LondonHouse Chicago

As Director of Sales and Marketing, I instill a culture of high performance by providing consistent opportunities for growth, acknowledgement, and a vision for success the team can trust and follow. Responsible for leading all property level sales and marketing initiatives. Achieved our goal of being the most followed hotel in Chicago on Instagram, streamlined sales strategies and processes resulting in a 76% growth in year over year awarded RFP value, and ranked #1 in conversion within a comp set of eleven similar hotels.

Director of Sales and Marketing

HSMAI Chicago Chapter

Our mission is to be the leading source for sales and marketing information, knowledge, business development, and networking for professionals in tourism, travel, and hospitality. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales and marketing management disciplines, as well as connecting its members with customers.

VP of Sponsorships

Influencer Advisory Council – IAC

Advisor and Board Member

The Dow Hotel Company

Responsible for marked increases in business travel, convention, corporate group and airline segments. Developed sales strategies to increase revenue and cultivate new business sources through analysis of reports, client interface, leverage of electronic media, and developmental meetings with Sales staff.

Complex Assistant Director of Sales - Embassy Suites & Doubletree Chicago O'Hare

Liberty Machinery Co.

In my Marketing and Business Development role, I helped clients with the liquidation of surplus machinery and industrial equipment. I also assisted clients in the procurement of used machinery through sales from inventory or brokerage.

Marketing and Business Development

Argyle Cut Stone

As Co-Owner, I was involved in every facet of operation in this 3rd generation owned business. My responsibilities included all accounting duties, all human resources duties, purchasing, marketing, sales, contract negotiations, field measurements and machine operations.

Co-Owner

Clear Creek Stone Company, Inc.

As Vice President of Finance and Operations, I was involved in every facet of running this limestone fabrication business. Responsibilities included accounting, human resources, purchasing, sales, union contract negotiations, and land and asset deals.

Vice President Of Finance And Operations

Renaissance Hotels

As Director of Business Travel, I was responsible for all transient preferred accounts, as well as attaining new group business from Fortune 500 companies. Surpassed 2005's inaugural year transient budget by 8%. In 2006, increased average daily rate of Preferred Accounts by 11% over the previous year. Created a highly successful contest and blog with over 500 qualified followers.

Director of Business Travel, Chicago O'Hare

Hilton Chicago Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center

Responsible for all transient preferred accounts as well as attaining new group business in the automotive, chemical, insurance and energy markets. Increased negotiated account revenue by over 30% two years in a row. Established a Loyalty Rate for small companies that other hotels would not sign on, servicing an underserved market niche that increased sales and boosted average daily rate.

Global Account Manager

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants

Responsible for building partnerships with potential preferred accounts while developing relationships with existing clientele. Integral role in supplying additional leads to the group sales team. Successfully procured accounts with Ameritech and Boeing worth over $700,000 annually.

Business Travel Sales Manager, Hotel Allegro

After an 8-year hiatus from the hospitality industry, I walked into a travel agency to the exclamation, "Hey! You're the bingo guy!" An email marketing campaign from 8 years prior confirmed three things: the power of storytelling, the power of personal branding, and that I needed to foster cooler nicknames.

If you are looking to identify opportunities and creative paths to success by developing and communicating strategic alternatives, let's talk! This approach can apply to meeting planning, your marketing strategy, your personal goals or countless other scenarios. Bespoke hospitality across any industry can result in prolific experiences.

Happy to collaborate if you are looking for:

•	Relationship Focused Customer Service
•	Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
•	Business Development & Strategy
•	Action Planning
•	Storytelling
•	Digital Marketing
•	Social Media Expertise
•	CHDM - Certified Hospitality Digital Marketer
•	Creative Media & Digital Content Development

Away from work I love spending time with my family, creating art, playing golf, and rooting for the Cubbies. Additionally, I support the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Muscular Dystrophy Association. Please message me if you’d like to share your story or need help in reaching your goals.

Every hotel Salesperson when that simple 10 room contract request has a 30 page addendum.

