Starwood's Westin Houston Memorial City Names Sales, Marketing & Catering Team
The Four Points by Sheraton Houston Memorial City, Sheraton Houston West and The Westin Houston Memorial City & Residences Opening Spring 2011
Houston, TX - November 15, 2010 - Mark Weatherill, General Manager of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Memorial City Complex has assembled a distinguished team of experienced professionals with more than seven decades of hotel and hospitality experience for The Westin Houston Memorial City. According to Weatherill, “We've brought on board the most seasoned group of executives we could find and we feel their background and experience insures fulfillment of the goals we have set and the ultimate success of this exciting new project.” With The Westin Houston Memorial City opening scheduled for Spring 2011, the team has been hard at work promoting the 267-key new property with over 30,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space designed to create seamless, memorable, inspiring and productive events, weddings and convention business.
At the helm of this talented team is Chris Miller , Complex Director of Sales and Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Memorial City Complex overseeing all sales, marketing, public relations and positioning for the 267-room Westin Houston Memorial City Hotel & Residences, the 171-room Four Points by Sheraton Houston Memorial City, the 158-room Sheraton Houston West and over 34,000 square feet of combined banquet and meeting space.
In preparation for The Westin Houston Memorial City opening, Miller is directing the pre-opening strategic sales plan, managing sales and expense budgets and has built a team of top sales professionals. In his first year as Complex Director of Sales and Marketing, Miller garnered numerous accolades including Starvoice Best of Class for 2009 and 2009 Sheraton Brand Hotel of the Year for Sheraton Houston West.
Miller's team includes Director of Group Sales, Jason Purifoy , who oversees all group sales for The Westin Houston Memorial City. Prior to joining The Westin Houston Memorial City, Mr. Purifoy held the position of Associate Director of Sales & Marketing at La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa, where he led the sales and membership teams and oversaw branding, market segmentation, systems integration and pre- and post-opening sales. He is currently President of the Houston Chapter of Meeting Planners International (MPI).
Integral to The Westin Houston Memorial City team is Director of Catering and Convention Services, Vicky Morales . Vicky will oversee more than 30,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space as well as direct staffing and operations for special events, weddings, catering services and conventions. Ms. Morales joins The Westin Houston Memorial City from The Westin Galleria Houston and The Westin Oaks Houston, where she was Assistant Director of Catering and Convention Services, responsible for catering and conventions for both hotels.
Working with Vicky Morales is Catering Manager, Julie Lovorn , responsible for sales and execution of all corporate catering services for The Westin Houston Memorial City, which houses over 30,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. Prior to joining The Westin Houston Memorial City, Lovorn served as Corporate Catering Sales Manager at the Hilton Houston Westchase and Sales Manager at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Houston Medical Center.
Rounding out The Westin's award-winning team is Heidi Gwinn , Senior Sales Manager, The Westin Houston Memorial City; Pilar Monsalve, Senior Complex Business Travel Sales and Manager, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Memorial City Complex and Michelle Rayburn, Complex Corporate Sales Manager, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Memorial City Complex.
In her role as Senior Sales Manager, Heidi Gwinn is responsible for handling all National and State Associations as well as SMERF markets for the 267 guest rooms and over 30,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space for The Westin Houston Memorial City. Since May 2008, Gwinn has overseen all group market sales for Sheraton Houston West and Four Points by Sheraton Houston Memorial City.
As Senior Complex Business Travel Sales Manager for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Memorial City Complex, Pilar Monsalve will supervise corporate travel market development, account acquisition and client relations for the 158-room Sheraton Houston West, the 171-room Four Points by Sheraton Houston Memorial City and the 267-room Westin Houston Memorial City. Prior to this position, Ms. Monsalve was Business Travel Sales Manager for The Westin Galleria Houston and The Westin Oaks Houston.
Charged with managing all corporate group sales for the Sheraton Houston West, the Four Points by Sheraton Houston Memorial City and The Westin Houston Memorial City is Michelle Rayburn, Complex Corporate Sales Manager for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Memorial City Complex comprising a total of 596 rooms and over 34,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. Prior to this position, Ms. Rayburn developed her career at The St. Regis Houston as Business Travel Sales Manager.
About Westin Hotels & Resorts
Westin Hotels & Resorts makes the healthiest choices irresistibly appealing, so guests leave feeling better than when they arrived. With over 170 hotels and resorts in over 36 countries and territories, Westin is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood Hotels is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Meridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1000 properties in nearly 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Meridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
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