ShareMcLean, VA – The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) will celebrate three outstanding sales leaders during the HSMAI Sales Leader Forum in Charlotte on Oct. 26. HSMAI will honor Michael Dominguez, president and CEO at Associated Luxury Hotels International (AHLI) with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Sales; Cory Hagopian, vice president, entertainment and executive at Accor and Kim Lowe, complex director of sales at the Woodland Resort and Hotels (part of CoralTree Hospitality) will be honored as the off- and on- property Sales Professionals of the Year, respectively.
Michael Dominguez
Michael Dominguez is this year’s Lifetime Achievement in Sales Award recipient. Dominguez serves as the president and CEO for Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), a global sales organization with a team of nearly 80 professionals located among 26 offices across North America and Europe. Prior to joining ALHI, Dominguez served in executive sales leadership roles with MGM Resorts, Loews Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Starwood Hotels and many more.
Dominguez speaks in the industry often on topics of disruption, the state of the industry, the economy, behavioral lessons. He was recognized in M&C Magazine’s survey of top industry speakers and was an invited speaker at South by Southwest in 2018.
Dominguez is actively involved in leadership roles in the meetings and events industry, currently serves on numerous industry leadership boards, and is a past chairman of the international board of directors for MPI.
Dominguez’s other industry leadership involvement includes board positions with US Travel Association’s Executive Committee, Meetings Mean Business Coalition’s executive committee, ASAE’s Board of Directors, FICP’s Influence Committee, APEX Standards Committee, GBTA Foundation Board, HSMAI Foundation Board, and co-chair of the APEX Room Piracy Taskforce.
Dominguez has been recognized in the industry for numerous honors including being named one of Northstar Meetings Group’s Top 25 Influencers of the Meetings Industry, HispanicBusiness.com’s 50 Most Influential Hispanics in the US, Successful Meetings Top 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry, Smart Meetings’ Smartest Industry Leaders, and HSMAI’s Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing. He was inducted in the EIC’s Hall of Leaders in 2019.
Cory Hagopian
Cory Hagopian is the 2021 off-property Sales Professional of the Year. Based in the Miami area, Hagopian has over 30 years of hospitality experience initially with Westin Hotels & Resorts and then Canadian Pacific Hotels which became Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
Hagopian joined the Accor global sales North & Central America division in January 2000 focused on leading a new vertical segment: entertainment and executive travel. Prior to this role he worked centrally for Paris leading sales performance for the NCA, South America, and Northern European regions from 2016 to 2019, mirroring his previous role with FRHI from 2013 to 2016.
Prior to that, Hagopian initiated the creation of the consortia, retail agency, and luxury division within the FRHI GSO network. He led the global sales team, later to also include the tour/wholesale division, from 2004 to 2013. Prior to this Hagopian held direct of sales and marketing roles in various Fairmont properties in both Canada and the United States.
He continues to serve on the sales advisory board for HSMAI. Previously he led the sales analytics taskforce for HSMAI. Hagopian holds a BSC honours in commerce degree from McMaster University majoring in marketing.
Kim Lowe
Kim Lowe is the is the 2021 on-property Sales Professional of the Year. She has been a leader in hospitality for over 30 years. Lowe has worked at The Woodlands Resort since 2007, where she started as a national sales manager, making her way through the ranks to director of sales in 2017, before being promoted to complex director of sales in 2020.
Lowe first began her career at ClubCorp, selling golf memberships, before moving to Del Lago (now Margaritaville), located on Lake Conroe. Lowe spent 11 years at Del Lago, in sales, before joining The Woodlands Resort in 2007.
As a national sales manager, she became known for her talents in developing new regional markets. After ten successful years selling, Lowe became the director of sales for The Westin at The Woodlands. She grew revenue at The Westin, until accepting her current role overseeing a complex of three successful assets in The Woodlands, including The Woodlands Resort, The Westin at The Woodlands, and The Embassy Suites by Hilton The Woodlands at Hughes Landing.
AWARD INFORMATION
The awards will be presented at a sales award dinner following the Sales Leader Forum. The Sales Leader Forum advances the hotel sales discipline by elevating the knowledge and skills of off-property sales leaders by sharing important trends, critical insights, and best practices, and what it means for leading hotel sales teams in today’s landscape.
HSMAI chapters and the industry at large can nominate individuals for Sales Lifetime Achievement in Sales and Sales Professional of the Year awards. Nominees represent top talent in the discipline and are judged by a panel of sales leaders on a variety of criteria.
To interview an HSMAI spokesperson about the event and the award honorees, please contact Kaitlin Dunn at kdunn@hsmai.org