A number of hotels across the country and around the world have named new sales and marketing leaders in recent weeks. Here are a few names to know.
106 Jefferson
Valor Hospitality Partners appointed Laura Morgan as director of sales and marketing of the 115-room 106 Jefferson, a Curio Collection hotel by Hilton in Huntsville, Ala..
Morgan brings more than 25 years of hospitality experience to the property. In the new role, she will work with all departments at the hotel to plan and promote the property domestically and internationally. She also will manage the team with a primary focus on revenue generation.
Before joining the 106 Jefferson team, Morgan was the director of sales at various hotels in Alabama, including the Homewood Suites, Embassy Suites and Courtyard by Marriott Hoover.
Castaway Island
Outrigger Resorts & Hotels appointed Priya Sharma sales and marketing manager at Castaway Island in Fiji.
Sharma will develop and implement sales and marketing strategies to maximize revenue and occupancy for Castaway while strengthening and growing relationships with clients, partners and agencies.
Sharma has more than sixteen years of hotel experience including Marriott International and Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa, and was most recently complex hospitality manager at Vuda Marina.
The Gwen
The Gwen, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Chicago, has promoted Fantasy Greene to director of sales and marketing. Greene will work alongside General Manager Iris Junge and oversee all sales and marketing initiatives for the hotel.
Greene brings more than two decades of sales experience to her new position at The Gwen. She entered the hospitality industry as a sales corporate manager, and her career path in sales led her to work for different hotels until she reached the director of regional sales position.
Kimpton Pittman Hotel
The Kimpton Pittman Hotel in Dallas appointed Laura Vera as large group market sales manager and Adan Montoya as senior business travel sales manager.
Vera, who has 19 years of hospitality sales experience, will use her network of relationships and existing clientele to generate bookings for corporate and leisure groups. She joins the team from the Thompson San Antonio Riverwalk where she was the only sales manager for the hotel responsible for all group sales. Before this role, Vera worked with Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa for thirteen years, holding roles like mid-market manager and large market manager.
Montoya joins The Kimpton Pittman Hotel with 15 years of hospitality experience, entering the industry as a concierge with an introduction to sales in 2012. Since then, he has worked at The Magnolia Hotel and Virgin Dallas where he has developed and maintained business through a variety of tactics, including application of market trends and diligent strategic outreach. At The Kimpton Pittman Hotel, Montoya will manage a team in achieving corporate revenue and direct sales goals through site inspections and outside sales calls.
Montage Laguna Beach
Montage Laguna Beach (Calif.), the flagship Montage Hotels & Resorts property that had its 20th anniversary this year, appointed Simaan Hawa as director of sales and marketing. With more than two decades of experience in sales and luxury hospitality, Hawa will be responsible for overseeing the resort’s sales and marketing team, driving revenue and creating and implementing business strategies.
Hawa joins Montage Laguna Beach from The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, Calif., where, as executive director of sales, he was responsible for the development and execution of group sales strategies, goals, and budgets, as well as the creation of sales and marketing strategies for villa extended stay audiences. Before his time with The Resort at Pelican Hill, Hawa spent more than 15 years supporting sales & marketing efforts at luxury resorts throughout Southern California, including Monarch Beach Resort, Four Seasons Resort Aviara, Hotel Del Coronado, The Lodge at Torrey Pines and the Catamaran Resort Hotel.
Rosewood Vienna
In Austria, the Rosewood Vienna appointed Olga Schuster as the cluster director of sales and marketing. In this role, Schuster also will support and assist the team at Rosewood Schloss Fuschl, opening in 2024.
Schuster has spent almost a decade at Park Hyatt Vienna in roles ranging from senior sales manager to director of sales & marketing. She also held significant roles at other properties such as Hilton Vienna, several Hyatt properties throughout Central Europe as well as a supportive role at Hyatt Regency Johannesburg, South Africa. She has acquired new accounts and developed relationships with current clients in addition to reaching several predefined sales and marketing goals.
Viceroy Santa Monica and Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica
Viceroy Hotels & Resorts and Pebblebrook Hotel Trust appointed Marta Hagan as director of sales and marketing of Viceroy Santa Monica and Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica. Bringing nearly 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the hospitality industry to this role, Hagan is responsible for overseeing the planning, implementation and evaluation of all marketing and sales activities.
Hagan has been with Viceroy Hotels & Resorts since 2020, most recently as director of sales and marketing for Viceroy Los Cabos. In her time at the luxury Mexican resort, Hagan increased overall revenue by nearly 300 percent, including an increase in group revenue by 70 percent in 2022. She also managed agencies to align traditional marketing, digital, social and public relations efforts to maximize return on investment and exposure in the market. Hagan is familiar with Southern California’s hospitality market through her work in various sales and marketing roles at a number of the area’s prime hotels and resorts. Her regional resume includes stints at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Hotel Figueroa in Downtown Los Angeles, Hotel Erwin in Venice and The Shore Hotel in Santa Monica.
The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village
The Westin Cape Coral (Fla.) Resort at Marina Village appointed Jennifer Trapani as director of sales and marketing. She will oversee all sales and marketing initiatives for the waterfront resort. Additionally, Trapani will be responsible for identifying innovative business-generating strategies, implementing targeted sales techniques to broaden guest outreach and optimizing revenue growth.
Trapani has spent the entirety of her 27-year hospitality career with Marriott International. Starting as a restaurant manager, she worked her way up to leadership roles within sales and marketing at hotels and resorts throughout the East Coast, including Westin Hilton Head (S.C.) Resort and Spa, Westin Savannah (Ga.) Harbor Golf Resort and Spa, Marriott Hilton Head, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Harbor Beach Resort and The Wardman Park Marriott, D.C. At the Mid-Atlantic Multi Sales Office, she received several promotions taking her from group and catering sales leader to the director of sales for North and South Carolina, and finally director of hotel sales for the entire Mid-Atlantic Sales Team. In 2021, she was selected as the director of group sales for the Renaissance Washington, D.C., hotel.