Caroline Klein has been promoted Chief Communications Officer at Preferred Travel Group
Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the world's largest independent hotel brand and global provider of sales, marketing, and distribution services to independent luxury hotels, has promoted Caroline Klein to Chief Communications Officer. In her new role, Klein will lead corporate positioning efforts, managing the company's reputation through consistent messaging across all touchpoints; developing new and enhanced communications strategies; and overseeing all aspects of corporate communications. She will also serve as Chief Communications Officer of Preferred's sister division, PHG Consulting, a global travel and tourism marketing and consulting agency.
Klein has worked as part of the Preferred team since August 2012, first as Senior Manager of Public Relations for the Americas before being quickly promoted to take on global responsibilities, in addition to greater functions such as corporate communications, social media, crisis management, and executive communications, most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications & Public Relations. Since joining Preferred, Klein, in collaboration with a global team of media experts, has orchestrated extensive campaigns that have successfully elevated the company's industry profile, strengthened brand integrity, and increased awareness of the company and its client portfolio among media audiences worldwide.
In 2013, Klein executed the media launch of the brand's points-based I Prefer Hotel Rewards program in the U.S. and European markets; in 2015, she played an instrumental role in the global rebranding of Preferred Hotel Group to Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which signaled the onset of the company's new consumer-focused positioning. In 2017, she participated in the formal establishment of PHG Consulting's hospitality arm by creating a new revenue stream that leveraged the strength of the company's existing internal talent to offer domestic and international PR and social media programs to independent hotels, which have since generated ROI for clients reaching up to 203:1. Throughout 2020, she has been instrumental in guiding the company's executive and internal communications regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and has implemented a variety of communications platforms and programs to inform, inspire, and engage the company's associates and member hotels to create a strong global community that is "Proudly Preferred."
Previously, Klein worked with progressive public relations agencies in New York and Chicago, focusing exclusively on luxury travel and hospitality clients. Based out of the company's Newport Beach headquarters, she holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University.
