Hospitality industry veteran Joseph Carino joined CCRA's Hotel Partner Solutions Division as vice president. Most recently, Carino led the development of a new brand strategy for Amadeus North America as that firm's director of hotel business.
At CCRA's Hotel Partner Solution Division, Carino will lead strategic development that supports the company's global network of travel agencies. He's also tasked with establishing new supplier relationships worldwide.
In addition, Carino will oversee the CCRA Preferred Hotel Program, which helps hotels drive more global travel agent business, increase ADR through GDS bookings and establish travel agent loyalty through negotiated rates and enhanced commission opportunities.
Bringing more than 20 years of experience in hotel sales, business development and distribution technology, Carino has previous experience with Amadeus North America, Preferred Hotel & Resorts Worldwide and WorldHotels. He is also the founder and president of the CARINO Hotel Group.
“Carino is an outstanding addition to our executive team, bringing more than two decades of hospitality leadership, strategic planning, and brand development experience to our Hotel Partner Solutions division,” said Dic Marxen, president and CEO, CCRA Travel Solutions.
Carino kicked off his hospitality career in 1992 as sales manager of global accounts for the Plaza Hotel New York. In 1995, Carino joined WorldHotels as director of corporate development. He then had a stint as director of corporate sales worldwide for the the Preferred Hotel Group from 1997 to 2001. During that time, he expanded the company’s hotel brands, designed and implemented new sales technology and managed a global corporate sales team.
Since 2002 Carino has been actively involved with the CARINO Hotel Group, which he founded. That group is now a division of Genares Worldwide.
In a statement, Carino lined out his goals for the division: “I plan to elevate CCRA’s hotel division by establishing new supplier relationships, enhancing our preferred supplier offerings, and providing even more opportunities to connect valued travel agents with leading hotels across the globe through our Preferred Hotel Program.”
Carino is an active member of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), and the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI).
He is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, with an associate degree in business administration and a dual bachelor of science degree in management and marketing.
About CCRA
Based in Fort Worth, Texas, CCRA Travel Solutions has been a global solutions provider in the Travel Industry for 40 years. It's part of a company that also includes CCRA Call Center Solutions, CCRA Global Business Development, and CCRA Air Partner Solutions.
CCRAtravel.com is a proprietary hotel reservation booking engine that provides real-time rates and availability at over 180,000 hotels worldwide and allows travel agents to choose from up to five rate categories on a single search including: GDS rates, CCRA preferred rates, Internet rates, net rates and the 15 percent enhanced commission rate categories.
CCRA also offers marketing opportunities to suppliers interested in reaching more than 30,000 professional travel planners. In 2014 CCRA acquired the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN), a travel industry trade association representing and supporting the independent travel agents, home based travel agencies, independent contractor sellers of travel and the outside sales travel agent; as well as TravelRetail Universal Enumeration, Inc. (TRUE).
For more information, visit www.ccra.com.