Nov. 30 – Denver, CO. VISIT DENVER, the official destination marketing
organization for Denver announced Lee Ann Benevidez will join the
organization as the senior vice president and chief sales & services
officer, starting Dec. 5, 2023. Benavidez will lead and direct the
convention and meeting sales efforts, as well as overseeing the
organization’s award-winning destination services efforts.
“We could not be more excited to have Lee Ann join the team,” said
Richard W. Scharf, president & CEO, VISIT DENVER. “She brings
impressive, large-market convention sales expertise and leadership
experience, which will be a tremendous asset to VISIT DENVER as our
industry grows in the future.”
In her newly appointed position, Benavidez will develop, direct, and
execute VISIT DENVER’s convention meeting sales and destination services
strategies, which generate more than $650 million in annual economic
impact on the Denver community. Her role will include driving
convention bookings for the newly expanded Colorado Convention Center,
which hosts hundreds of thousands of attendees annually and helps to
fill downtown hotel rooms while driving economic impact throughout the
city. Benavidez also will help craft and implement the organizational
and destination strategy as a member of the VISIT DENVER leadership
team.
With more than 25 years of hospitality industry experience, Benavidez
most recently served as the vice president of third-party commerce and
luxury sales strategy for MGM Resorts International, Americas where she
was responsible for 37% of room revenue for MGM Resorts, overseeing
leisure, transient global sales, online travel agencies, and sales for
the luxury travel services department, leading a team of 52 individuals.
Prior to her tenure with MGM Resorts, she held various progressively
responsible roles over an 18-year period with Hyatt Hotels Corporation,
most recently as vice president of sales for the Americas Region, where
she led the overall sales strategy while overseeing the regional VPs
across the U.S., Canadian, and Latin American markets. Prior to joining
the Americas Region, Benavidez was regional vice president of sales and
revenue for the Western Region, where she had oversight of thirty-seven
hotels,
as well as the regional revenue team, which included sales, field
marketing and revenue management.
About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau
Celebrating 114 years of promoting The Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a
nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to
market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing
economic development in the city, creating jobs, and generating taxes.
Denver welcomed more than 36 million visitors in 2022, generating $9.4
billion in spending, while supporting tens of thousands of jobs and
making Tourism one of the city’s largest industries. Learn more about
Denver on the VISIT DENVER website [1] or at Tourism Pays Denver [2].
Follow Denver’s social media channels for up-to-the-minute updates on
Facebook [3], Instagram [4], Twitter [5], YouTube [6] and LinkedIn [7].
