Cheryl Cheney Bunker has been appointed Senior Vice President, Global Memberships at Virtuoso
Virtuoso, the global leader in luxury and experiential travel, continues to see record growth across the nine regions worldwide in which it operates. With an eye toward better serving the varied needs of its rapidly expanding member and partner base, the company is announcing changes within its Senior Leadership Team and a strategic realignment designed to reflect Virtuoso's consistent focus on shaping the future of luxury travel.
Virtuoso has named Cheryl Cheney Bunker as senior vice president, global memberships. An industry veteran with more than 25 years' experience, Bunker has been with Virtuoso since 2007, heading up teams that work hand-in-hand with Virtuoso member agencies and advisors to maximize engagement and drive preferred partner sales. Most recently, Bunker served as vice president, global member relations, providing leadership, management and strategic direction for the team responsible for over 1,200 travel agency locations and more than 20,000 travel advisors in 58 countries across North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
In her expanded role, Bunker will be responsible for setting the strategic direction and oversight of Virtuoso's global membership. In this pivotal role, she will look to drive sustained growth, deepen member engagement and reinforce Virtuoso's leading brand position across all regions by upholding and evolving Virtuoso's rigorous membership standards.
Bunker's role took effect as of May 1 and she will continue to office from Windermere, Florida.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hospitality Net
3 days ago
- Hospitality Net
France Set to Maintain Unmatched 2024 Growth in Travel & Tourism
London, UK - France's Travel & Tourism sector reached new historic heights in 2024 and is on track to exceed this exceptional performance throughout 2025, according to new data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The latest Economic Impact Research (EIR), produced in collaboration with Oxford Economics, confirms that in 2024, Travel & Tourism in France surpassed all previous records across economic contribution, employment, and visitor spending, solidifying the country's leadership as the world's most visited destination. The sector contributed €266.2BN to the French economy, 10.1% above 2019 levels and equivalent to 9.1% of the national GDP. Travel & Tourism also supported three million jobs, employing 300,000 more people than in 2019. International visitor spending reached €72.5BN, while domestic visitor spending climbed to €142.1BN, reflecting strong and balanced demand, seeing a hike of 7.1% and 5.7% on peak levels, respectively. 2025: Sustaining Record Momentum According to WTTC projections, 2025 is expected to continue this upward trajectory and improve on the previous year's historic peak across all analysed metrics. The sector is forecast to contribute €274.2BN to the GDP, increasing to 9.3% share of the economy, while employment is expected to reach 3.1 million jobs – nearly 1 in 10 people employed by Travel & Tourism in France. International visitor spending is projected to rise to €75.1BN, with domestic spend reaching €144.2BN. This enduring performance highlights France's strong tourism fundamentals, from world-class cultural and leisure assets to robust transport infrastructure and sustained government support. France continues to set the pace for Travel & Tourism worldwide. After a historic 2024, the sector is expected to maintain its growth into 2025 and beyond. The successful hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games showcased France on the global stage, reinforcing its reputation as a premier destination with the capacity to deliver exceptional experiences at scale. France remains a beacon for travellers globally. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO Looking Ahead to 2035: A Decade of Opportunity WTTC forecasts that by 2035, Travel & Tourism in France could contribute €308.4BN to the national economy, equivalent to 9.4% of GDP, and support 3.5 million jobs — representing 11.2% of total employment. The sector is expected to remain a pillar of growth and opportunity, driven by evolving consumer trends, growing global demand, and investments in innovation and sustainability. A Glimpse into the European Union In 2024, the EU Travel & Tourism sector contributed almost €1.8TN to the region's GDP, representing more than 10% of the Bloc's economy, and above 2019 levels by almost 6%. The sector's employment grew by 4.7%, year-on-year, to 24.6 million jobs, accounting for one in nine jobs across the region. By 2025, WTTC forecasts that the EU Travel & Tourism sector will reach almost €1.9TN, representing 10.5% of the EU economy. Employment linked to the sector is estimated to total 25.7 million people, or 12% of the regional total. For more information and to access the full factsheet, including WTTC's latest Environmental Social Research (ESR), please visit WTTC's Research Hub. About WTTC The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) represents the global travel & tourism private sector. Members include 200 CEOs, Chairs and Presidents of the world's leading travel & tourism companies from all geographies covering all industries. For more than 30 years, WTTC has been committed to raising the awareness of governments and the public of the economic and social significance of the travel & tourism sector. WTTC Press Office WTTC View source
Hospitality Net
5 days ago
- Hospitality Net
Reviewpro Reputation Supercharges Its AI Responses Feature to Boost Hotel Efficiency and Personalization
BARCELONA, Spain – Shiji, the global hospitality technology leader is announcing a significant upgrade to Reviewpro Reputation's AI Responses feature, turning what was once a tedious task into an efficient, consistent experience. With a single click, hoteliers can generate context-aware response drafts aligned with tone preferences, property insights, and guest feedback so they can redirect valuable staff time toward meaningful guest service. The result: faster, more consistent engagement and elevated trust with prospective guests. Just one month into a trial, HM Hotels used AI responses to respond to over 82% of 661 reviews received, with a response time for negative and neutral reviews under 2.7 days, with a 100% response rate on key platforms like Google, and Tripadvisor. Responding to online reviews is a key driver of reputation performance, but operational pressure often leads to delays or inconsistency. Reviewpro Reputation's enhanced AI Responses feature tackles the root challenge: the blank response box. By automatically generating a polished draft, complete with acknowledgment of both praise and critique, hotels maintain a high standard of responsiveness. Clients define their tone (formal, friendly, empathetic, and the new 'Business Casual'), preferred