David Wilkinson
Transformational Leadership
“David is a seasoned business leader with 13+ years of experience at the helm in hospitality, tech, and e-commerce with a consistent track record of developing, motivating, and elevating teams to achieve industry leading results. An authentic, empathetic, dedicated, people focused coach who leverages polished leadership and technical skills to accelerate engagement, collaboration, innovation, and execution via strategic data driven business development plans. Key career accomplishments within most recent roles include growing client partnerships to +17,000 accounts (+800%), revenues to +$100mm USD (+1,100%), and employee engagement to 92/100 (+116%)"
800%
Client Growth
1,100%
Revenue Growth
116%
EE Growth
Ben Bates
Commercial Director @ Booking.com
I rarely come across real talents who stand out like David. David was essential to the success story at Booking, and contributed significantly to the success of all sides of our marketplace - our partners, customers and employees. Proactive, energetic, a visionary and totally organized. An outstanding Area Manager who can captivate many towards any vision. Excellent and result driven. Works towards maximal employee satisfaction. Is always capable of adapting to new working environments. No matter how complex the problem is, he will always come up with a brilliant, elegant, and employee-centric solution. He absolutely shines in a a fast-paced environment. Definitely worth recommending.
Shane Moody
Regional Manager @ Booking.com
David is the most dedicated and passionate leader I have had the pleasure working with in my professional career. He is driven to do all that he can to enable and inspire growth for the business, customers/clients, and team members. David consistently cultivated a culture of integrity, ownership, learning, and high performance. His results (market growth, employee engagement, etc.) at Booking.com speak for themselves. He is highly skilled in project management, team building, business development, business acumen, data analysis, and talent development. I hope to get the honor and pleasure of working with David again in the future.
Tony Caro
General Manager @ Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Mr. David Wilkinson is, by far, one of the most dependable and engaged Leaders that I've had the opportunity to work with. His knowledge of the Hotel Industry and Revenue Management Fields are exceptional and Second to None. David was always the most admired Leader at Hotel Derek and was always available to coach, assist or mentor our Associates and other Team Leaders. I'm looking forward to working with him again if ever the opportunity presents itself. David will always be a True Asset to any company or organization fortunate enough to make him part of their team in any capacity, however, Leadership and Measurable Results are his true strengths.
Eno Ukpong
Global Shared Services Director @ TechnipFMC
David is an outstanding senior business leader who brings great energy and deep expertise to drive strategic business objectives. I had the pleasure of working with David for two years while he was the Area Manager at Booking.com. He has the ability to think to outside of the box and improve the status quo by seeking innovative ways to motivate others to exceed expectations in sales and marketing target. As a dedicated people leader, I worked closely with David who was an effective partner in designing and shaping leadership development programs with sales, marketing and project management skills across the North America region. Under his leadership, the team delivered impactful business results for clients and for the company. He inspires people to achieve more. He is an ultimate professional with the tenacity and a strong work ethic that surpasses many. I will always be thankful for the opportunity to work with him being such a great, genuine leader, invaluable team member and colleague.
Claire Rousselot
Area Manager @ Booking.com
During the last 4 years working with David, I was able to witness how David combines a great balanced combination of leadership. David is not only a dedicated people leader but also a sharp business leader and you don’t always get to see this in reality! David is resourceful, has strong problem solving skills and knows how to leverage data analytics skills and stakeholder management to create a bigger impact. His strong business acumen and his overall deep knowledge of our industry give credibility to any audience. The fact that he focused with attention on performance management, talent development and team engagement just showed how much he cared for his teams, wanted to set clear expectations with them in order to allow them to grow. As a peer, David has always been open to feedback as well was keen to provide acknowledgment of our work. David is a well rounded leader that inspired me to grow! Finally, David is a self learner. I remember being impressed that he learnt Javascript by himself in just a few weeks in order to finalize one of his project! That’s dedication, ownership and professionalism!
Leandro Moretti
Senior Manager Strategic Planning & Innovation @ Samsung
I've known and worked very closely with David for several years at Booking. Either working along side or reporting directly to him, he gave me the necessary tools and coaching for me to be successful in any project or initiative I was directly involved. David was also able to provide me constructive feedback and guide me with solid action plan and execution. He is a leader that learned so much from and will always look up to.
