Hotel Online  Special Report

advertisement
,
.
 SRS-WORLDHOTELS Implements Latin America
Business Strategy; Appoints Maria Diez and
Tom Moncho to Team
.
NEW YORK � (May 27, 2004) � SRS-WORLDHOTELS, the Americas, today announced that it plans to capitalize on the growing strength of the Latin American economy through a newly established business strategy focused on regional development, increased sales and new marketing programs. 

The plan was announced by Tom Griffiths, vice president, SRS-WORLDHOTELS, the Americas, following a two-day meeting held recently in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with regional company leaders representing development, sales, marketing and member hotels.

�Over the past year, we�ve seen a rebound in Latin American currencies and job growth, a trend in hotel investments, and a renewed confidence in local governments about the future state of the region,� said Griffiths.  �While the pendulum is swinging in a positive direction, we are leveraging these positive business trends to not only increase revenue, but also room night growth for our member hotels.� 

Specific elements of the company�s new Latin American business strategy include a development plan calling for the addition of 24 new member hotels in the region by the end of 2007.  Key destination and business travel markets under consideration include Mexico City, Mexico; Guatemala; Panama City, Panama; Lima, Peru; Asuncion, Paraguay; Montevideo, Uruguay; Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador; Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre, Brazil; and San Salvador, El Salvador. 

Currently, there are nine SRS-WORLDHOTELS member hotels in the region in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela.

New sales initiatives include proactive cross selling of member hotels in the region; site visits by sales personnel based in Brazil and Argentina to familiarize themselves with each property�s unique selling proposition; joint sales calls with U.S.-based sales personnel to corporation and organizations in Miami, Fla., key Southeastern U.S. cities and New York City; and the creation of a brochure featuring Latin American member hotels that will be distributed globally.

To aid in these efforts, SRS-WORLDHOTELS, the Americas, will add two new sales and membership services professionals in Miami and Orlando, Fla., in the coming months. 

�As regional unemployment rates drop while investments and exports continue to rise, it�s only natural that inbound and inter-regional business travel will increase,� said Griffiths. �By streamlining our sales practices and resources, we intend to capture a greater share of the corporate and group markets for our member hotels.�

Also, SRS-WORLDHOTELS has appointed Maria Diez to the position of regional director of sales for the Southeast region of the U.S., and Tom Moncho as manager of WORLDEVENTS for the Americas.

Maria Diez

This spring, Diez will open a new regional sales office in Miami, Fla., where she will focus on increasing customer share and revenue by selling member hotels to key corporate, group and travel management segments.  She will report directly to Shirley Perezic, senior director of sales for SRS-WORLDHOTELS, the Americas.

�The Southeast region is increasingly more important to SRS-WORLDHOTLELS as we add more quality properties to our member portfolio, and focus on gaining a greater share of Latin America�s in- and out-bound travel market,� said Perezic. 

�We are impressed with both the level of experience and types of accomplishments Maria has achieved in her career, and look forward to our organization benefiting from her established sales skills.�

Most recently, Diez served as property manager for The Continental Group in South Florida, where she was responsible for the overall management of the company�s condominium association.  Prior to this, she was the general manager and director of sales and marketing for Raven Hotel Management in Miami Beach, in which she increased revenue by 57% through the development and implementation of strategic marketing plan for Continental�s boutique hotels. 

Diez�s job experience also includes several management positions at the Richmond Hotel and Century Hotel in Miami Beach, as well as the Hotel Delmonico and Mayflower Hotel in New York City.  In additional to completing several training courses designed to enhance job-related skills and performance, Diez earned a Bachelors Degree in Marketing, Hotel Management and Public Relations from New York University, and holds a Community Association Manager (CAM) license from the State of Florida.

Tom Moncho

As Manager of WORLDEVENTS -- the company�s new resource that gives meeting and event planners access to meeting facilities at more than 450 SRS-WORLDHOTELS� locations worldwide -- Moncho�s key responsibilities include managing and developing targeted group, meeting and incentive accounts; prospecting and developing new opportunities through direct solicitation in North America for company-wide business; and participating in local and regional events and trade shows in the group segment.  He will also report to Shirley Perezic.

�Tom earned this position through his proven success at simultaneously managing numerous projects for high-profile clients,� said Perezic. �His personal references admired the fact that Tom maintains a positive attitude and provides excellent customer service, even when he�s under fire. We�re confident he is the right person to grow our WORLDEVENTS service in the Americas, and will be a vital member of the entire SRS-WORLDHOTELS� team.� 

Before joining SRS-WORLDHOTELS, Moncho worked for Rosenbluth International where he was the senior meeting planner and hotel coordinator for clients Citibank and Colgate-Palmolive.  In this role, he established a groups and meetings department for Citibank at Rosenbluth�s New York headquarters, while supervising and facilitating site selection research and event planning for up to 165 programs per year.  In January 2003, he began meeting planning for Colgate-Palmolive, and it�s subsidiary Hills Pet Nutrition, from Colgate�s headquarters in New York.

Moncho also was the senior meeting planner for New York-based McCord Travel Management in which he served a diverse, international client list of companies primarily located in Europe and the Caribbean. Prior to this position, he managed group travel departments at Zenith Travel Management and Stevens Travel Management, and also served as a travel consultant at Kennedy Travel.

Moncho is a certified public speaker from the Dale Carnegie Institute in New York City, and holds educational certificates in Managerial Decision Making and Travel and Tourism from New York University and Skinner Business School in Garden City, N.Y., respectively.  He is an active member of Meeting Professionals International and an honorary member of Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International.

SRS-WORLDHOTELS is one of the world's leading hotel sales, marketing and distribution organizations. This progressive and steadily expanding corporation represents over 450 member properties in 65 countries spanning all continents. 

 

###

Contact:
SRS-WORLDHOTELS
http://www.srs-worldhotels.com

 
Also See: Tom Griffiths, Former Carlson Hotels Executive, Brings New Vision, Infrastructure to SRS-WORLDHOTELS / January 2004
SRS-WORLDHOTELS Grows Portfolio by 56 Independent Hotels in 2003; Seeks to Increase Internet Bookings by 20% in 2004 / February 2004


To search Hotel Online data base of News and Trends Go to Hotel.Online Search


Home | Welcome! | Hospitality News | Classifieds | Catalogs & Pricing | Viewpoint Forum | Ideas/Trends
Please contact Hotel.Online with your comments and suggestions.