Eric Kincaid, 29, works in Washington, D.C., as corporate sales manager at Destination DC. As a 2017 40 Under 40 honoree, Kincaid discusses his passion for the events industry.
What I do: I am responsible for developing strategy and maintaining relationships with corporations. My goal is to inspire them to choose Washington, D.C., as their preferred location to host their meetings and conventions.
How I got here: Before Destination DC, I worked with Marriott hotels for 10 years. I held various roles, from operations to hotel sales. Leading up to my current role, I was responsible for developing and managing 130 accounts on the area sales team for D.C.
Impressive stats: Since joining Destination DC, I have increased the amount of corporate leads/RFPs for the city by 89 percent. I have also increased corporate meetings in the city by 10 percent by ensuring we are maximizing the space and sleeping rooms for all programs.
Phrases that identify me: Globetrotter; runner; foodie; bookworm, volunteer
A specific improvement I’ve made: Washington, D.C., is known as a city that hosts mostly association meetings and conventions. When I joined the team, I wanted to bring on more corporate meetings. I began to educate my team and hotel community about corporate meetings and what it would take for us to get more of them. This was vital for them to understand, as association meetings typically book further out than corporate meetings. I wanted to change our booking policies to make sure we were maximizing the space at the convention center and hotels to leave room for shorter-term corporate meetings.
What I’m working on: This year I am excited to bring more tech and pharmaceutical meetings to our city. D.C. is becoming a tech and medical incubator, which can add additional value to those meetings.
What I do outside of work: Volunteering, running and traveling are my passions. This year I am slated to run 30 races!
