Executive Profile

Name: Greg Kavanagh

Title: Vice President of Business Development

Organization: Visit Williamsburg

Location: Williamsburg, Virginia

Birthplace: New Hampshire

Education: Miami University, Ohio; public administration

Career History

• Interstate Hotels & Resorts, 1988-2016

• BridgeStreet Global Hospitality, Reston, Virginia: Vice president, sales and operations, 2016-2018

• Hotel Dupont, Wilimington, Delaware: Managing director, 2018-2022

• Visit Williamsburg, Virginia: Vice president business development, 2025-present

Greg Kavanagh once envisioned himself as the mayor of a small city. Instead, he spent much of his career running hotels, which — as he tells it — isn’t all that different.

As a child in an Air Force family, Kavanagh grew up in California, Alabama and Northern Virginia before heading to Miami University in Ohio to study public administration.

“I had no idea that there was anything called a hospitality career,” he said. “I was thinking someday I might be the mayor of a small city, and that’s essentially what being a hotel general manager is.”

His introduction to the industry was just as unexpected. After graduation, Kavanaugh spent three years working for his fraternity’s national headquarters, visiting local chapters around the country. A chance encounter with a Hyatt management team in Kansas City led to a job offer in hotel sales. It wasn’t politics, but that out-of-the-blue offer launched a career that included 27 years with Interstate Hotels & Resorts, now part of Aimbridge Hospitality, where Kavanagh rose from sales to management. He always considered himself to be the chief revenue officer even when his title was hotel GM, drawing on his previous sales experience to guide operations.

In 2025, Kavanagh joined Visit Williamsburg after being recruited by CEO Ed Harris, whom he had met while managing the Eden Resort in Pennsylvania. A longtime donor, member and visitor to Colonial Williamsburg, he saw the opportunity as “a great career capper.”

That hospitality background has proved invaluable in destination management, where understanding contracts, incentives and transportation logistics goes hand in hand with knowing what planners want to accomplish.

“You’ve got to have a pretty good elevator speech,” Kavanagh said, recalling a recent three-day stretch of 40 appointments with international tour operators. More important than pitching a destination, he said, is understanding what each client is looking for.

Kavanagh believes the hospitality industry’s technological advances haven’t diminished the value of old-fashioned salesmanship.

“I come from the era before the internet, before cell phones, and there was a lot of shoe-leather work that happened in sales,” he said. Technology may have made finding information easier, he added, but asking the right questions remains essential: Why is a group considering a particular destination? What do they hope to achieve? Who is the competition?

Williamsburg offers Kavanagh plenty of opportunities to implement that approach. Colonial Williamsburg is the region’s best-known attraction, but Visit Williamsburg represents the entire Historic Triangle, which also encompasses Jamestown and Yorktown. Golf, kayaking, biking, outdoor recreation and cultural activities at William & Mary university expand Williamsburg’s appeal to groups that are seeking more than just the historic sites.

When he’s not working, Kavanagh indulges his lifelong passions for travel, antiques and history. His interests range from vintage automobiles and records to old books and furniture, and he never misses a visit to Colonial Williamsburg to enjoy its spectacular holiday decorations.

“I’m a history buff first and foremost,” he said. “I think it’s important — it gives people perspective, and there’s no greater privilege in the world than the opportunity to travel.”

Tips From Greg Kavanagh

• Make it memorable. Incorporate unique local experiences, speakers, entertainment or venues that attendees wouldn’t otherwise discover.

• Take advantage of your DMO. Destination experts know the attractions, the people and the possibilities, and they can help create experiences beyond the usual meeting agenda.

• Communicate expectations. Work with responsive, trustworthy partners and speak up when something isn’t working. Keep educational programming relevant and timely.