blisszeno
Daniel Marsh
Founder · Trip designEx-hotel manager. Knows every lodge owner in the lower South Island by first name.
A small Queenstown desk with strong opinions about travel
blisszeno started as two people, a laptop, and a long list of places we kept sending friends to. Twelve years later it's still the same idea — just with better coffee and a bigger contact book.
2014Where it started
Our story
From a kitchen table to Remarkables Park
The honest version: we got tired of watching friends book cookie-cutter tours, come home underwhelmed, and then ask us what they should have done instead. So we started charging for the answer.
2014
Dan quits a hotel job and starts planning trips for mates-of-mates from a kitchen table in Fernhill.
2017
First full season with real clients — 60 itineraries, zero ads, all word of mouth.
2021
Casino hotels and hosted event weekends added — travellers kept asking, so we built the relationships properly.
2024
Moved into Remarkables Park, team of five, 480+ trips designed and counting.
What we believe
Three rules we don't break
Slow beats busy
A great trip has space in it. We'd rather book you three nights somewhere good than five hotels you'll forget.
Honest over easy
If a famous attraction is a waste of your Tuesday, we say so. Our reputation is worth more than a commission.
Local first
Family-run lodges, Māori-owned experiences, regional operators. Your money should land in the place you visited.
The receipts
A few numbers we're proud of
480+
Trips designed
96%
Would book again
140+
Partner properties
31
Countries our clients fly from
The crew
Five people, zero scripts
Whoever picks up your enquiry is the person who plans the trip. No handoffs, no "let me check with my supervisor".
Mereana Walker
Experiences · North IslandRotorua born and raised. Builds our cultural and geothermal routes — nothing tokenistic, ever.
Tom Ashworth
Operations · On-trip supportThe voice on the other end when weather ruins a plan. Rebooks faster than you can say "cancelled cruise".
Sofia Reyes
Partnerships · Casino travelRuns our casino hotel and event relationships. If a table's booked or a suite upgraded, she arranged it.
Selected work
Projects and trips we're still talking about
ExpeditionThe 40th Birthday Traverse
Eight friends, three heli-drops, a chef in a backcountry hut, and a surprise whiskey tasting at 1,800 metres.
PartnershipWinemaker Table Series
A standing arrangement with four Central Otago wineries — our clients eat in the cellar, not the restaurant.
RecurringHigh-Country High Roller
Our flagship hosted weekend — four editions a year, always full. Details on the casino events page.
In their words
"The agency that tells you what to skip"
That's how one travel writer described us. We'll take it. A few more things people have said in print and on air:
- "Feels less like booking a holiday and more like borrowing a well-travelled friend." — NZ Travel Weekly
- "Their Fiordland itineraries should be laminated and handed out at the border." — The Longest Drive podcast
- "Queenstown's worst-kept secret for visitors who hate being tourists." — Southern Scene magazine
Sound like your people?
Come plan a trip with us
Start with a signature trip, browse destinations, or just say hello — the kettle's usually on.