length, and signature template, and the tool seamlessly integrates 'Property Insights' to ensure replies feel aligned with the brand's voice. AI Review Responses is not just about responding fast. It lets hotels to efficiently respond in a brand aligned voice and frees staff to focus on delivering remarkable guest experiences. The new bulk generation option takes efficiency to the next level. It allows teams to generate responses for multiple reviews at once. This helps staff save valuable time and maintain full control over the responses sent. Rafael Patiño, Senior Director of Product Management at Reviewpro Reputation Key upgrades: Tailored Tone & Structure: Users now choose from enhanced tone options—formal, friendly, empathetic, and the versatile 'Business Casual,' which blends professionalism with warmth and ensures proper pronoun use across languages. Users now choose from enhanced tone options—formal, friendly, empathetic, and the versatile 'Business Casual,' which blends professionalism with warmth and ensures proper pronoun use across languages. Workflow Visibility: The new 'AI Response Generated' icon and dedicated filters enable managers to track which reviews are draft‑ready and which are live, eliminating oversight and promoting accountability. The new 'AI Response Generated' icon and dedicated filters enable managers to track which reviews are draft‑ready and which are live, eliminating oversight and promoting accountability. Bulk Replies: One-click bulk response capability enables hoteliers to generate contextual replies for 20+ reviews simultaneously, ideal for busy teams or large properties. One-click bulk response capability enables hoteliers to generate contextual replies for 20+ reviews simultaneously, ideal for busy teams or large properties. Intentional Co‑Pilot Design: Hoteliers retain full editorial control, with every draft reviewable and editable before publishing. These enhancements arrive at a time when guest expectations are higher than ever. As travelers increasingly pay attention to how hotels respond to feedback, consistent and thoughtful replies have become a key differentiator. And since the average response time globally has dropped from 10 days in 2021 to just 3.2 days in 2025, hotels looking to stay competitive need to align with this new standard. To learn more about AI Responses, visit About Shiji Shiji is a global technology company dedicated to providing innovative solutions for the hospitality industry, ensuring seamless operations for hoteliers day and night. Built on the Shiji Platform—the only truly global hotel technology platform—Shiji's cloud -based portfolio includes Property Management System, Point-of-Sale, guest engagement, distribution, payments, and data intelligence solutions for over 91,000 hotels worldwide, including the largest chains. With more than 5,000 employees across the world, Shiji is a trusted partner for the world's leading hoteliers, delivering technology that works as continuously as the industry itself. That's why the best hotels run on Shiji—day and night. While its primary focus is on hospitality, Shiji also serves select customers in food service, retail, and entertainment in certain regions. For more information, visit View source
Hospitality Net
13-06-2025
- Hospitality Net
Why legacy PMSs are holding hotels back and how cloud technology solves it
As hospitality evolves, hotels must streamline operations, harness data more effectively, and enhance efficiency to stay competitive. The Property Management System (PMS) is at the core of hotel management, an essential tool connecting various hotel functions. As more business shifts online and seamless digital experiences become the expectation, PMSs must integrate with internal and external systems, including POS, front desk, and housekeeping. Yet, most PMSs were built for a different era, making it difficult to support the growing web of integrations required in today's digital-first environment. Traditional property-based legacy systems are cumbersome to use and maintain. These old systems often require hotel staff to navigate complex menus and wade through irrelevant options just to retrieve information that should be readily available with minimal clicks. Additionally, new rollouts and upgrades come at a very steep cost to hotels in terms of time, personnel, and resources. In contrast, cloud-based software updates are completed remotely, delivering greater efficiency and enhanced functionality without disruption. The shift toward digital marketing and personalized guest experiences further emphasizes the need for more agile PMSs. Integrating with loyalty programs, guest marketing, CRMs, and mobile apps wasn't envisioned when legacy PMSs were first implemented. These aging systems have reached the end of their functional lifespan. Unlocking greater agility with a cloud-native PMS A modern, cloud-native PMS offers far more than just streamlined operations; it empowers teams with intuitive, real-time control over every aspect of property management. Designed for today's dynamic hospitality environment, intuitive, user-friendly displays reduce staff training time and increase productivity, allowing teams to focus on the guest experience instead of clunky system navigation. Leveraging the cloud's scalability and flexibility enables centralized access to critical functions, like front desk operations, housekeeping, and maintenance. In addition to greater insights, it allows teams to stay connected and responsive no matter where they are on the property. Real-time reporting and analytics further equip hotel leadership with the information they need to make fast, informed decisions that improve performance and guest satisfaction. Facilitating seamless integration with other hotel systems eliminates the friction of disconnected data and disjointed processes, resulting in a more agile, efficient operation. Simplifying access to data across systems while enriching functionality unlocks new capabilities, like real-time rate and availability management through integrated channel managers or inline RMS capabilities to optimize revenues. Unified platform, unlimited possibilities Delivering the modern, digital experiences guests expect hinges on seamless systems integration and single-source data to unlock data´s full potential. iStay, IBS Software's unified hospitality management platform , doesn't just upgrade how hoteliers manage their properties and enhance guest experiences – it completely transforms them. iStay's cloud-native PMS integrates seamlessly with the platform's CRS, PMS, RMS, Booking Engine, distribution, and loyalty software, eliminating traditional data silos across disparate systems that complicate hotel operations and personalization efforts. This holistic approach enables hotels to grow their business, deliver exceptional guest experiences, and allow staff to focus on personalized service rather than complex system workarounds.
