Cayuga’s practitioners bring vast experience and resources from the hospitality field to assist you with maximizing your marketing efforts and profitability by correctly positioning your properties to serve targeted market segments.
Our Members have successfully positioned and marketed properties of all types — hotels, resorts, restaurants, spas, casinos, golf facilities, mixed-use mega-resorts — of widely varying sizes, rate structures, locations, flagged and independent.
Marketing is a multi-faceted discipline that includes research, strategic positioning, direct sales, advertising, promotion, public relations, revenue management, e-commerce and distribution. Whether you need assistance with one element or the full range of marketing tools, we can help you be successful.
Cayuga’s Marketing Advisory Services
- Marketing feasibility studies
- Research studies
- Marketing Plan development
- Strategic planning
- Brand development
- Integrated marketing communications
- Budget and organizational staffing review for potential cost savings
- Sales team analysis
- Sales training
- Revenue management
- Advertising
- Promotion
- Public relations
- Internet marketing and e-commerce
- Product distribution
Advisory Members
The following members are available through Cayuga to provide a full range of consulting services.
Aureliano Bonini (Rimini, Italy)
A highly regarded tourism and marketing consultant, Dr. Bonini is President and
Founder of Trademark Italia, a marketing and management company which has held,
since 1982, a leading role in the development of the Italian leisure industry.
Based in the popular seaside resort of Rimini, he operates in Italy and overseas,
serving hotel chains, travel agents, tour operators, local government bodies,
international investment funds, real estate agencies and Italy’s largest banks.
He and his company have completed more than 300 marketing projects in nine
nations, and organized training sessions for hotel managers in Italy, Russia,
Spain and Switzerland. A leader in hospitality market research, Trademark Italia
has over 700 references, including hotel, spa and international amusement park
operators and developers. Dr. Bonini is an expert in hospitality marketing
and management and has experience in all aspects of the tourism industry including
planning, development and hospitality valuation. He is also experienced with
statistical and economic feasibility analyses, business plans and market studies,
as well as hotel concept and design. He is a visiting professor for the major
Italian Universities and a guest lecturer on F&B Management for Cornell’s
Hotel School. An author and editor, Dr. Bonini has published several books
and manuals, as well as written articles for the leisure market. He is fluent
in Italian, English and French (German at school level). Cayuga’s Regional
Director for Southwestern Europe.
John Banta (Kanagawa, Japan)
Currently based in Japan, John has spent thirty years in leadership positions with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Kintetsu and independent hotels, mostly dealing with troubled assets in need of repositioning. He has a unique and unparalleled record of consistent success in difficult markets, and has developed some of the strongest managers in the business. Capable of integrating modern western ideas into conservative Japanese business culture, John orchestrated the only successful repositioning of a Japanese hotel (500-room) by a foreigner in the history of Japanese hotels. Through Cayuga, John's consultancy, Post Hotels Company, offers expertise in the areas of: strategic planning, leadership training, high performance team building, operational management, hotel development and pre-opening planning, capital planning, event planning and marketing and sales.
John Bowen (Houston)
Dean, Conrad N. Hilton College, University of Houston. Former Professor, UNLV, specializing in market research and positioning; public relations; marketing of gaming operations; player development programs; customer satisfaction audits and surveys; executive development courses and seminars; development of distribution systems to attract desired market segments.
John Capone (Austin, TX)
President and Founder of Brookestone Hospitality Resources, LLC, offering full-service, limited-service and resort property management, as well as consulting, asset management and owner support services to a wide variety of owners and lenders. Brookestone has directed operations, asset management, acquisitions and openings for over 100 hotels throughout the U.S. With more than 28 years of industry experience, John has overseen operations and sales/marketing for over $1 Billion worth of hotel assets, from numerous Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood hotels, to independent upscale hotels, such as the Coconut Grove Hotel, Hotel Royal Plaza, The Madison Hotel and the Newport Beachside Hotel and Resort. Prior to founding Brookestone, he was Senior VP of Richfield Hospitality, Inc., where he: directed all operations of Sceptre Hospitality Resources, a hotel revenue and connectivity company: and, launched The Elise Group, a revenue consulting firm which complemented the existing companies. Before joining Richfield, John was Senior VP of Operations for Prime Hospitality, where he directed all operations for the proprietary brands, built a team-oriented culture and developed six future VPs and Regional VPs. A Certified Hospitality Sales Professional, he has been recognized by Sales & Marketing Management.
