Phelps Hope

AAHOA, the nation's largest hotel owners association, announced the hiring of Phelps Hope as its new EVP, Operations, and Chief Development Officer.

the hiring of Hope will continue to establish AAHOA as the industry leader in hosting top-quality and widely attended conventions, regional meetings, trade shows, town halls, and related meeting events.

Hope brings more than 40 years of hotel, meetings, events, and tradeshow management experience to AAHOA.

Since 2005, Hope served as Senior Vice President, Meetings & Expositions, for Kellen Company - one of the world's largest providers of management and services to associations and trade organizations - where he was responsible for the management of the meetings, events, and tradeshow division, overseeing more than 300 events annually and over $30M in client account revenues.

Hope has held key positions both in Australia and the United States with Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, and Loews Hotels, developing an in-depth understanding of hotel sales and operations.

Hope is a Certified Meetings Professional (CMP) and is familiar with every nuance of the meetings, tradeshow, and events production process, in addition to innovative ideas to grow the business, generate revenue, and service AAHOA's Industry Partners and Vendor Members at the highest level.

In his new role at AAHOA, Hope will primarily focus on operations and development, including leading and structuring the teams concerning conventions, events, business development, membership growth and strategy, as well as technology and associated financing.