years in hotel distribution, at property and chain level and in hospitality technology and online travel across APAC and North America. I’d be honored to continue this work and help HEDNA grow its reach, revenue and relevance for the whole distribution community.

Nominating statement

I am nominating myself after more than a decade of consistent engagement with HEDNA, during which I have attended virtually every European conference. HEDNA has been an important forum throughout my career for learning, collaboration and building relationships across the distribution ecosystem, and I now want to contribute back at Board level.

As Vice President, Business Development & Customer Success – Europe at RateGain, I work across global and regional hotel groups, OTAs, wholesalers, airlines, demand partners and technology providers. This gives me an end-to-end perspective spanning commercial strategy, enterprise customer leadership and the operational realities behind connectivity, content, revenue intelligence, distribution and payments.

I would bring a strong European and customer-led perspective to the Board. My work requires me to align organisations with different objectives, turn complex industry challenges into workable partnerships and ensure technology and commercial models create measurable value across the ecosystem.

I would contribute particularly around connectivity efficiency, B2B distribution, data quality, AI-led discovery and the evolving relationship between hotels, intermediaries and technology providers. I would also support HEDNA in broadening its participation, visibility and engagement across Europe.

I am ready to commit the time, energy and collaborative leadership required to serve the membership and advance HEDNA’s mission.

Nominating statement

To the Nominating Committee of the HEDNA Board of Directors,

I would like to nominate myself, Nadia, for a Technology Partner seat on the HEDNA Board of Directors for 2027. With a strong commitment to the hospitality industry and a passion for technology and distribution, I believe I am well positioned to serve as a board member for our professional association. HEDNA is doing very valuable work bringing the industry together, setting standards and best practices on how we should operate and how we can collectively improve, which is something I am eager to play an active role in. Being a Co-chair of the Future Leaders of HEDNA Group, I am actively involved in promoting the engagement of newer members. I see a big opportunity to do more work in areas such as collaborations with University institutions for research, and expansion of the HEDNA reach in Europe and APAC especially. I am eager and ready to devote the necessary time and energy to fulfill the responsibilities of this role on the Board.

Thank you for considering my nomination.

Sincerely, Nadia Petropoulou

Nominating statement

I am pleased to nominate Kaydian Radway, VP of Operations at Leonardo Worldwide, for the HEDNA Board of Directors. Kaydian brings extensive knowledge of hospitality distribution, together with the practical perspective that comes from working every day at the intersection of hotel brands, distribution partners, technology and customer operations. I have the opportunity to work closely with Kaydian and see day in and day out the depth of her industry knowledge and the pragmatic way she approaches distribution challenges. She understands not only how hotel content moves through the distribution ecosystem, but also the operational realities behind it: what hotel brands need, where distribution workflows create friction, and how technology providers and channel partners can work together to improve them. In her work at Leonardo, Kaydian is actively involved in initiatives spanning content distribution, GDS and OTA connectivity and the evolution of distribution workflows. She regularly works with hotel companies and industry partners including Amadeus, Sabre, Booking.com and others. Her contribution is especially valuable because she consistently connects technical capabilities with the real-world needs of hotel brands and the teams responsible for managing their content. She has been an active participant in the HEDNA community over the years, including participation in HEDNA U sessions, and continues to engage with the organization and its industry events. Her combination of operational experience, distribution knowledge and willingness to share that experience with others aligns particularly well with HEDNA’s emphasis on collaboration and education. I believe Kaydian would bring an informed, practical and thoughtful perspective to the HEDNA Board. She understands both the challenges the industry faces today and the opportunities to make distribution simpler and more effective. Most importantly, she would bring the perspective of someone who works directly with these challenges and with the customers and partners affected by them. I strongly support her nomination.

Nominating statement

As a dedicated HEDNA Board member, former chair of Future Leaders and the Mobile Working Group, and long-time conference attendee, I am deeply committed to our organization’s mission of moving hotel distribution forward.

