Newsmaker: Omni Names New Corp. Sales Director

Omni Hotels & Resorts has hired former Kimpton sales leader Tracie Houston-Amend as its director of business travel sales.

Houston-Amend in May took charge of the business travel sales team across Omni's 45 properties. She will work with key corporate travel managers to develop customized multi-hotel agreements.

Most recently, Houston-Amend was area director of sales and marketing at Kimpton's Hotel Palomar and Hotel Lumen properties in Dallas, two boutique, business-travel-oriented hotels, said Tom Faust, Omni's vice president of sales and distribution.

She also worked as regional director of sales for Hotel ZaZa, which has properties in Dallas and Houston.

Besides boosting sales, Houston-Amend is charged with communicating Omni's Select Guest loyalty program to corporate travelers, Faust said. Unlike traditional point-accrual programs, Omni's program provides amenities—free wireless Internet service, drinks or pressing services, for example—based on the number of Omni stays or nights.

"She'll drive membership and usage," Faust said, "and make sure all our best customers are getting the cost-savings benefits."