Don Barnett

Creative Solutions for Hospitality Success | Director of Sales & Marketing at LondonHouse Chicago | Certified Hospitality Digital Marketer

Your 2025 budget is nuts, you say?
Have you considered a nutcracker?
We did, and now our Rooftop generates revenue year-round.

Rather than succumbing to the formidable Chicago winter weather we said, "Never back down never what?... Never give up!" (My 11-year-old taught me that.) 

A few years back we put up igloos with an F&B minimum and went overboard with Instagrammable decor during the winter months. We created an amazing guest experience.

"But Don Hoteleone, we have so little to work with."
Let me give you a few tips you can't refuse...

1. Know the box you have to work with and think inside of it (rather than outside of it where ideas get weird). For example, if you have a marketing budget of $50,000 for the year, that will eliminate some over the top ideas. You'll start to think of ways to make the most of it.

2. Do you have vendors or partners that would be willing to sponsor an activation to help stretch your money even more? Not to mention a joint promotion can boost visibility and subsequently increase bookings.

3. Lean into your strengths. In our case, our Rooftop is the best in the city (yeah, I threw that gauntlet down). What's unique about your property, your team, or your location? Is there a food or drink your city is known for?

Set time aside to evaluate and innovate your combined revenue and marketing strategies. You may be surprised by the gold mine you're sitting on.

Want to talk creative ideas? Send me a DM!

Hotel Salespeople when that 7pm reception wants to set-up at noon and kill the ballroom for the whole day...

The vast majority of people in hospitality aren't sharing they're valuable knowledge or personality via content on LinkedIn. And I know why...
 
It's because of the "Eyeroll Threshold". 
 
It's these circles of hell one must traverse, fraught with judgement and eyerolls. 
 
⭕ The 1st Circle is usually your Inner Circle; family. And kids are the worst. No one rolls their eyes harder at you than a daughter, believe me, I have two. 
⭕ The 2nd Circle are Friends and Co-Workers. They'll mostly roll their eyes behind your back or make a snide comment. 
⭕ But the 3rd Circle, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙. This circle is filled with people that know you but don't see you often. They might find some joy in hearing what you have to say or what you're up to these days. 
⭕ The 4th Circle are people you've never met, but you've said something that resonates with them. Maybe even helped or inspired them in some way. 
 
I heard something great the other day: Hate doesn't come from people ahead of you. It comes from people jealous or threatened by you. It's the price you pay for going against the status quo. ▶️ But to the bold go the spoils.

Should you post videos? Selflies? GIFs?
Give me 36 seconds and I'll share my best advice...

Do you wear the term "workaholic" like a badge of honor?

You know anything ending in "aholic" isn't good, right?

I had the distinct honor of being the first guest on Jason Craparo's Moments That Matter Podcast. Each episode dives into pivotal moments that shaped the journey of today's leaders.

We covered topics such as:

▶️ Being a workaholic
▶️ Personal branding
▶️ Developing relationships
▶️ Advice for young professionals looking to go into sales & marketing.

Now available on Spotify!

View company: Moments That Matter Podcast

Overcoming Workaholism: Finding Balance in Life #workaholic #podcast

They say failure is a chance to learn.
But what if failure isn't an option?

What if failure means you're finished?

Years ago (in my non-hotel days) my partners and I took over an out-of-state stone mill. We inherited a contract with a quarry that we no longer needed. We had to remove all of our equipment and build a road connecting the top of a cliff to a road below. 

Do this by the deadline and all is well.
Go past the deadline though, get sued.
Get sued, lose money, go out of business. 

Roads built prior to this? Zero.
Heavy machinery sold prior to this? Zero.
Chances we'd allow failure? Zero.

What we did:
- Assessed the situation 
- Found creative solutions within our means
- Found strategic partners to help
- Did not procrastinate 
- Got it done

Sometimes you know in advance what failure will teach you.

And sometimes you have to say f___ that.

