Visit Cincy has added two experienced hospitality professionals to its sales and services team, naming Katie Clark as sales and services manager and Kevin Kraft as sales manager. The new hires follow the opening of the reimagined First Financial Center as Cincinnati strengthens its convention package.
Earlier this year, Cincinnati unveiled its transformed Convention Center following a $264m modernisation. On 21 July, the district will reach another major milestone with the groundbreaking of the new $536m, 700-room Marriott headquarters hotel. These investments strengthen Visit Cincy’s ability to attract and service meetings across a range of market segments.
“Cincinnati’s reimagined Convention District is creating new opportunities across the meetings industry,” said Julie Kirkpatrick, interim president and CEO of Visit Cincy and president. “Katie and Kevin add the experience and market knowledge we need to build on that investment, grow business in the small meetings and SMERF (Social, Military, Educational, Religious, and Fraternal) markets and provide planners with strong support from the first conversation through the final event.”
Clark most recently served as destination services manager for the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance, where she supported high-profile conventions and sporting events.
Kraft joins Visit Cincy from Rolling Hills Hospitality, where he most recently served as director of sales for the Fairfield by Marriott Newport/Cincinnati Riverfront.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, has again been named the Most Walkable City to Visit in the USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, earning the top spot for a fourth consecutive year. Selected by a panel of travel experts and voted on by the public, the honour underscores the city’s continued appeal as an easy-to-navigate destination.
And, when ranking 30 of the nation’s largest convention centres, The Wall Street Journal named the Pennsylvania Convention Center #1 for walkability. Its central location in the Center City neighbourhood makes it an attractive launch pad for convention attendees to explore Philadelphia’s outdoor art, historic sites, and dining scene.
