(SAN FRANCISCO; December 4, 2017) – Kokua Hospitality, LLC, an independent hotel management company based in San Francisco, announces the appointment of Shouma Moniz as director of sales and marketing (DOSM) at Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach (175 Paoakalani Ave, Honolulu, HI). In his current role, the native Hawaiian leads the hotel’s sales and marketing strategies, managing a team of three sales associates and working directly with Kokua Hospitality’s corporate regional sales manager. Moniz, who brings such accolades as Evolution Hospitality’s national sales person of the year for 2014, contributes to the hotel’s holistic business strategies and focuses on optimizing revenue while forging lasting relationships with local business partners and clients.
Moniz’s experience in hotel sales and passion for hospitality stems from his time growing up in both Oahu and Guam, where his initial love for the tourism industry began to grow. As a young child in Guam, he participated in a public school program that granted children the opportunity to welcome visitors to Guam at the local hotels and airport. Moniz carried that first taste of the hospitality industry into an ambitious and quickly evolving career, beginning with a self-generated, unpaid internship in the hotel sales department at the Pacific Islands Club resort in Guam immediately following high school.
Moniz graduated from the University of California Davis with a Bachelor of Arts in both economics and international relations, with a minor in Japanese. After completing his Master in Business Administration in 2015, he dove directly back into the hospitality industry with a goal of assuming a role as director of sales and marketing by the time he reached 30 years old. Following a first role with Hilton Grand Vacations as a sales associate, Moniz spent three years with Marriott Hotels & Resorts progressing from a front desk agent at the former Edition Waikiki Beach, to sales coordinator, and then sales manager, at Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. Moniz then made the move to San Francisco where he joined Evolution Hospitality, serving on the former Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf’s sales team for three years, eventually receiving a promotion to associate director of sales. During these three years, Moniz was awarded sales person of the year for all of Evolution Hospitality, named Evolution’s Top Producer for 2014, and led the sales department to honors as the 2013 department of the year.
While in San Francisco, Moniz met the aforementioned goal and took on the role of director of sales and marketing at Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF. He next joined Sage Hospitality as DOSM at the Homewood Suites by Hilton San Francisco Airport North before moving back to Hawaii in 2017 to pursue his current role with Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach.
“As a young, determined leader, Shouma’s sales skills, knowledge of local markets, and passion for hospitality is invaluable to the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach team,” said Kirk Pederson, president of Kokua Hospitality. “We’re confident that he will continue driving this hotel to the top of Waikiki’s thriving and competitive hotel market.”
Moniz prides himself on maintaining a collaborative, ‘bottoms up’ style of management inspired from past years experiencing all hierarchical levels of sales departments. He is quick to assist his sales team with any level task and relayed that Kokua Hospitality’s departure from cookie-cutter style management aligns well with his leadership philosophy. Hookita, the Hawaiian term for hospitality, speaks to treating everyone as if they are an extended part of your family and plays a significant role in Moniz’s day-to-day interactions. He embraces the spirit of hookita by establishing memorable relationships with guests and clients, striving to instill his love for Hawaii within every visitor.
Currently, Moniz lives in Waikiki, Hawaii. In his spare time, he can be found at the beach, going on hikes, playing with his dog, Kuri, cooking or enjoying the city’s great culinary offerings.
