Associated Luxury Hotels Adds Mark Sergot As Chief Sales Officer To Lead ALHI Global Sales Team

...Fairmont's Highly Respected Senior Vice President Joins Associated Luxury Hotels

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. March 06, 2017

ORLANDO, FL. March 6, 2017 - Parent company Associated Luxury Hotels, which substantially increased its global presence, hospitality services and collection of member hotels and resorts with the recent acquisition of Frankfurt, Germany-based Worldhotels, announced that it has expanded its executive leadership team with the addition of highly respected hospitality industry sales executive Mark Sergot as Chief Sales Officer. Associated Luxury Hotels also owns and operates Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), the leading independent Global Sales Organization (GSO) serving the North American Meetings & Incentive (M&I) marketplace. The announcement of Sergot's appointment was made by Associated Luxury Hotels' Chairman David Gabri.

In this newly created executive-level position, Sergot is responsible for leading the ALHI GSO sales team and business development for Members, along with the strategies, direction, membership and training programs for ALHI. His primary focus will be centered on the ALHI sales operations, team development and deployment, and Account services in order to address the significant growth of demand from Accounts seeking ALHI's GSO and local services to its impressive worldwide hotel and resort membership. For over 30 years ALHI's Global Sales team has been providing professional sales support to meeting professionals, incentive and convention specialists, and business executives throughout North America. ALHI's GSO services and professional sales support is exclusively for its distinguished portfolio of more than 250 luxury-level Meeting, Convention & Incentive-focused hotels and resorts worldwide, plus distinctive “Alliance” members to assist planners. The ALHI GSO includes 21 offices with over 70 sales professionals, including the opening of ALHI's first European GSO sales operation which will open in London, U.K. in late March.

The highly regarded Sergot comes to Associated Luxury Hotels from Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI), where he served as Senior Vice President of the Global Sales Organization, responsible for the structure, strategy, direction, sales training and standards of the worldwide FRHI hotels' sales force in 26 countries across the Fairmont, Raffles & Swissotel brands. In that position he very successfully led the global sales workforce and developed effective market share growth and business development strategies across an international hotel portfolio.

Prior to that position, his 16-year tenure with FRHI also includes serving for six years as Vice President of Global Sales, where he was responsible for overseeing 75 global sales professionals around the world, and for opening new global sales offices in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, India and China.

With more than 25 years of extensive hospitality industry sales and marketing experience, Sergot is a very accomplished global hospitality sales executive who is recognized for his tremendous skills and success in leading and managing sales teams, and for transforming international multi-segment, multi-brand hotel sales organizations. Named one of the “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing” by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), Sergot led the FRHI sales team which was ranked the #1 sales team in the 2016 annual “Business Travel News Hotel Survey,” topping all major luxury hotel brands in the global survey of travel managers. He is an active member of PCMA and HSMAI, and is a member of the latter's Chief Sales Officer Roundtable. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Communications & Public Relations from Illinois State University, and completed postgraduate Executive Scholar Marketing & Sales studies at Northwestern University. He is based in ALHI's Global Sales Office in Chicago, and may be reached at [email protected] .

“We are so delighted to announce that Mark has joined our executive leadership team,” said Gabri. “He is an inspiring, highly accomplished and very effective hospitality industry executive with tremendous domestic and global experience. Mark shares our same DNA with a passion for service, so we could not ask for a more qualified individual to lead ALHI's sales team that serves our exceptional member hotels, resorts and Global Luxury Alliance members, plus our valued customers throughout North America. In addition to being a terrific leader with strong character, his many skills include his international market development, which will serve our members and accounts very well, as we've experienced significant growth over the last several years, and as we evolve in the changing global hospitality landscape. He will be a truly valuable asset, working together with our Associated Luxury Hotels teammates to help meet the demands and needs of our outstanding membership and customers.”

Sergot said, “I am very proud to join such an exceptional and respected organization as Associated Luxury Hotels. I am very excited about working with the very talented and experienced ALHI GSO sales team, which has established a stellar reputation for serving its outstanding portfolio and many valued clients. I really look forward to building on ALHI's already very strong foundation to help grow our sales effectiveness for all stakeholders, in order to best serve our incredible and valued members and the growing number of amazing accounts.”

As the owner and operator of both ALHI and Worldhotels, Associated Luxury Hotels is now evolving to be a significant, full-service “soft brand” solution for owners and operators of independent luxury-level hotels and resorts, and independent hotel brands around the world. Its extensive GSO sales teams and hospitality services now include broad-reaching reservations connectivity solutions, a powerful sales and marketing infrastructure, and an impressive geographic reach that will effectively compete within the world's changing hospitality environment.

