About us

Events is a division of House of Travel, and specialises in conference management and incentive group travel for domestic inbound and outbound international events. Our HOT Events offices are based within and supported by the agencies of House of Travel Christchurch City and House of Travel Queenstown.


The House of Travel vision

Act with integrity
Operate as one
Customer first


  • The number one travel brand in the market
  • An employer of choice
  • An awesome place to work
  • A nurturer, developer and retainer of great people
  • A good corporate citizen
  • An iconic Kiwi company
  • Something that is bigger than all of us
  • To leave behind for future generations


Where it all began

House of Travel’s founder Chris Paulsen had a dream that travel could be delivered to the consumer in a different way and it worked. Establishing a private company, he opened the first outlet in Timaru in 1987.

Over the past few decades House of Travel has grown to now cover the length and breadth of New Zealand and has representation in every state in Australia. Between the two countries the House of Travel Group employs more than 1,400 staff.

The successful model of owner operators in partnership with House of Travel Holdings has led to an average turnover per outlet of three times that of the industry average in New Zealand and Australia. Independent research tells us that through strong marketing House of Travel has become the most recognised travel brand in the New Zealand market.

In addition to the retail aspects (with specialist corporate, adventure, leisure and group travel outlets) operating as part of the House of Travel Group are two wholesale companies, Travelplan covering the outbound market and Magnetic South, which specialises in inbound travel, attracting tourists to visit New Zealand through tailor-made itineraries.

Since 2007 House of Travel has operated the Australian wholesale company Fiji and Pacific Specialist Holidays and a mobile travel agency service. This rapidly growing concept operates under its Travel Managers label and offers customers professional advice and a booking service via an experienced and skilled network of personal travel managers in every state in Australia. New in 2008 is Asia Specialist Holidays offering wholesale product to popular destinations in the South East Asia region.
House of Travel is fiercely proud of being a New Zealand owned and operated company. Turnover of more than $1 billion is forecast for 2008, which classifies it as one of New Zealand’s top 40 companies, based on sales.

www.houseoftravel.co.nz

www.houseoftravel.co.nz is the only technology of its kind in the world, providing unparalleled flexibility and freedom of choice. The unique booking engine means finding airfare options not otherwise considered can save both time and money. When booking flights, accommodation and travel insurance options can also be added to complete your online purchase.

www.houseoftravel.co.nz also makes it easy to explore the most exciting holiday destinations the world has to offer. With close to 8,000 pages of inspirational information, users can discover almost any point on the globe from America to Antarctica. They can also follow the exciting journeys and advice of travellers through Tripstar, House of Travel’s own online travel community.

But don’t just take our word for it, www.houseoftravel.co.nz has won many awards since it began in 2004, including Overall Excellence in the Use of IT at the Computerworld Excellence Awards in 2005; the number one Travel Agency Website by Hitwise for the past three years and has been voted the best Travel Site in the NetGuide Peoples Choice Awards for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

“At House of Travel we believe in the power of travel to enrich people’s lives and we’re committed to being the leading provider of these inspiring experiences.” – Founder Chris Paulsen