Bill Carroll (Ithaca)
A Ph.D. economist, author and recognized expert in the areas of travel technology in marketing distribution and decision taking. Dr. Carroll is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Hotel Administration, teaching courses in economics, yield management, pricings and marketing distribution. He is also CEO of Marketing Economics, a consulting firm specializing in travel industry pricing, distribution, yield management and strategic planning. Over 25 years experience in senior positions in the travel industry. He was the Division Vice President for Global Marketing Planning at Hertz, responsible for global pricing, yield management, marketing information systems, and counter sales. He implemented the first decentralized yield management system in the car rental industry and a comprehensive Executive Information System (EIS) that gained national recognition. Following Hertz, Dr. Carroll served as the Global Vice President for Reed Elsevier’s Travel Group, which included responsibility for Travel Weekly, the Hotel and Travel Index, the Official Hotel Guide and the Official Meetings and Facilities Guide.
Blake Cullen (Norfolk)
President of Admiral
Management Company. Consulting services to professional and amateur sports organizations, including: franchise evaluation, buying-selling brokerage, executive search, marketing and promotions, arena lease structuring and negotiation, arbitration, and speeches and seminars. Founder and former owner/operator of the Hampton Roads Admirals franchise in the East Coast Hockey League; 11 years with the Chicago Cubs, involved in all phases of club management; former VP and Administrator of the National Baseball League.
Chekitan Dev (Ithaca)
Associate Professor of strategic marketing and brand management at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. An active consultant, seminar leader, keynote speaker and expert witness, Dr. Dev has almost 30 years experience with the hospitality industry working with organizations in over 35 countries on 5 continents including Ritz Hotel Paris, Four Seasons Mumbai, Rit-Carlton Bali, Atlantis Paradise Island, Walt Disney World Resorts, Rosewood, Westin, Marriott, InterContinental, Holiday Inn, Hilton, Crystal Cruise Lines, DeVere, Moevenpick, Peninsula, Jumeirah, Taj, Posadas, and many others. Dr. Dev has presented at events organized by several international organizations and been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, TIME, USA Today, on NBC Nightly News and National Public Radio.
Greg Dunn (Orlando)
Vice President and Director of Insights for Ypartnership, a worldwide advertising, public relations and marketing services company headquartered in Orlando. Responsible for composing, managing implementation and interpretation of marketing research authored by Ypartnership. Also plays an active role in the development of brand strategy. More than 20 years of experience in various industry discpilines working in both management and marketing positions with the Sea Island Company, The Boca Raton Resort and Club, The Greenbriar, Radisson, Sea Palms Resort, the Walt Disney Company and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Also serves as an associate professor in the School of Hotel and Restaurtant Management at the University of South Florida, specializing in teaching and research in the areas of consumer behavior, strategic management, gaming and tourism.
Nathan Egan (Philadelphia)
Nathan Egan is recognized as the creator and definitive authority on the business
practice of “freesourcing”. His consultancy, the Freesource
Agency, LLC delivers customized freesourcing programs to help companies
leverage web-based, Social Media + Web 2.0 platforms to drive efficiency through
their organization and build better connectivity with their best prospects
and customers. Prior to starting his own consulting practice, Nathan was one
of the top sales executives at the world’s largest and most powerful business
networking site, LinkedIn, which is where he developed his passion and expertise
for applying Social Media to business. He is a 2002 graduate of the Cornell
Hotel School and recently earned his MBA in Business Technology Optimization
from Villanova University’s School of Business while working fulltime for the
Autonomy, Inc. (the global leader in Enterprise Search Technology). Nathan
has over 15 years of sales, marketing and operations experience in the technology
and hospitality industries. To learn more about Nathan, view
his professional profile on LinkedIn and follow
him on Twitter.