Camillia McKay
Human Resources Business Partner @ Google
While at Booking.com, I partnered with David often as HR Support for his dispersed teams. As a manager, if I had to summarize David’s contributions, it would be that David is a “people focused” manager. He understood the importance of ensuring that his teams stayed engaged to ensure that they were able to drive for results. Down to the details, David was always willing to go the extra mile for his team and wasn’t afraid to continue to develop his skills as a manager to ensure his team stayed engaged and drove for results.
Cindy Decker
Vice President Market Strategy @ Houston First Corporation
David is very knowledgeable of his markets, the consumer and trends that affect the area. Working with him in driving demand for our market is always a pleasure. He is a true professional.
Robert Caltabiano
Managing Partner @ Hotel INNvestment Group / Ameristar Hospitality
I had the pleasure of working with David during his entire tenure at Booking.com. David demonstrated a sincere willingness to help at all times. David possesses a lot of great qualities but the one attribute I most admire about David is his strong work ethic. He often times worked extra hours to get us what we needed in a timely manner, often times ahead of schedule.
Jarrod Cowell
Area Manager @ Booking.com
I had the honor of working with David to build the Houston Office for Booking. David is a great leader that inspires his team to live by the company values. David always amazed me by his big picture thinking. Every time I thought he had thought as big picture as possible, he’d open my eyes to how we could step up business to another level. He immersed himself in our industry and explored every nuance of the industry to make sure we weren’t missing anything. David was capable of accomplishing all of this while being an upstanding colleague and support.
Angel Llull Mancas
President International @ The Knot Worldwide
David is a great professional, which I had the great pleasure to work with during 5 years. His leadership skills are great, and he is very capable to manage, motivate and inspire teams of any size and cultural diversity. His knowledge of the e-commerce and hospitality industry is vast, which makes him a great asset for any company, in a leadership/sales/strategic or operations department. What I appreciated the most of David in our years of interaction was his attitude and behaviours towards work, he is passionate, dedicated, very professional and very trustworthy. I would recommend David for any leadership position, and I am looking forward to work with him again in the future.
Ted Hawksford
CEO @ LiquidPlanner
As a manager of people and business development professional, David excelled. His diligent project management, commitment to communication and capacity to motivate a team led to success across a number of initiatives. One that stands out were efforts to engage a local college to build a pipeline of talent to feed our expansion across Texas and the southern region of N. America. David crafted an internship that included personal and professional development plans plus a culminating project that served to enrich the learning and business impact for each intern - a success experienced by the students and recognized by region leadership and the school. I can confidently recommend David to any position requiring a balanced and effective blend of business leadership, project and people management skills.
Filipe Mello
Area Manager @ Booking.com
I had the pleasure and honor to work alongside David during my tenure as the Senior Account Manager for the Booking.com New Orleans Office. During the 1 year and a half that we worked together, we were able to rebuild the office engagement, hiring a successful team of driven and high achievers Account Managers, opening new markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas states, increasing Market Share among our Top Accounts and leveraging the presence of Booking.com in all these 3 states. David's knowledge, focus, and commitment to his team and development of each individual is hard to find in the market, aligned with his skills of Coaching and Mentoring, make of him a professional that will make the impact expected within your business and teams. I would work, hire and recommend David in a blink of an eye and I am eager to see what his skills, formation, and background will bring to his future endeavors because he is definitely out of the curve and a must-have in any team or company.
Ben Bates
Commercial Director @ Booking.com
I rarely come across real talents who stand out like David. David was essential to the success story at Booking, and contributed significantly to the success of all sides of our marketplace - our partners, customers and employees. Proactive, energetic, a visionary and totally organized. An outstanding Area Manager who can captivate many towards any vision. Excellent and result driven. Works towards maximal employee satisfaction. Is always capable of adapting to new working environments. No matter how complex the problem is, he will always come up with a brilliant, elegant, and employee-centric solution. He absolutely shines in a a fast-paced environment. Definitely worth recommending.
Shane Moody
Regional Manager @ Booking.com
David is the most dedicated and passionate leader I have had the pleasure working with in my professional career. He is driven to do all that he can to enable and inspire growth for the business, customers/clients, and team members. David consistently cultivated a culture of integrity, ownership, learning, and high performance. His results (market growth, employee engagement, etc.) at Booking.com speak for themselves. He is highly skilled in project management, team building, business development, business acumen, data analysis, and talent development. I hope to get the honor and pleasure of working with David again in the future.
