Laura Dinu

Laura Dinu, Director, Groups & Meetings, Global Sales Americas, IHG, will be honored as the recipient of HSMAI's Above-property Hotel Sales Professional of the Year Award. Dinu leads the Corporate Group and Intermediary Sales, USA for IHG, based in San Francisco, CA. In this role, she and her team are responsible for delivering groups and meetings business to all IHG hotels globally. An experienced leader with more than 15 years working in the Domestic, International Group, and Luxury Segments, Dinu helps guide her team to find strategic ways to build IHG's customers business, and IHG's partnerships. Prior to joining IHG, Dinu worked for Omni Hotels & Resorts in a global capacity in New York City and San Francisco, overseeing their regional offices. Dinu's experience also includes various roles in New York City, primarily focusing on luxury brands such as Peninsula and St. Regis.

Dinu was especially cited for demonstrated sales and business acumen, going beyond the hotel business to the business of hotels to drive results. She leveraged her more than 15 years' experience in the industry to drive significant growth from the corporate and association sectors, increase IHG's support of and engagement with the events industry at the national level (and in key markets), and increase profitability for her hotels. She also showed innovative leadership, successfully implementing new ideas that created a new dimension of performance.