VANESSA KOSLOSKI
Sales l Marketing l Tourism l Advertising l Hospitality
Greater Chicago Area | US
Skills
- Sales Presentations
- International Relations
- Social Media
- Political Campaigns
- Customer Service
Interests
Tourism
Travel
Media
Online Advertising
Social Media Marketing
Paid Media
Industries
Creative Agencies
Summary
Activity
Work experience
Rome2Rio
Senior Advertising Manager | 09/2023 - Current
Head of Advertising Sales for Rome2Rio focused on building client relationships and increasing revenue.
Focused on bringing marketing opportunities to new and existing clients across the world.
* Partner with clients for advertising direct on the Rome2Rio website including: Direct, PG, and PMP campaigns ranging from 1 week to a fiscal year.
* Working with tourism clients including: Tourism Boards, Transportation, Airlines, Cruise, Attraction, Hotel, and Agency to create highly targeted campaigns to increase exposure, travelers, and revenue.
* Inaugural team member in North America with high collaboration in Australia and worldwide
* Focused on increasing exposure to my clients from the highly valuable and sought after American and Canadian markets.
* Integrating new advertising opportunities to brands across the globe focused on geographical locations. With the ability to target users based on destination of intent and destination or origin.
* Hyper focused on highlighting the correct campaigns for brands and organizations so that the partner can achieve their KPI's (CTS, Impressions, SOV...)
Navigatr
Manager, Partnership Marketing | 09/2022 - 09/2023
Strategic Partnership Manager focused on developing relationships with Tourism Boards and aligning marketing needs to increase travel, increase revenue, and increase bookings.
* Partner with domestic and international Tourism Boards to implement strategic Marketing Partnership opportunities.
* Sell and service marketing opportunities for both Kensington Tours and Travel Edge Network to a diverse connection of partners.
* Diversify the collection of partners that are working with Kensington Tours and Travel Edge in order to increase exposure, reflect changes in international trends, and diversify opportunities world wide.
Taiga
Director of Sales | 04/2021 - 05/2022
* Partner with independent C-Stores to leverage their business intelligence to increase ROI and Revenue per a Square Foot.
* Led Taiga to unprecedented growth by increased customers over 400% and diversifying the client portfolio across the United States.
* Present and demonstrate the capabilities of StoreKeep to small and medium size businesses as both a SaaS and a Business Intelligence Platform.
* Integrate business intelligence software into the convenience store, liquor store, and gas store market to increase ROI and user insights.
* Nurture connections across the country in order to convert to partnerships with a focus on expansion into new markets.
* Coached and mentored outside sales reps on cold calling, scripts, trade show presentation and overall sales skills.
* Collaborated with Marketing Department to create SOPs for lead generation, campaigns, collateral, trade show selection and more.
* Implemented KPIs to show the value of trade shows, campaigns, webinars, and active lead generation from the BDRs.
Madden Media
Director Of Business Development | 01/2019 - 12/2020
• Championed print ad and digital marketing solutions sales across a multistate territory spanning Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Missouri to drive revenue growth in the underperforming market.
• Successfully managed a rate of over 100% for sales within the Visit St. Louis and Visit Missouri Tourism guides (print and digital) by focusing on retention of current clients and bringing new or dormant accounts back online.
• Maximized ROI for convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs) and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) by utilizing digital marketing solutions that includes but is not limited to Website Design, SEM, SEO, Geotargeting, GeoFencing, SoFi Ads, Google Grant Management, and Lead Generation.
• Leveraged unique ability to cultivate win-win partnerships to exceed established goals and KPIs, successfully achieving print-guide targets and positioning Madden Media to hit $2M by end of 2020.
• Succeeded as a brand ambassador while traveling extensively to local, regional, and national trade shows and conference to promote Madden Media via booths, sessions, and presentations.
GACC Midwest - German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, Inc.
Senior Manager | 01/2017 - 12/2019
• Spearheaded the strategic event planning, organization, and execution of the famous Christkindlmarkets in Chicago, Wrigleyville, and Milwaukee that attracts 1M+ visitors each year.
• Managed private event sales and captured record-breaking revenue growth in company history by streamlining the private event sales process, implementing SOPs, and conducting buyer power research.
• Strategized a Sponsorship diversification plan to include revenue shares, broaden the geographical region, integrate new vendors, and implement marketing tactics, effectively winning the largest single sponsorship for the Chicago market with a $100K close.
• Implemented a turnaround strategy to lead the famed Stammtisch Program to accomplish an unprecedented feat of securing $500K in annual revenue.
• Created new SOPs and KPIs for GACCM that aided in streamlining work for the team as a whole including, integrating a CRM System, online portal for vendors and sponsors, targeted campaigns for sponsors and more.
Magna Hospitality Group, L.C.
Director of Sales | 01/2016 - 12/2017
• Prioritized active engagement with Choose Chicago and various Convention Partners to increase City-Wide Business by over 150% in one fiscal quarter.
• Launched a welcome letter and a referral incentive program to improve Corporate Negotiated Business by 25%; innovated an account management function to streamline Corporate Negotiated and Local Negotiated Accounts.
