Sarah Gagnon Vice President, Sales

Sarah contributes fifteen years of hotel experience to the Historic Restoration Incorporated, Lodging executive team. Her initial introduction to the industry began after graduating from Louisiana State University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Her first position within the hospitality field was as Director of Sales for two Hampton Inn Hotels in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, owned and operated by Highpointe Hotel Corporation.

After moving to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1998, Sarah secured the role as the Director of Tour and Travel of the Radisson Downtown Hotel. In 1999, the opportunity to work for a Promus managed hotel, the Doubletree New Orleans, became available and Sarah acted as the Senior Sales Manager and interim Director of Sales. Once Promus merged with Hilton Corporation, Sarah took on the opportunity to sell for the Hilton owned and managed hotels in New Orleans as the Assistant Director of Sales for the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Her responsibilities were to represent all the New Orleans Hilton managed hotels and introduce clients to the idea of one shared agreement and one representative for the cluster of hotel products. Additionally, she supervised the entry level direct sales team of three.

In 2004, HRI was expanding the number of properties in the city of New Orleans and at that time Sarah joined the HRI family as Director of Sales for the two Hilton Garden Inns in New Orleans, totaling 439 rooms and around 6,000 square feet of event space. The second of the two was the renovated Commerce Building located in the central business district into the Hilton Garden Inn French Quarter/CBD with 155 guestrooms.

In 2008 HRI Lodging was developed to place a specific focus on the expansion and management of the hotels division of the company. Sarah was promoted within HRI as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing. The first year in this position began during the change of management and flag of the Chateau Sonesta Hotel New Orleans to a Wyndham Historic Hotel. Another project with great importance was the redevelopment of the Hilton Garden Inn Richmond Downtown in Virginia, with 250 guestrooms. The Chateau has 251 guestrooms in the heart of the French Quarter and was the location of the famous D.H. Holmes department store. Similarly, the Richmond hotel was also converted from the old Miller and Rhoads Department store.

Mrs. Gagnon is the preopening Sales & Marketing point of contact for all new Hotel developments. The company’s goal is to achieve two openings annually. Additionally, once the properties are functional, she supports and ensures that each hotel in the HRIL portfolio is successful by working closely with Senior Management to ensure fiduciary responsibilities are met in the group and revenue management areas.