⛔ Who ordered the code red on your hotel's social media? Ownership? The management company? The GM? 
 
Can you handle some hard truths? 
 
We're in an industry where competition is fierce and standing out online is no longer optional. It's vital. A strong digital presence helps you reach a wider audience, attract new guests, and build customer loyalty. 
 
Think about social media this way: it's like your 'digital' front desk. It's often the first point of contact between you and (potential) guests, so it needs to be welcoming, engaging, and informative - 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩. 
 
But what's the ROI? How about driving more direct bookings to save $$$ on OTA commissions. Or an influencer post resulting in 50 dinner reservations. 
 
What? Can't handle the truth?

Being born with a talent is certainly a helpful life hack. 
But the cornerstone of achieving great things has nothing to do with talent.

It's desire. 
 
An insatiable hunger to push, strive, achieve, excel. 
 
Are you fulfilling your desire for achievement?

How are you investing in yourself?

As you reflect on the last year, who is your person that reminds you that working in hospitality is rainbows, unicorns and Skittles? 
 
My wife worked as a Nurse on a high-risk OB/GYN unit for several years, literally dealing with life and death. 
 
I help create positive, memorable experiences for guests and colleagues. 
 
When something gets under my skin, I remind myself of this fact. No matter how difficult the situation or person, it simply does not compare to what nurses do. 
 
Also... 
 
🕺 If I can figure out how to do this dance, I will post it. You have my word as a gentleman. 
🎧 If you know the song he's dancing to, we can be friends.

Hotel Sales PSA: Where the ______ are you? 
Here's a simple fix to make you more discoverable with potential clients... 
 
Way too often, I stumble upon a LinkedIn profile headline that reads, "Sales Manager, ___________ Hospitality Management". 
 
Great, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳?
Is your management company even in the same city as you?  
 
📍 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲.  
 
Update your headline, and while you're in there update your contact info with your work email instead of your personal email. 
 
"Efficiency is doing things right;  
Effectiveness is doing the right things." 
- Peter Drucker

What price do you put on stress? Drama? Boredom?
How about happiness? Work/life harmony?

Something to ask yourself when presented with a job opportunity. 
 
Compensation is the easy part. What's harder to put a value on is: 

🤔 The boss that trusts you. 
🤔 Opportunities for growth. 
🤔 An easy (or arduous) commute. 
🤔 The colleagues that have your back. Or not.
🤔 Does this new job represent progress in your career or a step backwards? 
 
There's a shift in perspective the older you get. Money is no longer the end all be all. You put a higher value on the things that enrich your life - beyond the paycheck. 

What do you value beyond the paycheck?

I won't say which hotel posted this.
But who are these 4 people encouraging it? 
 
I see a lot of hotels start and stop on social media.
A burst of posts for a few weeks or even months, then silent for months. 
 
Or the generic graphic celebrating an obscure thing like "𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘺". 
🙏 I mean this wholeheartedly; you'd be better off not posting anything at all than something like this. 
 
If you're considering upping your social media game, here's what you need to consider: 
 
💡 Visual Allure: Would this post grab your attention if it wasn't yours? Want to show your food offerings? Take professional photos or a candid snapshot of your kitchen staff putting it together. 
 
💡 Relevance: Is your content meaningful to your audience? Does your copy make the reader think, feel and/or act? Avoid forcing a piece of content that doesn't align with your brand's identity. 
 
💡 Consistency: Keeping an audience hooked requires regular appearances. To build momentum, you need to show up on their feed frequently, ideally multiple times a week. 
 
What's your hotel's next post going to be?

Want to learn a "next level" LinkedIn tactic? 
 
Step One: Go get a banana...
 
I call this next level because in order to 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩, you'll need to have created past content. 
 
