For Immediate Release
February 16, 2017 (Williamsburg, VA) – Newport Hospitality Group, Inc. (NHG) announced the appointment of Gregory “Greg” Johnson as Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Greg joins NHG with 15 years of hospitality experience. He is responsible for all sales and marketing efforts including the development of innovative strategies to increase revenues at NHG’s 40 plus hotels.
Greg started his hospitality career opening a Hampton Inn and Suites in Nampa, ID. He was then recruited to take over the social market for the DoubleTree Riverside in Boise, ID. Not being one to rest on his accomplishments, he moved on to the role of Director of Sales for the Hilton Garden Inn in Layton, UT, which was attached to a conference center with over 74,000 square feet of meeting space. After his second year of leading the sales effort at the property, his team exceeded their annual goal by over $500,000.
Greg was then given the opportunity to move to Memphis, TN to lead the training department for Hilton Worldwide. He was responsible for maintaining all sales and revenue management courses for Hilton brands. He has personally taught over 10,000 sales professionals, and has revamped, retooled and rewritten over 70 training courses for the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands.
Greg eventually moved into a consultant role for the Hampton and the Hilton Garden Inn brands to increase national awareness and build their sales culture. He was instrumental in rolling out the ‘Inn the Zone Blitz’ and ‘Grassroots’ programs for the Hilton Garden Inn brand, and has added over 12 national mid-tier brands to the Hampton and Hilton Garden Inn portfolio.
For the last three years, Greg has served as Regional Director for White Lodging. He has been managing over $188 million dollars in sales at 35 properties consisting of Hilton, Marriott, Starwood and Hyatt brands within the White Lodging portfolio in Texas and Florida. He has also overseen regions in Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana.