Tayla Browne
As business development manager at The Hotel Britomart, Tayla Browne is always aiming to create a memorable experience for clients, and to find new ways to make the most of the hotel’s series of different event spaces, from The Libraries and The Courtyard to kingi Private.
MELINDA WILLIAMS Tayla, you’re The Hotel Britomart’s business development manager. Can you tell me a bit about what your role involves?
TAYLA BROWNE My role is relatively broad, with an emphasis on driving initiatives that support our hotel rooms, kingi restaurant and event spaces, however, my primary focus is on maintaining and growing our corporate relationships. A key part of this is hosting, giving corporate guests the opportunity to connect with us in person and experience what we offer at The Hotel Britomart.
kingi plays a central role in this, providing a great setting for express lunches or drinks and nibbles. With the introduction of monthly activations and specialty menus, such as this month’s curated ‘A Toast to Her’ Cocktail menu, it creates opportunities to align these experiences with corporate hosting and create meaningful, engaging experiences for our valued guests.
I also represent the hotel at industry trade shows throughout the year and am fortunate to travel across Australia and New Zealand, most recently attending AIME in Melbourne in February.
Talk me through that. You might, for example, have a corporate client come in for a booked meeting or event, and you’d invite them to stay on for some relaxed time afterwards?
Our corporate guests travel to Auckland throughout the year and require ongoing accommodation and support. My role is to ensure we’re looking after them during these trips, particularly across their peak travel periods. When their schedules allow, I take the opportunity to connect, sometimes it’s as simple as a breakfast meeting before their flight. It’s a valuable touchpoint to better understand their needs, gather feedback, and ensure we’re delivering a consistently tailored experience each time they stay with us.
Are there any other examples of that personalised service that The Hotel Britomart does for the corporate guests? It's maybe a little bit different to whatever the other offerings are out there?
Yes. We also run quarterly check-ins with our corporate clients. These are tailored to each business and essentially a snapshot of their partnership with us, showing their contribution and engagement, while also providing an opportunity to thank them and reinforce the value we place on the relationship.
You moved into this role from another one at The Hotel Britomart. How long have you been in the hospitality industry for, overall?
Oh, I’ve honestly lost count! I’ve been in hotels since 2019, and in hospitality for close to 10 years now. I originally came from the events side, specifically weddings, before moving into hotels. My transition from Event Sales Manager into Business Development Manager at The Hotel Britomart felt seamless and natural, and it’s been great to be able to support the wider hotel.
What is it that you enjoy about the work that you're doing?
The people, both my internal team and the guests I get to meet and build relationships with. I genuinely love that I can sit down over a glass of wine and have real conversations with people as part of my job, I don’t take that for granted.
I also really enjoy working for an independently owned hotel. There’s a lot more flexibility and freedom, with no red tape to work within. It means we can focus on creating bespoke, memorable and personalised experiences.
Given that you’re hosting a lot of corporate clients who are in town for the first time or even on a regular basis, do you find you’re often asked recommendations of places to go and things to do?
Absolutely. Our location here in Britomart makes it easy to help with that. We’ve got 60-plus retailers, bars and restaurants on our doorstep, and through our Key to the Neighbourhood initiative, guests can show their room key at selected stores to receive discounts off their products and services.
So whenever I’m asked for recommendations, I’m always really excited to share what’s happening both in and around Britomart. There’s the Saturday markets, outdoor movies in Takutai Square, and Flush Golf is the new kid on the block, where you can eat, socialise and have a hit of some golf balls. There’s always something new and interesting going on.
And beyond the borders of Britomart, are there any iconic Auckland activities that you like to recommend, or personal favourites?
Honestly, and I might be a bit biased, but Britomart is my favourite part of Auckland. There’s just so much to see and do right here.
Beyond that, I always recommend a walk along the Viaduct. It’s such a beautiful route with the harbour right alongside you, and it’s a really nice way to experience the city and its waterfront.
And when you're not at the hotel, what do you like to find yourself doing?
I’m pretty social, and am lucky to have a big group of friends I love catching up with. My husband plays competitive football, so I’m often on the sidelines with the other WAGs, glass of wine in hand, watching the game very “intensely”. I’m quite active myself and usually good at getting to the gym, although I’ll admit the cooler weather has made it challenging lately.
I’ve also got a big Europe trip coming up at the end of the year, so that’s been quite all-consuming in the best way planning-wise.
On the flip side, I’m a homebody. We bought our first home a couple of years ago, so we’ve really enjoyed making it feel like ours and adding to it over time. I actually get a lot of inspiration from the interiors at The Hotel Britomart, which has definitely influenced a few of my home décor choices.
With work often being busy and fast-paced, it’s nice to slow things down on the weekends. I’ve got an overweight ragdoll cat at home who keeps me entertained.