Tony Caro
General Manager @ Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Mr. David Wilkinson is, by far, one of the most dependable and engaged Leaders that I've had the opportunity to work with. His knowledge of the Hotel Industry and Revenue Management Fields are exceptional and Second to None. David was always the most admired Leader at Hotel Derek and was always available to coach, assist or mentor our Associates and other Team Leaders. I'm looking forward to working with him again if ever the opportunity presents itself. David will always be a True Asset to any company or organization fortunate enough to make him part of their team in any capacity, however, Leadership and Measurable Results are his true strengths.
Eno Ukpong
Global Shared Services Director @ TechnipFMC
David is an outstanding senior business leader who brings great energy and deep expertise to drive strategic business objectives. I had the pleasure of working with David for two years while he was the Area Manager at Booking.com. He has the ability to think to outside of the box and improve the status quo by seeking innovative ways to motivate others to exceed expectations in sales and marketing target. As a dedicated people leader, I worked closely with David who was an effective partner in designing and shaping leadership development programs with sales, marketing and project management skills across the North America region. Under his leadership, the team delivered impactful business results for clients and for the company. He inspires people to achieve more. He is an ultimate professional with the tenacity and a strong work ethic that surpasses many. I will always be thankful for the opportunity to work with him being such a great, genuine leader, invaluable team member and colleague.
Claire Rousselot
Area Manager @ Booking.com
During the last 4 years working with David, I was able to witness how David combines a great balanced combination of leadership. David is not only a dedicated people leader but also a sharp business leader and you don’t always get to see this in reality! David is resourceful, has strong problem solving skills and knows how to leverage data analytics skills and stakeholder management to create a bigger impact. His strong business acumen and his overall deep knowledge of our industry give credibility to any audience. The fact that he focused with attention on performance management, talent development and team engagement just showed how much he cared for his teams, wanted to set clear expectations with them in order to allow them to grow. As a peer, David has always been open to feedback as well was keen to provide acknowledgment of our work. David is a well rounded leader that inspired me to grow! Finally, David is a self learner. I remember being impressed that he learnt Javascript by himself in just a few weeks in order to finalize one of his project! That’s dedication, ownership and professionalism!
Leandro Moretti
Senior Manager Strategic Planning & Innovation @ Samsung
I've known and worked very closely with David for several years at Booking. Either working along side or reporting directly to him, he gave me the necessary tools and coaching for me to be successful in any project or initiative I was directly involved. David was also able to provide me constructive feedback and guide me with solid action plan and execution. He is a leader that learned so much from and will always look up to.
Camillia McKay
Human Resources Business Partner @ Google
While at Booking.com, I partnered with David often as HR Support for his dispersed teams. As a manager, if I had to summarize David’s contributions, it would be that David is a “people focused” manager. He understood the importance of ensuring that his teams stayed engaged to ensure that they were able to drive for results. Down to the details, David was always willing to go the extra mile for his team and wasn’t afraid to continue to develop his skills as a manager to ensure his team stayed engaged and drove for results.
Cindy Decker
Vice President Market Strategy @ Houston First Corporation
David is very knowledgeable of his markets, the consumer and trends that affect the area. Working with him in driving demand for our market is always a pleasure. He is a true professional.
Robert Caltabiano
Managing Partner @ Hotel INNvestment Group / Ameristar Hospitality
I had the pleasure of working with David during his entire tenure at Booking.com. David demonstrated a sincere willingness to help at all times. David possesses a lot of great qualities but the one attribute I most admire about David is his strong work ethic. He often times worked extra hours to get us what we needed in a timely manner, often times ahead of schedule.
Jarrod Cowell
Area Manager @ Booking.com
I had the honor of working with David to build the Houston Office for Booking. David is a great leader that inspires his team to live by the company values. David always amazed me by his big picture thinking. Every time I thought he had thought as big picture as possible, he’d open my eyes to how we could step up business to another level. He immersed himself in our industry and explored every nuance of the industry to make sure we weren’t missing anything. David was capable of accomplishing all of this while being an upstanding colleague and support.
Angel Llull Mancas
President International @ The Knot Worldwide
David is a great professional, which I had the great pleasure to work with during 5 years. His leadership skills are great, and he is very capable to manage, motivate and inspire teams of any size and cultural diversity. His knowledge of the e-commerce and hospitality industry is vast, which makes him a great asset for any company, in a leadership/sales/strategic or operations department. What I appreciated the most of David in our years of interaction was his attitude and behaviours towards work, he is passionate, dedicated, very professional and very trustworthy. I would recommend David for any leadership position, and I am looking forward to work with him again in the future.
