Editorial Board   Guest Author

Ms. Parisi

Dawn Parisi

Area Director of Sales & Marketing, Starwood Caribbean Hotels & Resorts

Dawn Parisi, with 18 years of hospitality sales and marketing experience under her belt, leads the Starwood Caribbean Hotels & Resorts team as the cluster's area director of sales and marketing and director of sales and marketing for The Westin St. John Resort & Villas. Before joining Starwood Caribbean Hotels & Resorts, Ms. Parisi held positions at major brands from Hilton Hotels to Intercontinental Hotels Group in several key markets including the Caribbean, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Orlando, Cincinnati and West Palm Beach. Previously at Starwood, Ms. Parisi served as the director of sales and marketing for new builds and transitions as well as complex director of sales at the W Hotels of New York City. As area director of sales and marketing, Ms. Parisi oversees six properties: The Westin St. John Resort & Villas; The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba; W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island; Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort & Casino; Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino and The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico. Among her duties, Ms. Parisi is primarily responsible for revenue and yield strategies along with directing and managing all catering and banquet sales activities. Within The Westin St. John Resort & Villas, Ms. Parisi develops sales initiatives, builds and maintains deep-rooted customer relationships, realizes strategies to meet and exceed guests' needs in leisure and group sales functions, and achieves the property's sales objectives.

Ms. Parisi can be contacted at 866-716-8108 or dawn.parisi@starwoodhotels.com

Coming up in May 2019...

Eco-Friendly Practices: Corporate Social Responsibility

The hotel industry has undertaken a long-term effort to build more responsible and socially conscious businesses. What began with small efforts to reduce waste - such as paperless checkouts and refillable soap dispensers - has evolved into an international movement toward implementing sustainable development practices. In addition to establishing themselves as good corporate citizens, adopting eco-friendly practices is sound business for hotels. According to a recent report from Deloitte, 95% of business travelers believe the hotel industry should be undertaking “green” initiatives, and Millennials are twice as likely to support brands with strong management of environmental and social issues. Given these conclusions, hotels are continuing to innovate in the areas of environmental sustainability. For example, one leading hotel chain has designed special elevators that collect kinetic energy from the moving lift and in the process, they have reduced their energy consumption by 50%  over conventional elevators. Also, they installed an advanced air conditioning system which employs a magnetic mechanical system that makes them more energy efficient. Other hotels are installing Intelligent Building Systems which monitor and control temperatures in rooms, common areas and swimming pools, as well as ventilation and cold water systems. Some hotels are installing Electric Vehicle charging stations, planting rooftop gardens, implementing stringent recycling programs, and insisting on the use of biodegradable materials. Another trend is the creation of Green Teams within a hotel's operation that are tasked to implement earth-friendly practices and manage budgets for green projects. Some hotels have even gone so far as to curtail or eliminate room service, believing that keeping the kitchen open 24/7 isn't terribly sustainable. The May issue of the Hotel Business Review will document what some hotels are doing to integrate sustainable practices into their operations and how they are benefiting from them.

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