The Marriott and Renaissance Hotels of New Orleans are pleased to announce the appointment of KRISTEN MCMILLON-RAUCH as market director of sales of the brand-new Group Market Sales Organization.  McMillon-Rauch has been a part of the Marriott family for over a decade and brings a wide scope of experience to the new sales force, ranging from sales and marketing operations to meeting and incentive management.  With McMillon-Rauch at the helm, the new Group Market Sales Organization will offer enhanced business solutions and services to meeting and convention planners.  The groundbreaking enterprise will offer planners one point-of-contact for all hotels in the market, drive business to the properties and will increase demand for New Orleans. 

In her new post, McMillon-Rauch is managing a dozen executives handling the six hotel brands that make up the Group Market Sales Organization including Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites.  The restructured sales force, made up of the 13 Marriott properties throughout the city (a total of 3,998 rooms), will provide additional horsepower to property teams, eliminate redundancy and deliver results to customers in an expeditious and unified manner.  The organization has two main objectives: to ease communication for the meeting planners amongst hotels; and increase outreach to include a variety of target market segments. 

“I am thrilled to be heading up such a dynamic group of professionals here at the new Group Market Sales Organization in New Orleans,” said McMillon-Rauch.  “This new endeavor is an exciting undertaking for Marriott and me.  We anticipate great things from the organization as it is designed to bring successes not only to our hotels, but also to meeting planners and the city.” 

McMillon-Rauch has spent much of her Marriott career in New Orleans.  Prior to heading up the new organization, she was director of sales and marketing for the Marriott Convention Center Hotel, New Orleans where she coordinated all sales and marketing efforts for the property when it opened in July 2005.  She also served as associate director of market sales for eleven Marriott and Renaissance Hotels in the Crescent City, helping to generate over $30 million in annual sales.  Other posts in the Big Easy that McMillon-Rauch has held include director of the event booking center for Marriott and Renaissance Hotels, sales manager at the New Orleans Marriott and executive meeting manager for five Marriott hotels.  Hailing from Texas, McMillon-Rauch was also executive meeting manager for the JW Marriott Hotel at the Galleria in Houston, Texas.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of North Texas. 

For reservations or more information on Marriott and Renaissance Hotels of New Orleans, call 1.866.530.3763 or visit www.marriott.com.

New Orleans’ five full-service Marriott and Renaissance hotels offer some of the most unique and distinctive properties in the Big Easy.  The hotels are strategically located just steps from the famed French Quarter, the Central Business District (CBD) and the stylish Warehouse and Arts Districts.  Properties include the New Orleans Marriott, JW Marriott New Orleans, Marriott New Orleans at the Convention Center, Renaissance Pere Marquette and the Renaissance Arts Hotel.  Collectively, the properties bring a total of 2,604 guest rooms to the market, all offering swimming pools, fitness centers, valet parking and a host of other amenities.  The Marriott and Renaissance New Orleans properties range from an intimate 217 rooms to an impressive 1,290.   The five hotels boast over 137,000 square-feet of total meeting space with nearly 100 distinct meeting rooms.   Meeting space varies from 5,000 to 80,000 square feet; including New Orleans Marriott’s expansive ballroom, the second largest in the city at 27,500 square feet.  Culinary options abound and delight every palate.  One of America’s top five steakhouses, Shula’s Steakhouse, is located at the JW Marriott New Orleans.  Wolfe’s in the Warehouse at the Marriott New Orleans at the Convention Center, featuring contemporary Creole cuisine under the watchful eye of by famed Chef Tom Wolfe, serves up an authentic New Orleans culinary experience.   The Renaissance Arts Hotel is home to LaCôte Brasserie, a chic seafood eatery headed by local celebrity Chef Chuck Subra, Jr.  For more information or reservations please call 1.866.530.3763 or visit www.marriott.com.