Ted Hawksford
CEO @ LiquidPlanner
As a manager of people and business development professional, David excelled. His diligent project management, commitment to communication and capacity to motivate a team led to success across a number of initiatives. One that stands out were efforts to engage a local college to build a pipeline of talent to feed our expansion across Texas and the southern region of N. America. David crafted an internship that included personal and professional development plans plus a culminating project that served to enrich the learning and business impact for each intern - a success experienced by the students and recognized by region leadership and the school. I can confidently recommend David to any position requiring a balanced and effective blend of business leadership, project and people management skills.
Filipe Mello
Area Manager @ Booking.com
I had the pleasure and honor to work alongside David during my tenure as the Senior Account Manager for the Booking.com New Orleans Office. During the 1 year and a half that we worked together, we were able to rebuild the office engagement, hiring a successful team of driven and high achievers Account Managers, opening new markets in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas states, increasing Market Share among our Top Accounts and leveraging the presence of Booking.com in all these 3 states. David's knowledge, focus, and commitment to his team and development of each individual is hard to find in the market, aligned with his skills of Coaching and Mentoring, make of him a professional that will make the impact expected within your business and teams. I would work, hire and recommend David in a blink of an eye and I am eager to see what his skills, formation, and background will bring to his future endeavors because he is definitely out of the curve and a must-have in any team or company.
Area Manager, South Central United States
Booking.com
October 2014 - September 2020
Houston, Texas
Responsible for leading inbound and outbound: acquisition, business development, product sales, operations, and client relationship strategies in the South Central United States. Managed large multi-role dispersed teams across and in up to 3 offices and 7 states, governing a portfolio of +17,000 accounts and over $100mm USD in annual turnover.
Key Accomplishments:
▪ Catapulted employee engagement scores from 43% to 92%, refocusing energy towards team building, communication, collaboration, and recognition.
▪ Introduced two succession planning programs centering on developing communication, storytelling, change management, leadership presence, and project management skills, resulting in over 20 promotions.
▪ Added a new summer internship program with the University of Houston, resolving growing concern over how to recruit top talent to support ever-growing partner base.
▪ Delivered urgently needed crisis management framework within 48 hours of Hurricane Harvey, parts of which were later adopted and rolled out by Crisis Management team to all 200 global locations.
▪ Decreased net overflows of in-bound calls from local offices to customer support by 20%, creating a JavaScript tool to visualize in-office and remote workflows, also enabling 30% climb in outbound connections to partners for remote employees.
▪Organized, led, and participated in quarterly events including QBR’s, tradeshows, industry conferences, etc. Experienced in public speaking in front of large internal and external audiences as well as organizing in-house media coverage of events.
▪ Grew client partnerships from 2,000 to over 17,000 and annual revenue from $9mm to over $100mm in less than a decade.
Senior Account Manager
Booking.com
June 2013 - October 2014
Houston, Texas
Led a team of Account & Executive Managers catering complex technology, communication, and support needs to a portfolio of +5,000 lodging partners across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
Key Accomplishments:
▪ Built centralized sales data repository (Acq. Tgt. Tracker) in NORAM to track sales leads, sales cycle process, and revenue, helping grow the North America client base from a few thousand properties to 200,000+ partners.
▪ Introduced sound business plans enabling rapid business expansion across six states, gaining leadership buy-in to open new area offices. Received promotion to manage the first three in Houston, Dallas, New Orleans.
Account Manager
Booking.com
October 2012 - June 2013
New Orleans, Louisiana
Experienced with personally providing Revenue Management Consultancy & CRM for over 300 lodging accommodations in New Orleans, Louisiana
Key Accomplishments:
▪ Increased revenue +$20M in two years, pushing boundaries to make room for growth and new ideas in the areas of Revenue Management & Acquisition.
▪ Nurtured client relationships with 300+ lodging accommodations, delivering critical revenue management consultancy and Customer Resource Management (CRM) advice.
▪Acquired numerous partnerships with traditional and non traditional accommodations from Global Chain Hotels to B&B properties and Homes.
Promoted to Senior Account Manager.
Revenue Manager
Booking.com
January 2012 - October 2012
Houston, Texas
Revenue Management support for Accommodations in Greater Texas - Booking.com B.V. Brand
Key Accomplishments:
▪Provided consultative guidance to a portfolio of 300+ lodging accommodations in Texas on the topic of Revenue Management
▪Grew client incremental revenue by +100% YOY (minimum) via global online marketing initiatives, focusing on consumer booking trends, and ways to leverage innovative products to increase ADR, REVPAR, and LOS.
