Visit Denver has announced that Lee Ann Benavidez will join the organization as the senior vice president and chief sales and services officer, starting December 5, 2023. Benavidez will lead and direct the convention and meeting sales efforts, besides overseeing the organization’s destination services efforts.
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 for 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, where she was responsible for 37 percent 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 oversaw 37 hotels, as well as the regional revenue team, which included sales, field marketing and revenue management.
For more information, visit www.denver.org.
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