Laura Purewal

Combined 22 years of hospitality experience with Airbnb’s vacation rental platform. Invested into Davis Islands, Tampa, Florida pool home and tapped into extensive background and passion in revenue management, customer service, sales, social media marketing, real estate negotiations, photography and dynamic team management to create proven 5-Star experience for each booked guest. Achieved Superhost in 4 months with 5 Star reviews, 21 Guests, 85% occupancy rate, 0 cancellations, outstanding hospitality, and ADR of $650.

Empire Photography boasts clients such as LA Rams, Ameristar Casino Resort and Medical Transportation Management, Inc. Published in Internationally recognized by St. Louis Magazine, Empire Photography was awarded “Photographer of the Year” and “Top 100” by Shoot and Share. Built clientele and sales through use of social media and world of mouth, Empire specializes in Corporate and Family Photography. Empire GR $45,000 in sales in first year, $65,000 by second.

Collaborated with team to sell, negotiate, budget and pre-plan technology programs up to 5,000 participants. Expert in site sourcing, creative proposals, million dollar international budgets, new business development and negotiating of program contracts. Developed effective relationships with team members, clients and vendors to provide best selection and value to clients.

• Negotiated national and international contracts with hotels, convention centers and unique venues for 10 – 5,000 person events.
• Guided Account Directors with effective strategies to deliver event options in order to help team effectively close business.
• Creatively pitched event to potential client, and ultimately won their interest and business.
• Developed and managed sophisticated online event tool for new client to use internally when planning 200 nation-wide events.

Strategically directed operations and finance for the hotel sales catering department, overseeing a 15-member sales catering team. Promoted to National Sales Manager, remotely selling all 50 properties, with 60,000 sleeping rooms and 2 million square feet of meeting space. Scope encompasses cultivating new and existing relationships among the corporate and association segments. Optimize and capitalize on Caesar’s 3.4 billion dollar competitive position and analyze marketing trends as a key factor in issuing sound yield management group decisions. Utilize the Delphi event management system and Knowland system.

• Delivered 100%-350% of established quota in Q2 ’11 – Q2 ’14, positioning property as #1 in division for sales and catering revenue. Generated 240K in business, well exceeding 80K benchmark.
• Applied advanced contract negotiation and management skills to maximize ancillary revenue above and beyond the room and F&B minimums. Consistently contract for A/V, golf, shuttle, and other services.
• Introduced practice of structuring multi-year contracts, a 1st for small box properties, and this change has proven instrumental in securing repeat clientele.
• Instituted standardization into site inspections and presentation of VIP room amenities and concessions, which has markedly enhanced client experience and built brand loyalty.
• Transformed sales catering team into cohesive, high performance group, to build executives’ confidence in department regarding business-critical client relationship management issues.

Returned to this organization (previously, Lead Travel Director: 2001 to 2004) to oversee sourcing in all business sectors. Integrally contributed to strategic client meetings to recommend event planning concepts. Provided leadership for the 40-member MPI CMP Study Group, managing the operations and the team from a virtual office.

• Directed 30 advisory board meetings in 30 days for Bristol-Myers Squibb, in locations across Canada from Vancouver to Toronto. Joined with Maritz strategic partner, MaxVantage, on this program.
• Coordinated 21 regional and branch office administrator meetings for key client, Edward Jones, over 2-year period.
• Sourced and negotiated 40 contracts on quick turnaround, to successfully execute Dell Computer’s national road show.
• Planned 4 waves of sales incentive cruise for GM; each wave was 400 participants who departed from Miami for several different island destinations.

Developed creative multi-million dollar incentive programs, encompassing strategic planning, proposal and budget development, global site selection, and sales strategies and presentations. Delivered high-impact presentations to executive decision makers and accompanied sales specialists in meetings in order to close key accounts or re-secure jeopardized accounts.

• Creatively managed multi-million dollar programs for new and existing accounts, and presented directly to clients’ executive leadership teams.
• Created Maui, Hawaii program for 600 employees of a battery company. Developed $3 million budget and captured a $1.3 million savings through strong relationship with the four-star hotel.
• Recaptured jeopardized account of a top national fast-food chain, by presenting a winning proposal for an Alaskan cruise, listening to client’s needs, and reaffirming company’s value.
• Launched several tools essential for cost savings in purchasing and negotiations. Developed an addendum outlining concessions and total savings, including cancellation and attrition clauses.

Managed more than 50 domestic and international event programs annually for groups of up to 800, typically managing 25 projects simultaneously. Strategically developed RFPs, performed site selection, budget execution, vendor negotiations, and short-term contract execution. Specialized in pharmaceutical meetings. Negotiated with international vendors such as Prague, Athens, Lisbon, Munich, and Japan. Cultivated vendor relationships with Hilton, Starwood, Fairmont, Leading Hotels, The DMC Group, and CVBs. Conducted this work in a hybrid virtual office arrangement.

• Personally generated $4 million+, while the team delivered $8 million in 2005, deemed a banner year in the firm’s 20-year history.
• Recaptured a jeopardized account for the company by developing an additional program in Greece. Merited a promotion and the “Shining Star” for outstanding performance on this account.
• Re-booked a program that a client cancelled, with a group of the same size at the same property, then developed another program at that property for 400, generating a total profit of $130K.