Barb Taylor (BT) Carpender, CMM, has assimilated an impressive background of sales, marketing and operations experience from her more than twenty-five years of direct exposure within the hospitality industry. Her extensive involvement through a variety of hotel and resort types and brands has created a diverse knowledge and reference base that sets her apart from typical hospitality industry professionals.
BT has accumulated extensive expertise in the sales and marketing of ski and destination resorts, supplemented with a solid foundation and orientation to limited, mid-market, full-service and luxury properties. She has completed in-depth course work in marketing and merchandising at both Michigan State University and Colorado State University and completed the CMM and ROI programs through MPI.
Maintaining an active and high-profile involvement in the hospitality industry, BT has been involved in many professional associations and organizations. She was a co-owner of the Ski Travel Symposium (now the Mountain Travel Symposium) a yearly gathering of winter and summer mountain industry marketing and sales professionals. She has maintained a long-standing association with Meeting Professionals International serving on both the regional and International Board of Directors and numerous MPI committees and advisory boards. Additionally, she has participated in the Colorado Meetings Industry Council, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, American Society for Training and Development and the National Employee Services Recreation Association of Colorado. To add to her many credentials, in 1995 she was appointed by Colorado’s then-Governor Roy Romer to serve as one of the sixteen Colorado delegates to the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism.
She, also, was recently appointed as the Managing Director of HSMAI University. This relationship signals the launch of one of the most comprehensive educational initiatives ever undertaken by HSMAI, and provides a broad range of course offerings and learning experiences in public venue, private label and online formats.
BT is the founder of Taylored Alliances which offers tailored solutions aligned with clients’ needs and is the benchmark for industry-centric intermediary organizations. Alliances have been established with experts in the areas of industry training, consulting, facilitation, presenting and professional services (accounting, technology, staff production and deployment analysis and advisory board management). A primary alliance has been formed with Global Marketing Services, Global Marketing Services, Inc. (GMS), a marketing company whose mission is to help organizations develop stronger relationships with their customers through ongoing communication. Their core business is the formation and facilitation of advisory boards and focus groups.
In March of 2006, the Meetings Industry Council of Colorado bestowed their 2005 Leadership Award on BT. In July of 2006 she was named MPI’s International Supplier of the Year (SOTY). The MPI International SOTY award recognizes outstanding association and industry contributions, leadership and professionalism.