Sharon HALES, CHA
President, ABB Hotel Management Group Inc
Sharon is currently the President of her own hospitality consulting company as well as ABB Hotel Management Group Inc. Both companies have been in operation since early 2011 and were developed to assist hotel owners with the ever-changing and challenging, daily operations of their properties. Since the inception of SMH Hospitality, Sharon has had several contracts. She held the role of Operations Manager at The Walper Hotel; a historic, boutique hotel in downtown Kitchener from May 2012 until the hotel sold in August 2013. She was also contracted by the Waterloo Region Tourism Marketing Partnership to handle marketing efforts while the organization was in transition. She has assisted several properties with operations, sales and marketing on a pro rata basis including the Best Western Plus Kitchener, Best Western Plus Cairn Croft Hotel, Best Western Plus Liverpool and the Best Western North Bay. Sharon is an active shareholder at the award winning Best Western Plus Orangeville Inn & Suites.
ABB Hotel Management Group Inc. has been involved with the design and management of the Best Western Plus Strathroy Gateway Hotel & Conference Centre and the Best Western Premier Aurora Hotel & Suites since May 2011. Both hotels are in the construction phase and are scheduled to open in the Fall 2014. The newest contract for the company is the Knights Inn Niagara Falls. The hotel is currently in receivership and is in full operation under our management.
Sharon has over 28 years of hospitality experience. Most recently, she was an integral part of a Best Western success story in Ontario. As shareholder and General Manager of the multi award winning Best Western Plus St. Jacobs Country Inn, she assisted her team in a record 12 perfect QA scores in a row, dominated the market with high occupancy and ADR (market capture effectiveness of 130% for both occupancy and revpar on a monthly basis) and appeared in a national advertising campaign for several years.
Sharon has extensive knowledge of the Kitchener-Waterloo hotel market and has sat on several tourism boards. She has been a volunteer for K-W Oktoberfest for 12 years and is a member, Director and Past President of SKAL Hamilton. Sharon currently sits as the Chair of the Best Westerns of Ontario and Quebec Co-op and has done so since 2010. Prior to this appointment she held the positions of Secretary, Vice Chair, Marketing Chair and Sales Committee Liaison since 2000. She was also a Director and Ambassador for the Best Western Global Marketing Group from 2005-2012. This co-op develops sales and marketing initiatives for Best Western properties who want to attract International travellers (individual, group, series).
Sharon has a passion for the hospitality industry is willing to take on any challenge. Her experience at overall hotel operations (other hotel experience plus leadership in tourism organizations), sales and marketing, hotel systems, revenue management, quality control, cost control, etc. is second to none. She excels at superior customer care and always achieving high customer satisfaction ratings which results in higher revenues and occupancies.
