Our Team

With more than 25 years of diverse experience in hospitality, leading change management has been a major factor in Kathleen's success over the years. Kathleen leverages her astute ability to understand individuals' strengths and line them up with hotels' needs, as well as when and how to respond quickly to changes needed to guarantee a hotel's success.

Prior to joining PTG Consulting in 2019, Kathleen held strategic senior leadership positions in the corporate offices of global hotel companies, launched her own consulting firm, worked on property in various operational departments, and authored professional industry publications. In her role as Senior Vice President of Revenue & Distribution for Two Roads Hospitality, her passion for hotel revenue management was evident in the portfolio's consistent year-over-year market share growth. In that role, she was responsible for overall revenue strategies and increasing hotel market share for a portfolio of more than 75 hotels, as well as optimizing the company's revenue management foundation for all brands, including organizational setup, expert human resources and deployment, technology platform, tools, and connectivity. During her tenure at Two Roads Hospitality, she was a key leader and held cross-discipline responsibilities for all new hotel openings and transitions.

Kathleen is active in many industry organizations having served as Vice President of the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association from 2000-2002, Chair of the HSMAI Revenue Management Advisory Board in 2014 and 2015, and has served as Vice Chair of AHLA's Customer Innovation Forum and HSMAI Foundation board member and since 2023 and 2024 respectively.

In addition to her advisory roles, HSMAI hired Kathleen to author all three editions of the popular and best-selling revenue management publication - Evolving Dynamics: Revenue Management to Revenue Strategy. Prior to that, Kathleen authored the first-ever revenue management publication for the industry, "Defining Revenue Management: Top Line to Bottom Line". The publications are widely used throughout the hotel industry and serve as official curriculum inclusions for HSMAI certification CRME (Certified Revenue Management Executive) program and at Cornell University, New York University, and Michigan State University.

Kathleen was named one of HSMAI's Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing and Revenue for 2014 and currently serves on the HSMAI Board of Directors.

Ken Mastrandrea is Chief Operating Officer for Preferred Travel Group – the family-owned company that manages and operates global travel and hospitality brands includingPreferred Hotels Resorts,Beyond Green, Historic Hotels of America, Historic Hotels Worldwide,PTG Consulting, and Beyond Green Travel. He is responsible for overseeing all corporate operations and brand development, in addition to driving the strategy behind PTG Consulting. Ken brings extensive experience in international and North American hospitality management, including franchise branding and asset preservation, as well as professional qualifications in deluxe residential destination development with sales, client relations, design, and building operations.

Prior to joining the company in 2007, Ken spent more than 25 years in executive-level positions overseeing multi-brand hotel management services, directing leisure, tour, and corporate travel management efforts for companies across North America. He served as CEO of a major company operating domestic and international tours and as senior vice president of a corporate travel agency that serviced North America’s Fortune 100.

Ken’s influence in the industry extends to serving on travel related association boards and advisory councils, including Sabre Hospitality’s Executive Advisory Board. He is also a Certified Hotel Administrator (CHA) by the American Hotel and Lodging Institute. Ken is based out of the company’s corporate headquarters in Newport Beach, California.

Melissa Carsten brings more than 13 years of professional experience in the tourism industry to her role with PTG Consulting and over 30 years of expertise with administration and operations management. Melissa oversees complex projects, providing structure, timeline development, and interfacing with in-market teams to ensure that contracted deliverables are understood and executed on time and in budget. Based in Chicago, Melissa graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Ohio State University. Some of her favorite travel experiences have included meeting two manatees while scuba diving off the coast of Honduras, participating in the Edinburgh Fringe Theatre Festival in Scotland, and celebrating the Dandiya Garba Festival in India.

Natalie Payne serves as PTG Consulting‘s Vice President of Hospitality Sales, leading the company's sales representation services division that offers clients custom-tailored, targeted sales efforts to the U.S. luxury leisure market. She brings more than 21 years of sales, marketing, travel, and event planning experience to her role, and, most recently, she spent 17 years as Director of Leisure Sales & Special Events at the Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Charleston, South Carolina. In that role, she managed off-season events, as well as domestic and international leisure sales for the five-star resort and its sister properties - The Hermitage in Nashville, Tennessee; Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina; The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia; and Keswick Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia - all luxury, independent properties that are members of PTG Consulting's sister brand, Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

Previously, Natalie worked with Orient Express Hotels (now Belmond) for three years in sales and marketing roles and with the Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau. She has also served as a television reporter for local NBC and ABC affiliates in South Carolina. Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Natalie holds a bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina. One of her favorite travel experiences was a trip to Honduras after Hurricane Mitch, where she had the personally rewarding experience of covering the devastation and recovery efforts as a journalist and helped with clean-up efforts.