John Harney (Salisbury, CT)
Founder of Harney & Sons, Master Tea Blenders, operated with sons Paul and Michael. The company was founded in 1983 and first run out of the Harney family basement, then expanded into the garage. Now housed in a 89,000 square foot warehouse in Millerton, NY, the company blends, packs and ships high-end teas around the world. The Harneys have experienced and successfully overcome all of the challenges of growing a company from scratch, including experimenting with and refining marketing best practices which have led to their company’s phenomenal success.
Mac Noden (Amelia Island)
The former Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Information Systems, Strategy and Tourism (MISST) at Cornell’s Hotel School and a well-known expert in the areas of tourism policy, promotion and development. Served as the Academic Director of the Cornell Hotel School Advanced Management Program, and the Certified Corporate Travel Executive (CCTE) accreditation program on behalf of the U.S. National Business Travel Association (NBTA). He is a past Chair of the Education Committee of the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA), and a founding member of the Educators Forum of the U.S. Travel & Tourism Research Association (TTRA). He is a founding member and serves on the editorial board of TEOROS International, a theoretical research journal for education and tourism, and is a founding member of, and immediate past Cornell representative to, the Educational and Training Board of the World Tourism Organization. A Managing Director of Cayuga Hospitality Advisors, Noden is also the leader of its Tourism Consulting Services Group.
Robin Ricketts (Naples, FL and Anguilla)
A native of England and raised in China, Robin is a classically trained hotelier with 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry. With his wife, Sue, he founded Ricketts and Associates Ltd. in 1978. Registered in Anguilla, British West Indies, they offer services in: product concept development; pre-opening project management; hotel and villa construction management; hotel and villa management; food and beverage management; public relations and sales and marketing in the US, UK, Europe and South America; and, interior design and planning. Ricketts & Associates have advised governments, developers, hoteliers and villas throughout the Caribbean. Amongst Robin’s most important accomplishments include the development of the exclusive five star hotels of Cap Juluca and Malliouhana in Anguilla, for which he acted as co-developer. Both properties have continued to rank in the top ten list of Caribbean hotels since their openings. Robin was also the mastermind behind the conversion of the Grace Bay Club, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands from a failing condominium development in the early 1990's to one of the most highly regarded hotels of the region. Robin’s hotel background includes stints at the Dorchester and the Inn on the Park - Four Seasons in London, the Meurice in Paris, and the Mandarin in Hong Kong. His Caribbean experience, of well over 25 years, encompasses several operational positions in Aruba, Bonaire, Martinique and the Bahamas, as well as Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Thomas K. Tritschler (Munich, Germany)
CEO of Tritschler Associates and its subsidiary Sensible Hospitality with offices in Berlin and Munich. Specializing in the marketing of luxury boutique hotels, Sensible Hospitality offers unparalleled and personalized support to fine independent hotels and resorts worldwide. Thomas has more than twenty years of operational experience in successfully managing international luxury hotels and resorts with some of the most acclaimed hotels and hotel companies in the world. Fluent in English and German, proficient in French.
Peter Yesawich (Orlando)
Vice Chairman of MMGY Global, the largest and most integrated travel marketing firm in the world, leading all of their efforts in consumer insights. Services include: advertising, public relations, promotions marketing & strategic partnerships, interactive strategy & design, branding, research and strategic planning, design, diversity marketing, media planning and media buying. Regarded as one of the most respected and insightful sources on the habits and preferences of American Travelers, Peter is a frequent commentator on travel trends in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and Business Week, as well as on national television and public radio. He serves as a featured columnist in several industry trade publications and is coauthor of Marketing Leadership in Hospitality.
