Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) announces Telesa Via has joined the organization’s new Luxury and Leisure Sales division as Vice President of Luxury and Leisure Sales.
Via brings more than two decades of sales and marketing experience in the hospitality industry to ALHI. She will report directly to Senior Vice President Anita Rahman and will actively develop the division by leveraging her reputation and deep connections in the industry.
ALHI announced in April the launch of the Luxury and Leisure Sales division, designed to represent Member resorts and hotels in the luxury leisure programs, consortia, business travel, luxury wholesale and entertainment segments.
“We are excited to bring such an experienced talent like Telesa into the ALHI family as we continue to build out our Luxury Leisure Sales offering,” said ALHI President and CEO Michael Dominguez. “As we have consistently displayed on the group side of our industry performance, our plan to build a team focused on the high touch engagement expected in the luxury leisure is well underway."
Via most recently was head of sales and catering for IHG Hotels & Resorts Luxury & Lifestyle Americas. With responsibility for a 350-person sales force and a $1 billion revenue budget, Telesa achieved impressive results for the global company. She delivered a 20% increase in brand index and RevPAR growth, to a historic 116% from 90%. Over the course of her career, she has worked with several hotel brands, including Kimpton, Hyatt and Ritz Carlton.
During her 15 years with Kimpton, she focused on identifying trends, innovating guest services and strategically increasing market share and customer satisfaction. She is deeply committed to growing and maintaining key client relationships and will be a key resource for the growing ALHI division.
"Telesa excels in developing and executing comprehensive sales and marketing strategies,” Rahman said. “We are building an exceptional team of talent to lead our luxury lifestyle offering, and based on feedback from our Members, the timing is perfect.”
The expansion of ALHI’s services also includes Senior Vice President, Member Strategy & Development Cesar Wurm and Director of Global Sales, Luxury and Leisure Barry Kushner.
To learn more about this new development, contact luxuryleisuresales@alhi.com.
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About Associated Luxury Hotels International: Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) serves as a global sales organization (GSO) for its exclusive membership of the world's most distinguished independently operated or owned hotels and resorts, cruise ships and DMCs within the meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition (MICE) marketplace, and now luxury leisure space. With a dedicated GSO team of nearly 80 professionals in 26 offices across North America and Europe, ALHI delivers personalized service and connectivity to a select membership of more than 250 luxury properties worldwide. Divisions of ALHI include Group Sales, Luxury Leisure Sales, Destination Weddings, eSports, a full-service creative agency and more. For more information, visit ALHI.com.