• Explored marketing opportunities that increased revenue for leisure and group travel by over 30% this included: referral campaigns, Choose Chicago marketing, Hilton, social media channel implementation and ads
• Created and then presented budget that was approved with no changes by leadership and ownership of Magna Hospitality.
Hersha Hospitality
Director of Sales and Marketing | 01/2017 - 12/2017
• Orchestrated complex logistics to facilitate marketing events that improved business results, including the Loyal Guest Club, Top Client Reception, and Pinot and Puppies event.
• Revamped the sales infrastructure and established SOPs to achieve increased revenue growth, improving Local Negotiated Business by 20% and Group business by 22% YOY.
• Elevated the organizations’ brand to augment customer engagement by introducing social media marketing tactics and building audiences across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yelp, and Google+.
MileNorth Chicago Hotel, A Fillmore Property
Senior Sales Manager | 05/2015 - 06/2016
• Combined keen creative eye with robust branding expertise to execute out-of-the-box marketing campaigns and events that increased tourism rates and improved social media-driven lead generation.
• Drove expectational sales results during tenure while managing all Corporate, Association, and City-Wide Convention Business, including exceeding Q4 goals by 140% for Room Revenue and Food and Beverage, and increasing catering, food, and beverage goals by 105%.
Hotel Chicago, Autograph Collection (formerly the Hotel Sax Chicago)
Group Sales Manager | 01/2013 - 12/2015
• Excelled as a brand ambassador at national trade shows and built relationships with key partners, including Marriott International, DMI, Krisam, L.A. TradeShow, Choose Chicago, and MPI.
• Accomplished milestone of booking the largest non-city-wide convention group in the hotel’s history with a $350K deal in addition to exceeding budget goals and increasing revenue YOY.
White Lodging Services
Event Manager | 01/2012 - 12/2013
• Recruited to manage the sales process for booking group meeting spaces across two hotels, serving as the main point of contact for each customer group to safeguard event satisfaction.
• Introduced banquet event orders to the Sales and Food and Beverage department to streamline the catering process and designed an organizational system to track group event clients.
• Facilitated indepth employee trainings, established KPIs, and built out SOPs to enable performance synergy.
First Hospitality Group, Inc.
Sales and Marketing Manager | 01/2011 - 10/2012
•Implemented a social media marketing plan to increase interactions on Twitter, FourSquare, Facebook, a blog, and TripAdvisor for a 50% growth over 7 months.
•Increased production on an account over 200% from the previous year by prospecting other departments and avenues within the client.
•Organized special events for the team and the hotel as a whole including: The Windy City Rubber Ducky Derby to benefit the Special Olympics of Illinois, Sales Blitzes, Top Partner Events.
•Secured a new partnership that is now one of the hotel’s Top 10 clients.
•Aided in the Sales Team obtaining the #1 RevPar ranking for 2010 and 2011.
•Working as the point of contact for all hotels within my management company for the G8/NATO Summit that occurred in 2012 in Chicago.
•Integrated video and video blogs into marketing items as well as video proposals to show to clients that were not able to visit the hotel for a site tour.
•Establish client base of organizations, associations, social, and corporate businesses through direct outside and inside sales effort for the purpose of securing business for the hotel to ensure that predetermined sales expectations are met and exceeded.
Homewood Suites
Marketing and Sales Coordinator | 02/2010 - 01/2011
•Responsible for all SMERF (Social, military, education, reunion, and fraternal), tour and travel, sports teams, and colleges and university groups that booked with the hotel.
•Handled all Facebook posting and improved engagement from friends by 50% over the course of 11 months.
•Coordinated such events as the YMCA – Homewood Suites Welcome Home Reception, the Giving Tree, and the team’s participation in the Chicago SkyRise event to benefit the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
•Organized and managed such marketing items as the weekly blog and the monthly newsletter to keep our clients informed of hotel and local events.
•Booked the most wedding blocks in 11 months that the Homewood Suites Chicago has booked in a fiscal year since opening in 1999.
•Promoted to Sales and Marketing Manager in less than one year.
•Sell hotel guestrooms groups, catering services, and banquet facilities through direct client contact to maximize total rooms revenues and profits.
SmithBucklin
Convention and Trade Show Associate | 02/2008 - 02/2010
•Maintained first-rate service as the front-line contact to SmithBucklin’s client organizations and association members by responding to client’s needs in a timely and efficient manner
•Collaborated with various SmithBucklin service units including Marketing & Communications, Financial Management & Accounting, Information Technology, and Convention and Trade Show Services to provide award winning client service
•Coordinated with client association’s Boards of Directors in setting direction for their organizational events, gathering all pertinent facts to carryout their vision for each event
•Worked in partnership with service providers including hotels, convention centers, restaurants, and others needed to secure sites and ensure events ran smoothly, with responsibility for selling of booth space, arranging for food and beverage services, securing additional facility meeting rooms, transportation, and entertainment and signage
•Organized and managed comprehensive marketing programs to include: development and implementation of a marketing plan; design and production of marketing materials, including tradeshow exhibition kits
•Managed all fiscal control of the conference programs and saw to the timely invoicing for services rendered in the program and collections oversaw timely payment of invoices to vendors supporting conference programs
Education history
Rhodes College
Bachelor of Arts - BA | 2000 - 2004
Old Dominion University
Master of Arts - MA




