Sales Marketing

LEVI LESTER

* ******** *****, ***** # *, Sussex, NJ 07461 Phone: 973-***-**** Cell: 973-***-****

E-Mail: *******@*********.***

SENIOR-LEVEL/EXECUTIVE HOSPITALITY SALES and MARKETING

Offering superb sales and marketing skills and proven track record in hospitality industry,

along with significant experience in brand management and development of brand standards

P ROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Progressive sales/marketing executive with 15+ years of hotel experience positioned for return to

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hospitality industry.

Polished closer with intimate understanding of hotel field, expertise in new hotel openings and

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turnaround property situations, and the ability to oversee sales and marketing activity for a

growing company.

Exceptional communicator who excels at delivering presentations and maintaining customer

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relations with national accounts.

Entrepreneurial achiever with extensive skills and experience selling nationally and regionally.

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Strong leader with proven ability to teach by example, as well as direct sales managers and

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administrative staff while interacting with all levels of management.

Strategic marketer with experience in managing and implementing budgets and plans.

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P ROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS, AWARDS, and DISTINCTIONS

President, NJ Chapter, HSMAI, 1993-1996. RMA Marketer of the Year, 1994

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Recipient of numerous advertising honors, Published author and frequent guest speaker

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including Gold awards for Brand Marketing, at numerous association and corporate

Franchise Marketing, Frequent Guest functions

Program Marketing, and Brand Identity

P ROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Vice President, Marketing, TJ Kelly Electrical Contractors, Inc., Sussex, NJ, April 2002 to Present

Oversee all direct sales and marketing efforts of this small, privately owned, independent

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electrical subcontractor that provides services to owners/developers, general contractors, and

construction-management companies.

Generated approximately two invitations to bid weekly from account base by playing key role in

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bid-package presentations, owner and/or owner rep meetings,

Developed business plan to penetrate local, regional, and national private construction sector.

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Via direct sales, qualified firm with 220+ accounts with project-management and estimating

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teams for whom company is now capable of receiving bid requests.

Developed prospecting source for business, yielding future potential pipeline of 140+ jobs.

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Directed cost-effective development of Web site that provides information on firm s credentials,

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references, and capabilities and can receive RFIs and RFPs directly from contractors and

owners/developers.

Coordinated installation of ISDN phone lines and AutoCad to support Web-based initiatives.

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Led sales increase of $2+ million from 2001 to 2002, as well as sales that are currently trending

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higher in 2003 vs. 2002, with expected 2003 sales of $10 million.

L. Lester page two

President/General Partner, Palladium Hospitality Services, LLC, Concord, NH, Jan. 2001 to April 2002

Developed overall business plan and initiated solicitation of key client base for lodging and

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restaurant advisory/consulting/management-services company specializing in hotel

development/re-development, operations, sales and marketing, strategic partnerships/alliances,

branding, advertising, graphic design, communications, and hotel asset management.

Successfully represented marketing efforts of a major motorsports company in gaining

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sponsorship; functioned as consultant to owner during proposal-to-contract stages.

Assisted major management company with developing and implementing marketing plan that

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successfully opened Hilton Garden Inn, Lehigh, PA.

Provided consulting services to other management advisory groups on a project-by-project basis.

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Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing/Brand Manager, Pinnacle Hospitality Corp., Bergenfield,

NJ, June 1991 to Aug. 2000

Oversaw all aspects of sales and marketing management for publicly traded hotel company

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comprising 210 hotels with annual revenues of $600+ million under its proprietary brands,

SuperSuites and Radcliffe Inn & Suites, and which owns and manages full-service hotels under

franchise agreements with such organizations as Radisson, Sheraton, Hilton, Crowne Plaza,

Holiday, and Ramada.

Recruited to assist company during its Chapter 11 reorganization and successful 1993 emergence.

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Developed and implemented sales/marketing and operating standards for proprietary brands.

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Managed $10 million marketing budget.

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Generated up to 12 percent of total brand revenues by developing three national sales offices.

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Led development and implementation of two-way real time Central Reservations System,

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which contributed 34 percent for SuperSuites and 25 percent for Radcliffe.

Revitalized direct-selling efforts, propelling strong quarterly revenue growth year-to-year.

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Developed three Web sites and implemented Web-based frequency program with 110K members.

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Directly managed subsidiary company, Niche Segments Inc. (NSI), that specializes in group sales

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representing $30 million in annual sales; improved profitability from $260K to $1.4 million.

Developed company-wide yield-management practices and implemented database-marketing

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initiatives.

Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing/Limited Partner, Trophy Hotel Corporation, Bethesda,

MD, Nov. 1987 to June 1991

Evaluated, selected, and trained sales/marketing personnel for limited partnership that assisted

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hotel owners in repositioning their hotel assets to sell them on the open market; all 24 hotels were

sold to new owners during tenure.

Devised strategic marketing and sales plans to improve revenues, market share, and profitability.

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Introduced company-wide yield-management practices and procedures, including pricing,

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market-mix management, and inventory controls.

Oversaw up to 12 percent increase in sales revenues, with corresponding increases in profitability.

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Successfully opened five new hotels.

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Implemented sales-office automation in seven hotels.

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E DUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

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