Martha Austin recognized for driving hospitality sales across the Americas

Martha Austin, director of group sales for Hyatt Inclusive Collection Americas, is being recognized for more than 38 years in hospitality sales leadership and revenue growth. Her career spans 18 properties across multiple countries, with a focus on group sales strategy, team development, and executive mentorship.

Why it matters: - Martha Austin leads group sales strategy for 18 Hyatt Inclusive Collection Americas properties across the region. - Her work sits at the center of hotel revenue generation, especially for MICE and social group business. - Austin’s career highlights the continued need for stronger pathways for women into senior hospitality leadership.

What happened: - Influential Women recognized Austin for her career in hospitality sales leadership. - Austin is the director of group sales for Hyatt Inclusive Collection Americas in Easley, South Carolina. - Austin brings more than 38 years of experience in the hotel industry. - Her current role covers sales operations, mentorship, and commercial direction for group sales teams across multiple countries.

The details: - Austin’s expertise includes hospitality sales leadership, group sales strategy, multi-property and regional sales management, revenue growth, and strategic sales planning. - Her portfolio includes MICE and social group sales teams. - Austin previously served as director of sales for Crestline Hotels and Resorts. - She founded ML Hospitality Consulting to provide sales training and operational consulting. - Austin also taught as an adjunct professor at Kendall College. - She spent more than 14 years with Playa Hotels and Resorts. - Her Playa roles included Corporate Director of Sales (Above Property) and Director of Meeting and Incentive Sales. - She helped develop annual sales strategies, budgets, forecasts, and promotional campaigns across an international resort portfolio. - Austin also worked with revenue management, marketing, and operations teams. - She strengthened relationships with franchisor partners and property owners. - Austin earned a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management with a minor in business from Southwest Minnesota State University. - She later earned an MBA with an emphasis in organizational leadership from North Central College. - Austin is a member of SITE and Women Leading Travel. - She serves as president of the local Blue Star Mothers of the Upstate organization. - More information is available on Austin’s Influential Women profile.

Between the lines: - Austin’s career reflects a blend of sales execution, consulting, teaching, and leadership development. - Her story also underscores a common industry challenge: women remain underrepresented in vice president, senior regional director, and other executive roles. - Austin frames that gap as both a structural barrier and an opportunity for organizations to build stronger leadership pipelines. - Her leadership philosophy centers on resilience, transparency, and relying on specialist teams rather than trying to do everything alone.

What's next: - Austin says young women entering hospitality should say yes to challenging opportunities and build confidence through stretch assignments. - She sees leadership development and inclusion efforts as key to opening more executive-level roles for women. - Austin plans to keep combining commercial strategy with mentorship as she leads group sales across the Americas. - Her focus remains on strengthening revenue, team performance, and long-term client relationships across Hyatt’s regional portfolio.

The bottom line: - Austin’s recognition centers on a long career built on revenue growth, team building, and leadership across a multi-country hospitality portfolio.