The recent acquisition of Worldhotels represents a timely and unique opportunity to increase Associated Luxury Hotels' global competitiveness and profile with the addition of remarkably complementary, membership-based service offerings and a geographically diverse network. Both ALHI and Worldhotels focus on serving independent luxury-level hotels and resorts, and their owners and management, and independent hotel brands, with each featuring a distinguished portfolio offering city center business hotels, historic grand landmark hotels, lifestyle hotels, boutique hotels and exquisite resorts. Worldhotels' portfolio is mostly outside of North America, with major concentrations in Europe and Asia-Pacific regions, while ALHI's portfolio is currently predominantly within North America.

In addition to ALHI's distinguished portfolio offering more than 250 AAA Four- and Five-Diamond quality hotels and resorts worldwide, it also features an Alliance including 23 luxury cruise ships appropriate for M&I programs, and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) in 100-plus locations worldwide. Offering extensive GSO sales services throughout the United States and Canada at no cost to the Accounts, ALHI provides valuable services, expertise, local connectivity, market intelligence, and account advocacy. Worldhotels, which is being operated as a separate division, remains focused on the transient travel sectors, meetings, revenue strategy, training and loyalty solutions for its nearly 350 member hotels and resorts.

Both ALHI and Worldhotels have been exploring means of expanding their geographic reach, talent pool, market penetration, and tactical deployment, making this strategic combination beneficial to both organizations and their memberships.

For more information about ALHI, to inquire about any of the ALHI portfolio properties and Alliance partners, and/or to acquire a free copy of ALHI's “2017 Global Meeting Guide,” contact your nearest of the 20 ALHI Global Sales offices situated coast-to-coast in the United States and in Canada, or call the “ALHI Group Desk” toll-free at 866-303-ALHI (2544), and visit alhi.com .

For specific contacts, go to alhi.com to identify the nearest “ALHI GSO Team” sales professionals in your state/area. ALHI Global Sales offices are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hartford (CT), Houston, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, Louisville, New York City, Orange County (CA), Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Richmond, San Diego, Spokane (WA), Toronto, and Washington, D.C. In March this is expanded to include London, U.K., the first for ALHI in Europe.

For more information about Associated Luxury Hotels, visit alhworld.com . For more information about Worldhotels, go to worldhotels.com .

About Associated Luxury Hotels

Associated Luxury Hotels (alhworld.com) is the parent company of Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) and Worldhotels. With the acquisition of Worldhotels, the highly-respected Associated Luxury Hotels has significantly expanded its global footprint, its collection of member hotels and resorts, and its worldwide sales, marketing, distribution and hospitality services. As the owner and operator of ALHI and Worldhotels, Associated Luxury Hotels is now an even more valuable hospitality resource for owners and operators of independent upper-upscale and luxury-level hotels and resorts, and independent hotel brands around the world. Associated Luxury Hotels is now a significant, full-service “soft brand” solution which provides an expanded array of Global Sales Organization services with broad-reaching reservations connectivity solutions, a powerful sales and marketing infrastructure, and an impressive geographic reach. The company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About ALHI, with 250 Hotels & Resorts + Alliance Members

ALHI (alhi.com), established in 1986, is the leading independent Global Sales Organization serving the North American meetings and incentive (M&I) marketplace, providing one-call local access for its distinguished membership of more than 250 luxury-level hotels and resorts, collectively comprising 138,500 rooms. ALHI's portfolio also features a Global Luxury Alliance partnership including 23 luxury cruise ships appropriate for M&I programs, and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) in 100-plus locations worldwide. ALHI, effectively, assists M&I planners in the U.S. and Canada with their M&I programs in the U.S.A. and in more than 90 other countries worldwide. The member dues-funded ALHI GSO has been serving its clientele with an unparalleled variety of M&I solutions around the globe for more than 30 years. Offering extensive GSO sales services throughout the United States and Canada at no cost to M&I customers, ALHI provides valuable services, expertise, local connectivity, market intelligence, and account advocacy. Currently ALHI features 20 Global Sales offices situated coast-to-coast in the United States and in Canada, and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About Worldhotels, with 350 Hotels & Resorts

The 45-year-old Worldhotels (worldhotels.com) is a global brand that brings together some of the world's most unique independent hotels, including 350 member hotels and resorts in 200 destinations in over 50 countries, collectively incorporating 75,000 rooms. This includes 165 hotels and resorts in Europe, 108 in Asia Pacific, 18 in South America, 12 in the Middle East, 7 in Africa, and 40 in North America. Worldhotels offers its membership luxury-level hotels, resorts, and small competitive brands a comprehensive range of services - including global marketing, sales, training, e-commerce and state-of-the-art distribution and technology. These services, when combined with the power of the global Worldhotels brand, provide independent hotels a soft brand solution that allows them to retain their individual character and identity while capitalizing on global marketing opportunities targeting the IBT, leisure traveler, meetings and distribution sectors. The company remains based and headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany.