Joshua Thomas
An experienced General Manager with broad leadership experience across hotels, resorts and luxury properties throughout New Zealand, his career spans operations, food & beverage, commercial strategy, brand development, rebrands, marketing, guest experience and overall business performance. Beyond hotels, he has founded and grown a successful recruitment business and is deeply engaged in practical AI, commercial intelligence and the integration of LLM-driven workflows into modern business operations.
LinkedIn ↗
Career footprint
New Zealand Hotel
Brand Portfolio
A selection of hotel brands and operating groups that have formed part of Joshua’s career across New Zealand.
Portfolio
Senior Hotel Management Portfolio
A selection of the properties and destinations that have shaped Joshua’s hotel management career. His senior hotel management experience includes Fable Dunedin, Edit Picton, Woodhouse Mountain Lodge, Portage Resort, M Social Auckland, Millennium Hotel Queenstown and Rendezvous Hotel Christchurch.
New Zealand
Hotel Management Experience Across New Zealand
Joshua’s hotel management experience across New Zealand spans Bay of Islands/Paihia, Auckland, Wellington, Picton, Marlborough Sounds, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.
More than a hotelier
Building beyond the hotel.
Joshua approaches hospitality as an operator, but his interests extend well beyond hotel operations. He has founded and grown a highly profitable recruitment firm, built capability across branding, product and digital growth, and developed a persistent obsession with practical AI application. The common thread is a desire to build things that work and solve meaningful commercial problems.
Business Founder
Hospo HR
Bootstrapped from the ground up as a specialist recruitment business for New Zealand hospitality. It grew into a national recruitment partner while also becoming a platform for employer branding, industry content and hospitality commentary.
Marketing Enthusiast
Learned by building
Joshua’s marketing experience has largely come from creating demand directly, building personal and business brands, content, SEO, websites and paid acquisition rather than managing it from a distance.
AI Application & Consulting
Deep in the application layer.
Ever since LLMs became broadly accessible in 2023, Joshua has been deeply immersed in practical AI, well before it became a standard business talking point. Much of his spare time has since been spent testing new models and tools, building custom GPTs and agents, embedding AI into his own business workflows, advising business owners on adoption, training users, and applying it across research, reporting, automation, content and prototyping. His guiding principle remains simple: “If it can’t be applied to a workflow, it’s useless technology.” He is particularly interested in where AI can genuinely improve how people work, make decisions and operate businesses.
Currently building · 2026
AI Search Intelligence SaaSAn AI-powered scanning and intelligence platform in active development, targeted for launch in late 2026.
Recommendations
Desmond Moraes
Worked with Joshua on the same team
RecommendationJoshua is an incredibly passionate hotelier, a good team player and a great communicator. I had the privilege of working with him back in 2015-2016 and I have some incredible memories. Joshua is driven and creative. He is always looking for ways to improve systems and procedures to enhance the guest experience and provide seamless service. His zestful and joyful spirit really helped him build good working relationships with the team. Joshua has good leadership skills. He is a great motivator and takes the time to mentor his team and share his knowledge with them. His strong desire and hunger for growth, success and excellence makes him a great asset to any organisation he works for. He is a smart leader who is always leading from the front and is hands on with daily operations. His ability to think outside the box, negotiate and collaborate is phenomenal. Joshua is a trustworthy and reliable person with good ethics and a strong moral compass. I am so pleased to see that he is doing so well in his career and excited to see all the promotions and success that will chase him down in the years to come. I hope I get the opportunity to work with Joshua again.
Connect
Let’s talk.
Joshua is always keen to connect with fellow hoteliers, hospitality enthusiasts and operators, whether it’s for a yarn, to brainstorm practical solutions to industry challenges, talk commercial strategy, or explore useful applications of AI in hospitality and business.
Connect on LinkedIn ↗