October 27, 2009

Orlando CVB Names Ken Barnett
Director, Corporate Accounts Development

Orlando, Fla. – The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (Orlando CVB) has announced that long time Marriott sales director Ken Barnett has joined the organization as director, corporate accounts development.  In this role, Barnett will be responsible for identifying and cultivating corporate meeting and convention opportunities nationally for the Orlando/Orange County area.

Barnett was previously director of national accounts with World Center Marriott Hotel and Resort in Orlando, Fla. where he was responsible for northeast corporate and association accounts since 1998. 

Barnett’s addition to the Orlando CVB sales team is a component of the organization’s new sales strategy, called “Roadmap 2010,” that includes integrating the CVB and Orange County Convention Center citywide sales teams to sell and service the destination with one unified approach;  bringing on a senior vice president of convention industry relations and strategic sales focused on industry partnerships and significant new citywide business development; an enhanced sales and service effort for corporate and SMERF meetings; compelling educational opportunities for professional meeting planners; and the development of an industry white paper on the future direction of the meetings industry.

Barnett enjoyed a more than 25-year career with the Marriott organization beginning in 1981 as a front desk clerk at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel.  He went on to work as front desk manager for the Atlanta Marriott Marquis; assistant front office manager, Salt Lake City Marriott Hotel; senior sales manager, Columbia Marriott Hotel in Columbia, S.C.; director of sales, Stamford Marriott Hotel in Stamford, Conn.; and senior sales manager, The Renaissance Concourse Hotel and The Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta, Ga. 

Barnett is originally from Bryn Mawr, Pa.

About the Orlando CVB  
The Orlando CVB is the branding, sales and marketing organization responsible for positioning Orlando as the destination of choice for leisure and meetings business for the economic benefit of the Orlando region.  The organization celebrates 25 years of destination management excellence in 2009.