About Magnolia Field

Registered business

Magnolia Field Business Advisory Pty Ltd is the official registered name of our practice. We have operated from Wollongong, New South Wales since 2014, beginning as a solo consultancy focused on Illawarra accommodation operators and growing into advisory work across regional Australia.

How we started

Founder Claire Whitfield spent twelve years in regional council tourism roles before opening Magnolia Field. The practice name references the magnolia trees along Wollongong’s harbour foreshore — a reminder that visitor economies grow from specific places, not generic marketing templates.

What began as weekend coaching for two farm-stay properties expanded when neighbouring councils asked for help translating state tourism policy into local action. Today we work with DMOs from Tasmania to Far North Queensland, but our office remains in Wollongong and our approach stays the same: listen to operators first, read the data second, recommend only what your team can actually deliver.

Our team

Claire Whitfield — Principal advisor. Former destination manager, specialist in shoulder-season programming and visitor dispersal.

James Okonkwo — Senior associate. Background in hospitality operations and guest experience auditing for boutique accommodation groups.

Priya Nair — Research associate. Compiles occupancy benchmarking and event impact analysis for destination reviews.

We deliberately keep the team small. You work directly with senior advisors, not junior staff learning on your account.

How we work with clients

We do not sell retainers by default. Most engagements have a defined start, deliverable, and end. When ongoing counsel makes sense — for example, a council rolling out a three-year destination plan — we agree a monthly scope with explicit hours and review points.

We decline work where we cannot add value: if your challenge is purely a website rebuild, we will refer you to a specialist rather than stretch beyond our expertise.

Values that guide our counsel

• Honest scoping — We quote based on real effort, not optimistic timelines that unravel mid-project.
• Operator respect — Tourism businesses run on thin margins. Our recommendations account for staffing reality.
• Regional focus — Metropolitan agency playbooks do not always translate. We ground advice in your local context.
• Plain language — Reports are written for councillors and operators, not consultants.

Community

Magnolia Field sponsors the annual Illawarra Tourism Operators breakfast and contributes pro-bono coaching hours each year to First Nations-led tourism startups through the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce.