DEAN
KNAPP
PEOPLE TO WATCH
LEADING
THE
WAY
WANT TO GET A GOOD IDEA OF WHERE THE HOTEL INDUSTRY IS GOING ? FROM CEOS FOCUSED ON LOYALTY AND CULTURE TO CHAMPIONS OF WELLNESS , SUSTAINABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT , HERE ARE SIX LEADERS AT THE FOREFRONT OF SOME OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES THAT HOSPITALITY IS TACKLING .
Contributed by MEGAN ROWE
“
You can ’ t scale a business unless you first have a culture ,” says Sloan Dean , recently elevated from the chief operating officer post at Dallas-based Remington . And with Remington ’ s drive to expand its third-party management business , culture has been his priority .
Dean , who joined the company just two years ago , quickly focused on enhancing Remington ’ s reputation as an employer by stressing education and development , sweetening benefits and creating career paths for the 7,000 associates . The company ’ s Glassdoor ratings have soared as a result .
Being an attractive employer will be crucial as Remington grows . It has nearly 90 hotels today , managing for half a dozen owners .
“ I think it ’ s reasonable to think in five to six years we ’ ll be at 150 hotels and managing for a dozen to two dozen institutional capital groups ,” he says . In the process , he adds , “ we don ’ t want to sacrifice culture for growth .”
Dean , who had been senior vice president of underwriting and revenue optimization at parent company Ashford Inc ., also implemented operational enhancements
SLOAN
DEAN
CEO , Remington Hotels
that drove Remington ’ s performance . He ’ ll lead a growing executive team that recently added operations , business development , F & B and engineering VPs .
His background includes executive jobs in business development and acquisitions , sales and marketing , and revenue management at other management companies . He likes to look outside the industry for ideas .
“ You have to consume a lot of information and never be comfortable that you have it all figured out ,” he observes .
SHANNON
KNAPP
CEO , The Leading Hotels of the World
Shannon Knapp , The Leading Hotels of the World ’ s chief marketing officer for five years , essentially has devoted her entire career to travel marketing . She spent 15 years with American Express , eventually rising to vice president of marketing for its travel division . She left in 2013 to become senior vice president and CMO at Leading in 2013 ; there , she recast the Leaders Club loyalty program and championed a data-driven marketing strategy that created efficiencies and drove incremental revenue for owners . Early in 2019 , Knapp was offered Leading ’ s interim CEO post ; by the end of the year she was ready to go all in . She sees having a marketer at the top as only logical . “ At the end of the day , we are essentially a sales and marketing organization ,” she notes . Knapp ’ s priorities : keeping the collection ’ s 400-plus hotels relevant to an ever-more-discriminating audience ; filling gaps in the portfolio ; and staying competitive in the luxury space .
She argues that data and technology can help Leading stay on top of the expectations of customers – both existing and potential . The organization has spent about US $ 20 million in technology upgrades over the past five years , including more robust CRM functionality .
Knapp expects to steer the organization toward establishing a foothold in new or underrepresented markets , such as San Francisco , Seattle , Denver , Vancouver and Tokyo . She also will advocate for Leading ’ s edge for independent-minded owners .
26 hotelsmag . com April 2020