InterContinental Hotels Group
IHG company managed assets of full-service SunSpree Resorts in Aruba and Jamaica with 1100+ rooms, meeting space, extensive activity programs and offering a variety of packaged room plans.
Recruited to build a revenue culture in Aruba, a seven-year career of increasing responsibility and accountability led from property level to regional leadership.
Regional Director of Sales & Marketing, Caribbean 2002 – 2004
Director of Sales & Revenue Management, Aruba 1999 – 2002
Revenue Manager, Aruba 1998 – 1999
• Established an International Sales Office (ISO) for the Caribbean region based in Miami - located and negotiated long-term office space and vendor contracts, purchased office equipment, telephone and computer network systems, transferred and hired sales and support force; ensured compliance with state and federal statutes in personnel practices; and instituted systems for cost control and communication with a worldwide sales force.
• Wrote complex, risk-based, exclusive contracts with product buyers in key markets to $7M/year, long-term contracts with the US Government, major airlines and successfully won housing bids over the competition.
• Large scale marketing project management during the conversion of the Aruba resort from a “Green Sign” Holiday Inn to a SunSpree Resort; responsible for all press and PR, creation of multi-media collateral, executing branding strategies and ensuring standards compliance.
• Teamwork, training and incentives developed a highly motivated sales force that consistently met its targets and took the properties to their highest revenue levels in 8 years. RevPar moved +18% in Aruba and +9% in Jamaica.
• Authored incentive programs, tracked levels of business and service and administered plans.
• Our grass roots development of international music and sporting events became island wide and annually recurring.
• Authored Business Plans of both resorts (to $45M); wrote, defended and complied with Sales Budgets.
• Created a Revenue System in Excel for forecasting, displacement, account tracking, competition analysis.
• Supervised customer service: composed responses, coordinated reactions via corporate office and traced success.
• Supervised reservations and interfaced with all departments for planning, forecasting and as an ExCom member.
Outstanding Sales of the Year Award from Canada’s largest Tour Operator, My Travel, 2003 & 2004
InterContinental Hotels Group Creativity Award for E-Commerce Marketing Initiatives, 2004
2-time Recipient of the Steve Porter (COO) NHUSS Award; honored for Creativity and Impact, 2002
Department of the Year Award, 2001
Named by Solo Caribe (Latin American Press) Directora de Ventas (Director of Sales), 2000
“Michele had a meteoric career with us, starting at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Aruba in 1999 as a revenue manger, and following as Director of Sales of our hotel. Michele's key accomplishment included repositioning our hotel as a SunSpree Resort and leading to the Hotel record sales in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, Michele was selected to reorganize our Sales Efforts and those of the Jamaica property in an office in Miami. She single-handedly took on that challenge, and we now have a structure in place that is not only efficient and well thought of, but as well an example to other regions in the company.” Please join me in wishing Michele the best in her new endeavors and I am only happy in that she is not joining a direct competitor :-)"
----Carlos Aquino, General Manager, Holiday Inn SunSpree Aruba
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“This was an exceptional year for the hotel, in large part due to Michele’s efforts and the Sales & Catering team in driving revenue and repositioning a hotel that came out of a long overdue renovation. The quality of her work has been excellent in general despite the fact that she has been short-staffed in many instances. My opinion is that Michele is an excellent employee. Very smart and very detailed with a good ability to analyze data and determine future actions. Highly demanding and with a good understanding of the business.
Her performance during 2000 was exceptional, with new sales videos, collateral, positioning and a new improved reputation of the sales area for this hotel under her leadership.
On another positive note, the property has improved in RPAR and Yield each year relative to competition and this would not have occurred without the direction and hard work of the sales department. This is clearly the strongest indicator that we are moving in the right direction. “
---- Arthur Holst, Vice President of Hotel Operations & Revenue Management, Holiday Inn Brand Hotels
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