It's a hot summer day in Texas, 2006, and I'm in a dark green collared shirt, khaki shorts and a visor — the uniform for my first hospitality job at the Poolside Grille at my local country club.

It was that or the petrol station. I know I made the right choice.

The days are hot chips, cold ice creams, and leftover salads for tomorrow's lunch. A perk of the job.

Now I'm at university, working at another country club, and I've learned the pace and personality of hospo.

I'm wiping down a table when it hits me.
THIS is what I want to do.

I apply to a Master's to add the art of sociology to the science of hospitality.

It's 2010 and I'm in an elevator with a professor who asks if I want a job. Um, yes. Absolutely.

Next thing I know I'm the new intern at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow, making awkward cold calls and building business development plans at my very first hotel.

I'm hooked.

From hotels to hotel-tech. Now I'm sitting across from a motel owner in Austin who's certain the OTAs are his problem, and I'm about to show him it's his room types. Big data into small, useful actions.

Then Texas to New Zealand. Five weeks after I land, the country closes. I'm leading a team through an industry that's stopped, over a screen, in a place I've barely seen yet.

We spend four years putting it back together. Domestic first, then the borders open and the world starts looking at New Zealand again, and my team is helping properties attract travellers who've waited years to come.

These days I work with commercial teams on where their revenue actually comes from and what to do about it. It's almost always already sitting in their own numbers, waiting for someone to build a stronger strategy from it.

It starts with clarity, then confidence, then control — see it properly, back yourself on it, keep doing it.

Everyone is in revenue.

Caring about the numbers IS caring about people.

It's the biggest, smallest industry in the world, and I've happily called it mine for 20 years.

When I'm not working you'll find me heading for the nearest mountain or beach, with an Australian Shiraz, my husband and two hilarious kids.

If your team keeps circling the same commercial questions, I'm happy to talk it through.