LAURA GONZALEZ
Jacksonville
Summary
Sales & Marketing professional with 10 years of experience in the Hospitality Industry, and 7 years in sales & marketing industry. Engaging and outgoing person in team setting willing to take on any tasks and dedicate all time and effort into making sure the current role is learned and mastered. Extremely moldable and quick learner.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
Work History
Business Development Manager
RealVoice Technologies
08.2022 - Current
- Reached out to potential customers via telephone, email, and in-person inquiries.
- 40% travel to tradeshows, sales mission, in person Demos, etc.
- Incorporated practices and culture from previous industry experience in hospitality and tourism which resulted in an improvement of image with the clients and grew long term pratnerships.
- Generated new business with marketing initiatives and strategic plans, all of which include: Social Media campaigns, Email campaigns and promotions.
- Established relationships with key decision-makers within customer's organization to promote growth and retention.
- Negotiated and closed long-term agreements with new clients in assigned territory.
National Account Manager
Visit Jacksonville
12.2021 - 08.2022
- Managed, supported and grew business relationships with both new and existing accounts and developed strategies to increase incoming tourism into the city of Jacksonville.
- Managed multiple market segments and regions all of which include Sports, Medical, and Tech as well as the northeast and west coast regions.
- Successfully prospected for new clients based on the needs dates of the city as well as based on the dates needed by the hotel partners
- Worked closely with Marketing to create a landing page for a digital meeting planner sales kit that is customized for each market segment in order to reduce paper waste when traveling.
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING
Tru by Hilton Jacksonville South Mandarin
07.2020 - 11.2021
- Of Sales and Marketing responsible for developing client base from the ground up at the newest hotel in Mandarin Jacksonville by targeting previous clients, understanding the changes in the market, and exhausting new resources as they emerge in the industry
- Anticipated operating at an average occupancy of 50% for the year of 2021 as hotel ramps up over a 6 month period and was able to exit ramp up period with an average 80% occupancy in record time of 3 months all the while a global pandemic overran the hospitality industry
- The only Director of Sales in the management company that has been allowed to manage social media platforms at a property level (Instagram & Facebook) after developing engaging and creative social media strategies
- Monitoring and tracking of incoming and trending business opportunities in the city of Jacksonville and more specifically researching how we can best meet the needs of the potential client
- Led opening team alongside General Manager during and assisted in any and all guest services and operations related tasks which include but are not limited to: developing new standard operating procedures to best accommodate guest needs at the time or arrival and throughout their stay, curating all guest related communication to streamline a consistent message with Hilton brand standards for our guest services steam.
CENTER MANAGER
Groover Stewart Building
09.2019 - 04.2020
- Responsible for Sales, Marketing and Operations of one of the largest Coworking Centers in the city of Jacksonville
- This included 99 private offices 8 SmartSuites and over 250 occupants
- Developed new marketing strategies targeting local community and digital markets to bring awareness of our center, our business model and our culture
- Sponsored networking events for various organizations in order to speak and educate the public on the benefits of coworking and produced live social media content during these events
- Significantly increased center occupancy upon arrival at center after decline in Summer 2019
- Maintained client retention by analyzing and resolving areas of concern such as parking, security, pricing, and customer service
- Worked with third party vendors to elevate quality of amenities, and refresh the look of our center.
BUSINESS TRAVEL & GROUP SALES MANAGER
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville
07.2018 - 08.2019
- Dual roll: responsible of managing over 30 local and national business travel accounts was well as various group markets such as Local Jacksonville Corporate, Entertainment Groups and Sports
- Teams
- Single Sales manager with wholesale travel experience at the property level
- Exceeded Group Quota on first full 3-month quarter at a 181% total revenue and exceeded every month thereafter
- Responsible for creating and developing relationship with local corporate businesses and educating them in how our hotel partnership is beneficial to them
- Lead Monthly strategy meeting with leadership committee where successes and areas of improvements were discussed and strategized how to increase business travel growth.
BUSINESS & GROUP TRAVEL COORDINATOR
Hyatt Regency Orlando
08.2016 - 07.2018
- Manage wholesales, entertainment and business travel; building strong relationships to ensure future growth and repeat business
- Developed a new transient account analysis tool to streamline production and forecasting
- To make sure the hotel is monitoring and selecting the best pieces of business filling the hotels need dates
- Work with revenue department to ensure all wholesale and volume business is performing to meet hotel’s expectation
- Manage world with limited supervision with tasks such as: answering transient group leads, group proposals, as well as creating, detailing and turning over major market agreements
- Bridging gap between sales and events department by taking initiative to participate in daily staff meeting opening the communication up between the two departments
- Additional Wo r k E x p e r i e n c e
Education
Bachelor of Science - Hospitality Management & Event Management
University of Central Florida Rosen School of Hospitality Management
2015
Skills
- Territory Management
- Performance Goals
- Revenue Forecasting
- Event Planning
- Lead Qualification
- Advertising Campaigns
TECHNICAL
- Problem Solving
- Analytical
- Efficient
- Upbeat
- Team Player
- Creative
PERSONAL
Languages
Spanish
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Business Development Manager
RealVoice Technologies
08.2022 - Current
National Account Manager
Visit Jacksonville
12.2021 - 08.2022
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING
Tru by Hilton Jacksonville South Mandarin
07.2020 - 11.2021
CENTER MANAGER
Groover Stewart Building
09.2019 - 04.2020
BUSINESS TRAVEL & GROUP SALES MANAGER
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville
07.2018 - 08.2019
BUSINESS & GROUP TRAVEL COORDINATOR
Hyatt Regency Orlando
08.2016 - 07.2018
Bachelor of Science - Hospitality Management & Event Management
University of Central Florida Rosen School of Hospitality Management
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