Karen Shute

Product Manager, Caribbean @American Airlines

Phoenix, AZ

Lead the evolution and promotion of American Airline Vacations (AAV) largest product line personally generating $30M+ in sales and poised for year-end 28% increase. Maximize product line revenue and passenger volume by developing/managing synergies and partnerships with more than 250 hotels and resorts located in the Caribbean. Set the overall vision and strategic direction of the Caribbean product portfolio to drive awareness of the brand with travel agencies and tour operator consortiums. Create sales objectives around the product strategy and shape thinking on how to best advance marketing, merchandising and content capabilities across both print and digital landscapes for optimal ROI. Deepen productive relationships with key industry partners (Hotels, DMCs and CVBs) including island tourism boards, industry associations and government entities. Glean insights from travel data to formulate priorities that deliver impactful and revenue generating outcomes through pricing and rate contract negotiations. Conduct familiarization trips to visit hotels and resort areas throughout the Caribbean Islands to onboard new cooperative agreements aligned with the company’s reputation and customer service standards.Negotiate net room rates and shift marketing strategies to increase travel activity during slower travel months. Enter into co-op marketing agreements with vacation partners throughout the region to increase co-op contributions, maximize marketing spend vs. budget and enhance brand exposure.Develop a regular cadence of communication between operational areas to report on analytics, service, sales, customer relations and market trends.Analyze market influences and competitor movements to determine a rate strategy, website positioning, collateral creation and brand management to prepare forecasts for new market entry.