Rethinking Distribution: The Marketplace Model in Action Across APAC

Jerome Dela Cruz is a senior leader in travel and hospitality, with over a decade of experience across Asia Pacific. Known for building teams, driving growth, and shaping commercial strategies, he has worked across the OTA, Wholesale, and Hotel 0perator segments. At HyperGuest, Jerome leads Business Development for APAC, working with hotel groups, travel sellers, and technology partners to improve direct distribution and commercial transparency in the region. Before joining HyperGuest, he was the Commercial Director at Hospitality Innovators Inc. (HII), where he managed the commercial performance of 15 properties across the Philippines. Prior to that, he served as the Country General Manager for Trip.com Group, where he built the Philippine office from the ground up, growing it to over 500 employees while establishing a strong presence in the market. Jerome has also held key roles at Hotelbeds and Bedsonline, focusing on supplier management, pricing, and market strategy—driving profitability and strengthening relationships across the region. He holds an MBA from the esteemed Asian Institute of Management as a Presidential Scholar, with a focus on Business Analytics and FinTech. He also completed the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) program at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at UNSW. He is a Certified Revenue Management Executive (CRME) through HSMAI. Jerome is based in Asia and regularly speaks with travel and hospitality leaders about distribution trends, channel performance, and new paths to profitability. Outside work, he’s a traveler and coffee enthusiast.

Chun-Yi Lai works as a Commercial Director at PKFARE Hotel Business, responsible for strategic partnerships, account management and business development.

Sachin Kumar is the Founder & CEO of Tripkaa, a pioneering travel tech startup redefining the OTA landscape. With a mission to eliminate commission costs and foster direct hotel–guest connections, he is introducing innovative combo booking solutions. Drawing on leadership roles such as Global Director at Kabuk Style Inc., Sachin combines deep expertise in revenue management, strategic partnerships, and product innovation to deliver transformative guest experiences while driving hotel profitability and sustainable growth.

Sunish Sadasivan is Vice President of Ecommerce and Revenue Management at Chroma Hospitality, where he turns digital demand into booked nights. A Certified Revenue Management Executive and Certified Digital Transformation Professional, he brings 24+ years across the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Dubai, and the Maldives. Sunish has led commercial turnarounds that doubled RevPAR, lifted direct share to 30 percent, and pushed GOP above 50 percent at resort level. He architects full funnel systems spanning metasearch, parity, pricing, UX, and payments, and he builds teams that ship outcomes, not decks. He has driven one of the region’s strongest Book Direct programs and a REIT launch that reached 20 million in three weeks. A regular voice at Digital Travel APAC, Direct Booking Summit, and Digital Travel Asia, Sunish writes on psychological pricing, AI driven personalization, and the shift from digital marketing to hotel ecommerce. His mission is simple: design hospitality that sells itself.