With more than 15 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industries, Ashley Norman leads the PTG Consulting North American public relations and digital marketing team, developing strategies, implementing creative ideas, cultivating traditional media and social influencer relationships, and ensuring that all deliverables are achieved – and often exceeded. Her wide-reaching, global experience includes overseeing accounts for tourism boards and destination marketing organizations throughout Mexico and the Caribbean, Central America, Africa, Asia, and the United States, driving multi-faceted success for tourism brands through traditional public relations tactics, partnerships, targeted social campaigns, paid digital programs, website marketing, and more, while ensuring the highest ROI possible is achieved. Ashley is passionate about helping lesser-known destinations enter new markets, and her insightful, hands-on approach has landed impactful editorial features for PTG Consulting’s clients in some of the top travel and lifestyle media outlets across the United States and Canada.

Prior to joining PTG Consulting in 2016, Ashley held leadership roles at top travel marketing firms in New York City and Miami. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University. Among her favorite travel experiences are whale watching in Puerto Vallarta, wandering the blue agave fields in Tequila, and off-roading in the Chihuahua Desert outside of Ciudad Juárez.

Michael J. Sherwood is Vice President of Revenue Management Services for PTG Consulting, responsible for all revenue-related consulting services including revenue for hire, revenue management training workshops, and more. Michael has devoted the majority of his 35-year career in hospitality to the revenue management discipline.

Prior to joining the company in 2012, Michael spent almost 10 years with Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants as Vice President of Revenue Management for 23 hotels on the west coast of the United States, which encompassed three independent hotel brands. Michael also spent several years of his career working as a development analyst for Bristol Hotels and Resorts where he was responsible for completing market studies and development pro formas for new hotel acquisitions.

In 2010, Michael received his Revenue Management Certification through Cornell University and has been a Certified Revenue Management Executive (CRME) through HSAMI since 2013. Among his favorite travel memories are wine and food tastings in Tuscany, exploring Paris with family, and cave rappelling near Cancun. He is based in Sacramento, California.

With more than 15 years of experience in public relations consulting, Ashley brings well-practiced expertise in developing and implementing campaigns focused on media relations, reputation-building programs, and issues management. She leads PTG Consulting's public relations consulting work, from ideation and strategic planning to cultivating teams that match client needs to overseeing delivery of results. Prior to joining PTG Consulting, Ashley serviced in a leadership role at an award-winning public relations consulting firm based in the U.S.

Nina Boys is Vice President of Sustainability for Beyond Green Travel and PTG Consulting. In this role, she conducts hotel sustainability audits, oversees sustainable tourism development and destination stewardship projects, and works with clients to create strategic plans and craft messaging that embraces sustainability best practices and ensures impact in action. She also serves as an advisor on brand standards for Beyond Green, a global portfolio of curated hotels, lodges and resorts that represent sustainable tourism leadership.

With a background in hospitality management, a bachelor's degree in Media, Culture & Communications, and a master's degree in Sustainable Tourism Destination Management, Nina has helped travel companies, hotels, and destinations around the world establish best practices in conservation, community engagement, and environmentally friendly practices.

Bilingual in English and Spanish, Nina has also held roles as General Manager and F&B Director for top luxury properties in Latin America where she worked to improve and integrate sustainable tourism practices into the guest experience. Nina is also an accomplished travel writer and photographer with a keen interest in food culture who has been published in publications including National Geographic, Virtuoso Traveler, and The Huffington Post.

With more than 40 years of experience in the global tourism industry, Jennifer Johnston is Vice President of Operations & Administration for PTG Consulting. In her role, Jennifer focuses on management of complex projects, providing structure, overseeing timeline development, and interfacing with in-market teams to ensure that contracted deliverables are understood and executed on time and in budget. Australia-born and Chicago-based, Jennifer is a lifelong traveler who has worked both in client-facing and supporting roles for companies in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. She has traveled to 50 countries and five continents and still has Antarctica, Alaska, and Vietnam on her bucket list. Jennifer attended Mt. St. Benedict College in Sydney.