I used this photo as part of a post about a year ago. I rewrote some of the copy and now that it's a year later:
 
🍌 My newer connections have never seen this 
🍌 I thought of a new way to spin this 
🍌 It lessens the burden of coming up with entirely new content 
🍌 And let's be honest, the teeming millions out there can't handle a picture this awesome more than once annually 
 
𝗤: "Don Hoteleone, how often should I repurpose my content?" 
𝗔: Personally, I'll only do this with content that's 90 days out or older. But some people do it more or less frequently. 
 
𝗤: "WTF is up with that picture?" 
𝗔: If you've seen A Christmas Story, you know what the leg lamp is. This is the Barnett household version of the leg lamp. It sits on the kitchen counter next to the bananas. How this hasn't been "accidentally" broken is beyond me.

𝗤: "I've got the aforementioned banana, now what?"
𝗔: Leave a picture of you and a banana in the comments and I'll audit your LinkedIn profile for free.

Do you ever want to refer to an RFP as a WTF?

With time being everyone's most precious asset, there are occasionally RFPs for hotel group events or business travel that are "extra." The most questions I've ever received at the end of an RFP was 𝟰𝟵. Yes, 49.

Are there questions that can be handled when you have your shortlist or asked during a site tour? Food for thought.

And a few of you are thinking, "Tell us who hurt you, Don?" 🤐

What's a reasonable number of questions to ask at the end of an RFP?

A Moment of Zen.
I combined a few of my favorite things.

⚖️ A Lego version of one of my favorite works of art, The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai
⚖️ Music for the Morning After on vinyl by Pete Yorn
⚖️ A dog
⚖️ And my son joining me to work on his own Legos and share this moment of Zen

What is your Moment of Zen?

"You can either fit in or stand out, not both."

-Seth Godin

This quote was my first LinkedIn post from 9 years ago (but this picture wasn't the first time I've dressed as Elvis 🎸).

How often do we shy away from standing out due to fear? Fear of rejection. Fear of being seen. Fear of people rolling their eyes at you.

But when you overcome that bull$%^& and stop taking yourself so seriously, you find out what happens when you disrupt the status quo.

Your uniqueness is what makes you extraordinary, not your ability to blend in. It's those who dare to be different that shift paradigms and redefine industries.

It's not always as comfortable as a sequined jumpsuit, but growth hardly ever is.

Common question I get:

"Don Hoteleone, how do you come up with ideas for content?"

To that I counter with, how much sugary cereal and caffeine can your body tolerate?

Actually, it's not that hard or unhealthy. I find inspiration in many ways:

🥣 Things I read
🥣 Personal experiences
🥣 Comments I leave on other posts
🥣 GIFs I come across (this was the genesis of Don Hoteleone)

To name a few...

If learning how to generate more revenue is on your to-do list this year, using 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 (or your personal brand) is an effective and fun way to do it.

My personal branding course is officially available! It includes a lesson on finding inspiration for posts (pictured), among many other things. -> Link in the comments.

Or you could go back to cold prospecting, because that's so much fun...

When life (or a toddler) demands that you live in the moment. Enter Exhibit A, pictured.

My son was about 3 or 4 years old at the time. 
I just wanted to take a shower.

--KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK--
"Dad! Read me this book!"

Before I could even explain the situation, page 1 was slid under the door.

It was so funny to me that I decided to engage and read a page. And dripping wet I had to finish the book, page by page, slid under the door each time

I learned that day to be proactive vs reactive in living in the moment. I also learned something about monkeys, but now I can't remember the name of that book.

Need another approach to your marketing strategy in 2025? Here’s why you should consider influencer marketing: 
 
1. 89% of marketers say ROI from influencer marketing is comparable to or better than other marketing channels. 
 
2. Micro-influencers drive 60% higher engagement rates and are seven times more cost-effective per engagement than influencers with larger followings. 
 
3. Consumers trust recommendations from people over brands, and eight in 10 consumers have made a purchase after seeing it recommended by an influencer. 
 
👉 Source: Influencer Marketing Hub 
 
In the current digital era, staying ahead means embracing newer avenues for engagement and promotion. The power of influencers in shaping consumer decisions cannot be disregarded.

Taplio

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