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Dorothy Dowling
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| Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales |
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Dorothy Dowling is senior vice president, marketing and sales for Best Western International. The 20-year hotel industry veteran directs all marketing and sales strategies, overseeing the brand’s loyalty program, consumer and field marketing activities, advertising, public relations and e-commerce.
Since joining The World’s Largest Hotel Chain® in 2004, Dowling has implemented a number of measures to increase market share and contemporize the iconic Best Western brand. She re-branded the company’s loyalty program to Best Western Rewards, increased its membership by 5 million and doubled its revenue contribution percentage to hotels. She spearheaded efforts to make Best Western the preferred midscale lodging partner of AAA and CAA. Dorothy has also overseen critical user experience improvements to the bestwestern.com booking channel, as well as the launch of its multiple mobile extensions. And under her leadership, Best Western has become a leading hotel player in social media, with an award-winning blog, YouMustBeTrippin.com, and popular presence on YouTube (BestWesternTV), FaceBook (BestWestern) and Twitter (TheBestWestern).
Before joining Best Western, Dowling held executive-level positions with ARAMARK’s parks, resorts and conventions divisions. Prior to that, Dowling served as president and chief operating officer of Travelodge Canada. She also has held executive positions with Cendant Corporation and Royal Host REIT.
Dowling earned her joint Masters of Arts degree in sociology and leisure studies from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. In 2008, she received the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
A respected veteran in her field, Dowling chairs the Executive Committee of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Americas Board of Directors. A past president of HSMAI Canada, Dowling has been honored with a number of industry awards, including the prestigious American Hotel Foundation Award for Best Practices in Guest Loyalty Programs. She is also a two-time winner of HSMAI’s Top 25 Minds in Sales and Marketing. Dowling serves on the North American board for the U.S. Travel Association and is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents’ Allied Marketing Council.
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