Transitioned to Account Manager.
Acquisition Account Manager (Freelance via MP)
Booking.com
July 2011 - January 2012
Houston, Texas
Freelance Corporate Business & Brand Development in Greater Texas. Assigned to Booking.com B.V. Americas Launch.
Key Accomplishments:
▪Acquired over 200 partnerships with key clients in the accommodations space.
▪Grew brand awareness via relationships with local bureaus and associations.
Promoted to Revenue Manager Full Time.
Front Office Manager
Crestline Hotels & Resorts
January 2010 - July 2011
Houston, Texas
Managed a team of +25 - 50 spanning 5 roles including Guest Service Agents, Bellmen/Doormen, Night Audit Accounting, Valet, and Security. Responsible for hiring, coaching, sales and inventory management, reports, audits, scheduling, rooms budget, P&L, performance management, and entire department operations.
Key Accomplishments:
▪ Achieved revenue of $8mm in rooms and $500,000 in incremental, by negotiating walk-in rates, promoting premium packages, targeting new corporate accounts for acquisition, driving repeat guest programs, and managing gift shop/valet price points/profitability.
▪ Exceeded or met annual quotas, achieving all sales goals, by leveraging strong knowledge of inventory management, revenue analysis, financial reports, and staff and billing audits.
▪ Strengthened team unity, resulting in 90/100 Associate Opinion Survey Score of Leadership.
▪ Enforced customer-centric culture, leading to 93/100 average Guest Services Satisfaction Score.
Hotel Derek
4 Star - 314 Rooms
Assistant Front Office Manager
Crestline Hotels & Resorts
September 2007 - January 2010
Houston, Texas
Assistant to the Front Office Manager
Responsible for training, coaching, sales and inventory management, reports, accounting audits, and front of house guest relations/operations.
Promoted to Front Office Manager
Hotel Derek
4 Star - 314 Rooms
Front Office Supervisor
InterContinental Hotels Group
May 2007 - September 2007
Houston, Texas
After graduating from the University of Houston with a BS in Hospitality Management (HRM), I launched my career overseeing a team of +10 front office, guest service agents, bellmen, doormen, drivers, and night audit accounting employees. This is where I gained a love of mentoring others; I took every opportunity to coach my team on sales management, customer service, reports and audits, and operations management.
InterContinental Houston
4 Star - 485 Rooms
Guest Service Agent & Night Auditor Accounting
InterContinental Hotels Group
January 2007 - May 2007
Houston, Texas
GSA: Responsible for ensuring guest satisfaction, promoting hotel sales through inventory up-selling, and securing revenue.
Night Auditor Accounting: Responsible for rolling all computer systems over to the next day, auditing all accounts, remitting charge card revenue to the CC processors and cash to in house accounting, as well as completing financial reports for the comptroller on revenue, adjustments, and daily P&L.
Promoted to Front Office Supervisor
InterContinental Houston
4 Star - 485 Rooms
University of Houston
Bachelor’s of Science in Hotel & Restaurant Management (Hospitality Management)
2007
Houston, Texas
(Concentration in Business Management, Accounting, Finance, Law, and Hospitality Management)
LifeLabs
Certificate in Leadership Coaching & Feedback
2019
CTI International
Certificate in Coaching Skills for Business Leaders
2018
Hospitality Sales & Marketing International
Certified Revenue Management Executive
2018
Harvard University Division of Continuing Education
Certificate in Leadership Communications
2018
Skills
Sales & Business Development
Account Management
Marketing
Revenue Management
Program & Project Management
SaaS / PaaS
Business Strategy & Business Analytics
Forecasting / P&L / Finance
Recruiting, Hiring, Training, and Coaching
Critical Thinking
Change Leadership
Cultural Development
Diversity & Inclusion
Public Speaking
Talent & Leadership Development
Succession Planning
Performance Management
Engagement & Retention
Technology
MS Office & 365
Google Drive
Citrix
Workday
Salesforce
Greenhouse
Okta
Grafana
Tableau
Windows, Mac O/S, Mobile
Bluejeans & Zoom
Cisco CUIC & Webex
Workplace by Facebook
Workspace by Google
Adobe Creative Cloud
iMovie & Final Cut Pro
Nikon, Canon, GoPro, DJI
Basic HTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, Bootstrap