Revenue management saga: Hotels, casinos, and airlines learning from each other

Tom Botts is a senior executive, investor and advisor in the travel industry.  He brings extensive expertise in e-commerce, revenue management and technology across the airline, hotel and online intermediary industries. He is currently the Chief Commercial Officer at Uplift, the leading Buy Now, Pay Later solution for the travel industry. Uplift was acquired by Upgrade, a multi-billion dollar fintech focused on consumer lending in July 2023. Serving the world's top enterprise level travel brands, Uplift's complete range of flexible payment options drive higher conversion and loyalty for partners, while giving customers a simple, surprise-free way to pay over time with no late fees or prepayment penalties.

Tom joined UpLift from Miraval Group, a rapidly expanding wellness brand, where he served as SVP and CMO. Private equity firm KSL Capital Partners recruited Tom to Miraval where he was a key member of the leadership team which successfully sold the brand and resorts to Hyatt Hotels in early 2017. Prior to joining Miraval, Tom served as Denihan Hospitality’s Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer.  

Earlier, Tom was a co-founder and managing partner of New York City-based Hudson Crossing, LLC, a leading business and technology advisory firm serving the travel, financial services and related industries.  

Tom served as Vice President – Global Travel Industry Sales and Strategy for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. where he led a sales and marketing team responsible for $2 billion in revenue generation across multiple distribution channels. Tom later led product and supplier relations for Hotwire, which was successfully sold to Expedia Group.  

Tom began his career with Delta Air Lines and held roles of increasing responsibility in customer service, technology, revenue management and e-commerce. 

Tom sits on the board of directors or advisory boards of several companies, including Duetto Research, Hudson Crossing, Rocketmiles (acquired by Booking Holdings) and Vacatia.com. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Logistics and Marketing from the University of Missouri. 

Gregory Cross is the founder and creator of Hilton Hotels Corporation’s revenue management discipline. A hospitality veteran of thirty-eight years, he was also the first senior vice president of revenue management for Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Live Nation Entertainment. In 2015, Cross was the inaugural recipient of the Vanguard Award for Lifetime Achievement in Revenue Management from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International for his significant contributions to the field of pricing and revenue optimization in the hospitality industry. He retired in 2018 and lives with his wife, Jill, in La Quinta, California. 

Brent Overbeek was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer for Hawaiian Airlines in July 2023. He oversees the company’s revenue management and analytics, network and schedule planning, cargo division, distribution, U.S. and international sales and airline partnerships. Overbeek has also served as an ATPCO Board Member for the past nine years. 

Overbeek joined Hawaiian Airlines in July 2014 as Vice President – Revenue Management and Network Planning. He was named Senior Vice President - Revenue Management and Network Planning in 2018, and became Senior Vice President – Chief Revenue Officer in March 2022. 

Previously, Overbeek served as Vice President - Revenue Management for Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. He also worked for American Airlines, where he gained 19 years of progressive analytical and revenue management experience in several positions including Managing Director - Domestic and Regional Revenue Management as well as Managing Director - Domestic Pricing and Regional Revenue Management. 

Overbeek holds a Bachelor's in Economics from the University of California, San Diego. 

In her role as Senior VP, Chief Marketing Officer, Jennifer is responsible for creating, establishing and implementing key marketing strategies, and evaluating and monitoring all marketing activities.

Before joining PENN, Jennifer gained over 17 years of casino marketing experience with Caesars Entertainment. She also served as Regional Vice President for Caesars, overseeing the strategic marketing efforts for nine geographically and competitively diverse casinos and hotels. Jennifer also has extensive property-level experience, serving as the head of marketing at casinos in several markets.

Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland-College Park and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.