Groups360 recently announced the addition of two senior executives as part of an ongoing global expansion. Wendy Blaney will lead sales teams in the Northeast region of the U.S., and Dan Humby will lead the European region and oversee the launch of the company’s London office.
Both executives bring decades of experience and deep relationships in global hospitality.
Wendy Blaney, vice president, sales, Northeast U.S.
Blaney joins Groups360 with more than 30 years of group sales and travel strategy experience while working with some of the largest, most prestigious brands in the world. Her career includes management and leadership roles for Sheraton, Wyndham and Caesars Entertainment, as well as internal travel services management at Johnson & Johnson. Most recently, Blaney served as senior vice president and chief sales officer of Atlantis, Paradise Island, where she led sales, revenue management and call center operations.
“I’ve spent years working as a hotelier and an event planner, so I’ve experienced the needs of both audiences firsthand,” Blaney said. “In today’s rapidly changing and uncertain environment, planners and hoteliers need speed, simplicity and accuracy when determining where to hold an event. The ability to book guest rooms and meeting space online is exactly what the industry needs right now. I’m thrilled that we will be able to provide true online booking for meetings and events with the GroupSync platform.”
Dan Humby, vice president, sales, Europe
Humby joins Groups360 from Marriott International, where he spent 18 years in both on- and above-property sales. Most recently, Dan served as global account director, overseeing a worldwide team of strategic B2B sellers focused on travel management companies and group intermediaries, both multibillion-dollar customer segments. In this position, he was responsible for developing and nurturing B2B partnerships, negotiating commercial agreements, developing and executing segment strategy, and contributing to the success of more than 7,000 hotels across the globe.
“The group segment has been longing for efficiencies for some time, and the current trading environment only accentuates that need,” said Humby. “Groups360 shares that vision and has begun to bring it to life with their technology investment. The opportunity to be part of an industry evolution while expanding Groups360’s footprint into new territories was one not to be missed. I’m excited to be a part of this expansion and change.”
“In the past twelve months, we have invested in both GroupSync solutions platform and world-class leadership, all of which deliver on our mission to simplify the booking process for meeting planners and suppliers. Our goal is to meet our industry’s current environment with tools that make booking meetings easier and more effective for the planner and more beneficial for the hotel.”
—Kemp Gallineau, CEO of Groups360
About Groups360
With Groups360, your next event starts here. Groups360’s cloud-based technology solutions make booking group business simple for suppliers and planners.
GroupSync Supplier Solutions help hoteliers boost their bottom lines by allocating group inventory through multiple distribution channels at a low cost. Whether integrated to third-party systems or using GroupSync’s proprietary inventory management system, group inventory is distributed through a real-time, enterprise-grade, PCI-compliant private-labeled booking engine and complemented by attendee management tools. Suppliers also have the ability to engage their sales teams in GroupSync, allowing sales teams to invite planners to collaborate in the platform, and even send preapproved RFPs to planners, eliminating much of the planner’s workload during the buying process.
GroupSync Planner Solutions allow event professionals to regain their most valuable resource — time. Using the GroupSync marketplace, planners can search and compare more than 200,000 properties, without ads and pop-ups from unqualified venues, making shopping a quicker, more seamless experience. GroupSync also allows planners to collaborate in the app with other team members involved in the selection process. The time saved allows planners to move from searching and sourcing to the buying process easily and expeditiously. Now, planners can choose to book online immediately or send a prequalified RFP to the hotels that best align with their needs.
Groups360 has offices in Nashville, London and Singapore.
Read the original press release here.