Overview:
Irikiri Island Resort was previously reliant on an external agency for the management and hosting of their website, digital marketing assets, and online booking systems. The arrangement had become increasingly costly and restrictive, limiting the resort’s control over its own digital infrastructure. My role was to facilitate a full transition of ownership and management to the resort while ensuring business continuity and significantly reducing ongoing costs.

Key Objectives:

• Regain full ownership and management control of all digital assets (website, hosting, DNS, Mailchimp, Google Ads/GA4, and social media accounts).
• Replace an expensive proprietary development and hosting setup with a more flexible, cost-effective solution.
• Ensure continuity of online bookings and marketing campaigns throughout the transition.
• Establish a transparent and maintainable digital ecosystem for the resort team moving forward.

Process & Implementation:
Working closely with the outgoing agency, I coordinated a staged handover of all technical and marketing assets. This included:

• Transferring DNS and website hosting to a new environment while maintaining uptime.
• Migrating marketing tools such as Mailchimp and Google Ads into resort-owned accounts.
• Assisting with the transition from eWay to a new booking and payment gateway provider (SiteMinder).
• Conducting security and access audits to ensure the resort had sole administrative control post-handover.

Throughout the process, I acted as both a technical lead and client advocate — navigating contractual limitations, facilitating communication between stakeholders, and ensuring compliance with all handover requirements.

Outcome:
The transition was completed successfully, resulting in:

• Full digital ownership restored to Iririki Island Resort.
• Thousands of dollars saved annually through reduced development, hosting, and management fees.
• Improved flexibility and independence for the resort’s in-house and external marketing operations.
• Streamlined systems ready for future growth and better financial control.

Role:
Project Lead – Digital Transition & Development Advisor

Skills Demonstrated:
Stakeholder management, website migration, systems integration, digital governance, vendor negotiation, and cost optimisation.