Diane is responsible for hospitality client deliverables, project management, documentation and training, and system configuration and integration for PTG Consulting's hospitality clients. A 36 year veteran of the hospitality industry, Diane created the Revenue Management position at The Woodstock Inn & Resort, a Preferred Hotel in Woodstock, Vermont. After 11 years as Revenue Manager, she spent a year as Vice President of Implementation & Projects - Americas at iVvy Pty Ltd.

Other past roles include Training and Strategic Marketing for ITT Sheraton, Sales & Catering at The Sheraton Palace in San Francisco, Support and Technical Installations for Newmarket Software, Director of Operations for OPUS2 Revenue Technologies, and independent meeting planning and consulting.

Sharon Jin is Director of Accounts for PTG Consulting, bringing more than a decade of experience in the travel and tourism industry with an emphasis on strategic planning, travel trade outreach, event management, and marketing communications to the role. As a destination marketing specialist, Sharon has grown awareness within the China market for PTG Consulting's destination clients including Qatar, El Salvador, Reno Tahoe, and Uganda, while helping stimulate visitation and increase visitor spend. In addition to managing outbound tourism programs, Sharon is skilled in cross-cultural communications and works hand-in-hand with PTG Consulting's U.S.-based team members to ensure the successful execution of inbound trade strategies.

Based in Beijing, Sharon previously spent six years working at properties across the Renaissance, Crowne Plaza, and Howard Johnson brands prior to joining PTG Consulting in 2015. She holds a master's degree in International Communication from The Hague University in The Netherlands. Among her favorite travel experiences are scuba diving in Semporna, kayaking in Lake Tahoe, soaking in the hot springs of Japan's Arima Onsen, and watching ballet in Milan's La Scala opera house.

Silvia Meng is Director of Public Relations, Greater China, for Preferred Travel Group, bringing 14 years of experience in the travel and hospitality industry to her role. Silvia leads the company's public relations and social media efforts in China, providing extensive strategic public relations and social media support to its global travel and hospitality brands including PTG Consulting, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and Beyond Green. Silvia demonstrates her expert capability for strategy development, media relations, creative digital campaign, event planning and execution, and client servicing by delivering strong results for PTG Consulting's clients, which have included the tourism boards of Reno Tahoe, Suzhou, El Salvador, and Uganda, among others. Prior to joining the company, Silvia conducted in-house public relations and marketing efforts for Swire Hotels, and also worked on the agency side at GHC Asia, where she supported tourism and hospitality clients including Canadian Tourism Committee, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (New Zealand Wine), Universal Studio Singapore, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Four Seasons Beijing, and others. Among her travel memories are spending time in the presence of wild horses in Reno and spectacular views of Salzburg and the Danube River with music in the air. Silvia holds a master's degree in International Hotel Management from the University of Surrey and is based in Beijing.

Xabier brings over 15 years of experience in strategic partnerships, destination marketing, and luxury tourism, most recently serving as Senior Account Manager, Alliances at Virtuoso. Throughout his career, he has successfully managed relationships with more than 80 global tourism boards and luxury travel suppliers, driving revenue growth and enhancing destination visibility through integrated B2B and B2C campaigns. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Basque —with knowledge of German, Finnish, and Mandarin, at different levels— Xabier is well-equipped to lead initiatives in Latin America, the Caribbean, U.S. markets and beyond.

Gonzalo Ocejo is Vice President of Development for Preferred Travel Group, driving new business efforts in Europe for the company’s global travel and hospitality brands including PTG Consulting, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Historic Hotels Worldwide, and Beyond Green. Trilingual in English, Spanish, and Japanese, Gonzalo brings a wealth of experience to the team from his base in Madrid. 

Fernanda Rosas brings extensive expertise in tourism partnerships, marketing strategy, and international business to her role with PTG Consulting. Based in Mexico City, Fernanda specializes in building C-suite relationships, implementing strategic initiatives,  and negotiating complex alliances. She is adept at identifying new market opportunities and navigating challenging environments, with a strong focus on cross-cultural communication to ensure successful project outcomes.