Most recently, I helped successfully deliver our European conference in Lisbon and our first-ever San Francisco Regional Networking event (in partnership with Stripe and Travel Massive). In addition, I am helping contribute to our upcoming North American conference in Dallas on the conference planning committee while onboarding new co-chairs with a renewed focus for our Payments Discipline.

With over 12 years of travel industry experience, I bring a deep and practical perspective on distribution: from my start at HotelTonight as mobile first emerged, to working with global hotel chains on their mobile strategies and helping bring the first group of hotels onto the Airbnb platform. Since 2021, I have served as Director of Travel Partnerships at Flex Pay, bringing “Buy Now, Pay Later” solutions to thousands of hotels and helping the industry adapt to a fast-growing payment method while competing effectively alongside OTAs.

Taken together, my deep knowledge of OTAs, strong hotel relationships, and focus on the future of payments in travel make me a strong candidate to continue serving on the Board. I would be honored to earn your support for re-election.

Nominating statement

It is my pleasure to nominate Nick Smith for election to the HEDNA Board. Nick brings more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, having spent the majority of his career with Marriott International, where he held positions across distribution, commercial, and connectivity functions. During his time with Marriott, he also served on the HEDNA Board, contributing to industry discussions and initiatives aimed at improving connectivity, standards, and collaboration across the hospitality technology landscape. Today, Nick leads the EMEA Connectivity team at Trip.com Group, where he works closely with hotel companies, channel managers, CRS providers, and technology partners to strengthen connectivity and support the adoption of modern distribution capabilities. His experience spans both the commercial and technical sides of the industry, giving him a well-rounded perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing hospitality distribution today. Throughout his career, Nick has demonstrated an ability to bring stakeholders together, bridge the gap between business and technology, and deliver practical solutions that benefit the wider industry. His background provides a unique perspective, having worked for a global hotel company and now one of the world’s largest travel platforms. Nick sees returning to the HEDNA Board as an opportunity to give back to an industry that has shaped his career. He is passionate about driving greater efficiency across hospitality distribution, encouraging collaboration between industry participants, and helping ensure that standards continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of the marketplace. Just as importantly, Nick is committed to promoting hospitality distribution as a career path for the next generation of industry professionals. He believes HEDNA has an important role to play in education, mentorship, and developing future experts who will continue to advance connectivity and innovation across the industry. Nick’s extensive experience, collaborative approach, and longstanding commitment to hospitality technology make him an excellent candidate for the HEDNA Board. I am confident he would make a valuable contribution to the association and help support its continued success in bringing the industry together to solve common challenges and drive meaningful progress. I am delighted to recommend Nick Smith for election to the HEDNA Board.

Nominating statement

I’m Anisha Yadav, Founder of TRevPAR Insights, and I chair HEDNA’s Revenue & Data Discipline. I’m standing for a Director at Large seat to help drive HEDNA’s mission at a moment when AI is changing how hotels are found, evaluated, and booked.

As chair, my focus has been on output members can use. That has meant webinars, including a session with Sherri Kimes of Cornell; thought leadership sessions and workshops built around original research and conference programming. I’ve worked to build a discipline leadership group that spans the supplier, intermediary, and technology sides of the membership, so the work reflects the whole room rather than one segment of it.

I’ve also worked to bring new people to HEDNA. Every session I run, I treat it as a recruiting opportunity for the association, not just for the discipline. I’d like to do that more deliberately and more globally from a board seat.

What I’d bring beyond the discipline is a view from two sides of the market. Through TRevPAR Insights, I work directly with hotels and brands on revenue and distribution strategy, so I see what AI adoption actually looks like inside a commercial team. Through First Ten Advisory I advise early-stage startups on go-to-market, industry-agnostic but several in travel, which means I see AI products two years before they reach hospitality procurement. Very few people in this industry are sitting in both rooms.

That combination is why I want to serve now specifically. AI is redrawing economics upstream of the booking, and this association should be where the terms get set rather than where they get reported afterward. That is a mission and vision question, not a technology question, and it belongs on the board’s agenda.

Fifteen years across hotel operations, revenue, and hospitality technology, including nearly nine years at Revinate.