Market Coordinator,Expediaq: What do you do?
a: Right now I'm filling up rooms for the Superbowl! Tampa/St. Pete is one of the three markets I cover for Expedia.com and Hotels.com. I've worked here for about a year (ever since graduation), and primarily make phone calls and send e-mail solicitations to hotels, helping them to promote their properties on our web sites, and then coordinate all the details to make it happen. It's a full 40-hour work week.
q: What's your favorite part of the job?
q: What's the greatest challenge?a: Seeing that what I do makes such a difference for my partners. When a promotion goes live on the web site, it makes a huge influence in their booking numbers. I can see the increase in bookings within minutes after the promotion is on the site.
a: Time Management,as every week is shorter with the same "to do" list. The hotels are working with a shortened booking window, so everything moves very fast and is very last minute.
q: Do you stay in touch with any other UCF hospitality alums?
a: Taryn Dorsey '07 and I work together at Expedia so I see her every day! And Phil Miles '09 -- we became good friends in our many classes together.
q: Outside work...you're most likely to be seen?
a: Painting; I recently bought a home. But when I have time, I also like going to see movies, so you're likely to find me at the Waterford Town Center theater.
q: Your biggest accomplishment since graduating, outside your career?
a: Consistency. I feel like I've become a responsible adult, balancing my finances, the house and work.
q: How did UCF prepare you for what you do?
a: The professors taught me a lot about networking. I learned how to shake people's hands, give out business cards and not burn bridges - that everybody knows everybody. They were right; by attending my first HSMAI luncheon, I got my job. Dr. Jung made a huge impact on me, helping me to get a grasp on accounting. Every day at work I open my spreadsheets 30-40 times.
q: How could the hospitality program have been better?
a: Smaller classes, and more access to professors. Also I would have loved to have taken a business writing class, teaching how to write effective proposals and emails in real world settings.
q: A UCF memory?
a: The beer and wine class. It was my way of being in a fun environment -- learning and making some good friends. Since I worked full-time at Disney, I didn't attend many campus or social events until after graduation.
q: Favorite meal in Orlando?
a: At Ruth Chris: the filet with crab, garlic mashed potatoes, and chocolate lava cake.
q: On your iPod?
q: Little known fact about you?a: I have three iPods. The mini has country music on it, the shuffle has high-energy pop and rock, and the bigger "movie" iPod has a mix of everything, including Christian music, R & B and rap.
a: I once found a stolen car. My Dad, a now retired FBI agent, described a missing car and by total coincidence I happened to see it while driving around.
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