SHL alumni spotlight - Emily DeHont

Submitted by Emily DeHont

I graduated from East Carolina University and the School of Hospitality Leadership with a degree in hospitality management in 2009 and immediately began my career in the hotel and events industry. I was the first sales coordinator at the Hampton Inn in Greenville, eventually moved my way into convention services at the Greenville Convention Center, and finally into catering sales at the Hilton Greenville (where I met my husband, Kyle – also an ECU hospitality grad and currently the general manager of the Ivey’s Hotel in Uptown Charlotte!)

From there, I moved to Charlotte to primarily focus on wedding and catering sales at the Hilton Charlotte University Place, booking 90-100 weddings per year. In 2016 I made the wonderful decision to transition to the Charlotte Convention and Visitors Bureau, no longer selling one hotel product but now able to sell all the hotels within the city. I can’t imagine my current role without prior hotel and catering experience, as I’m required daily to navigate through proposals, understand hotel verbiage, room setups/square footage, etc.

Currently, I am one of fifteen sales managers within Visit Charlotte. We book roughly 350,000 room nights annually within the city, keeping our hotels and Convention Center consistently busy. I travel multiple times a year to various cities and states, furthering my hospitality education, but primarily to connect with and educate meeting planners about our hotel products, meeting space, attractions, restaurants, and breweries – essentially all things that make Charlotte unique!

I received my Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation in 2017 to show my loyalty and dedication to the hospitality industry. I am passionate about travel and tourism and feel very fortunate to have remained a part of this wonderful community throughout my career.

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