Recognized as an industry innovator, Knowland has significantly expanded its product offerings in the last 18 months by introducing a series of next-generation, analytics-based solutions.
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Knowland, an industry leader in market intelligence for hotels, venues, and convention and visitor bureaus, announced Erika Bucsi has joined the company as the enterprise director of sales in Europe. In her new role, Erika will be leading sales and customer success activities in the European market, which is also supported by sales veteran Mattia Melillo and Betty Huang, a dedicated service manager.
Erika joins Knowland as the company increases its footprint in Europe. Recognized as an industry innovator, Knowland has significantly expanded its product offerings in the last 18 months by introducing a series of next-generation, analytics-based solutions that help customers find, evaluate, pitch, and win the best groups and meetings business. Combining the release of these new products with a series of several strategic acquisitions, Knowland is poised to accelerate their European operations and undergo rapid expansion.
With more than a decade of hospitality experience, Erika brings a wealth of industry knowledge to her new position. Most recently, she served as regional director of sales in Europe for Cvent, where she oversaw sales of Cvent Hospitality Cloud solutions for MICE and Business Transient (formerly Lanyon) to new prospects, while managing an impressive roster of existing accounts. Prior to Cvent, Erika was the regional sales manager in Central Europe for Amadeus Hospitality, a leading technology provider for global hospitality organizations and proud partner of Knowland.
Tracking group activity at more than 7100 venues in 200 of the busiest markets in the world, Knowland has amassed the industry's largest database of actualized events, including more than 15 million events across nearly a million organizations. Knowland started gathering data in Europe in 2011 and today collects event details from 436 properties across 29 markets in Europe and the Middle East alone. Powerful analytical and predictive technology queries this database to deliver customers a steady flow of pre-qualified leads fitting their need periods, to automatically score and prioritize inbound leads that are a best fit for a property, and to provide sales teams with deep account insights that can be leveraged to deliver winning sales pitches.
"It's a thrilling time to join Knowland given the innovative products they have recently introduced and the acceleration of their adoption in the European market," said Erika. "I am excited to introduce the hospitality community to these amazing solutions and to show sales teams how they can truly sell smarter and capture a competitive edge with Knowland's products."
Erika is well versed in the challenges and opportunities facing group sales leaders in hotels today. She previously led conference and event sales, revenue, and strategy for leading hospitality organizations, including Accor Hotels, Park Plaza Hotels Europe and Hilton Hotels. Erika also participated in special projects throughout her time in hotels, such as new openings, team restructures, system implementations and integrations.
"Erika brings deep knowledge of hospitality technology, as well as years of hands-on group sales and revenue management experience to Knowland. As a result, she is uniquely able to provide our customers with phenomenal insight into how they can optimize their group sales processes and maximize revenue by partnering with us," commented Tim Hart, chief executive officer of Knowland. "Her experience and connections will be instrumental as we expand our presence in Europe and we are delighted to welcome her to our team."
Erika studied hotel management at MODUL, the Hospitality University in Vienna (Austria). She is passionate about triathlon, diving, and animal welfare, and fundraises for organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and Cats Protection in her free time.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
