Maygen Brown Grows Flourishing Career in Hospitality Sales

April 15, 2024 | Careers

When she took her first job in hospitality — working the front desk at Homewood Suites Fresno in 2015 — Maygen Brown wondered if there’d be any opportunity to grow.

The answer, nine years in, has been a resounding “Yes!”

“I never imagined I’d be in this position,” says Brown, who was recently promoted to director of sales at OTO’s complex of three hotels near Yosemite National Park in Oakhurst, California: a Hampton by Hilton, a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, and a Holiday Inn Express & Suites.   

Brown progressed to her current role via tireless effort. In Fresno, she moved from Homewood Suites’ front desk to the sales department, serving as sales coordinator before advancing to a dual sales role with added responsibility at SpringHill Suites Fresno. In 2022 she joined the Oakhurst-Yosemite team, where she was promptly promoted to complex sales manager, then senior complex sales manager, and now, complex director of sales.

“There have been some big steps in my career,” Brown says, noting she relishes not only the path but also the support OTO Development provides as she moves forward in her career.

“I’m a person who loves to stay busy,” Brown says, “and working as director of sales for three different brands is definitely ideal for that!”

Her career trajectory means “looking at things at a higher level” while making the most of every opportunity to develop new skills — for example, taking over the three hotels’ Foreign Individual Traveler accounts.

Working in hospitality has changed Brown’s perspective when traveling. “I think you appreciate the employees a lot more,” she says. And even while technically off work, she finds herself looking around every vacation hotel and wondering what ideas she might bring back to her own properties.

Brown’s favorite out-of-the-office activity is off-roading in a UTV — her family’s annual New Year’s trail trip typically runs some 500 mountainous miles.

A California native, Brown had never been to Yosemite National Park before joining the sales team for OTO’s three nearby hotels. And now she can’t stay away because, she says, “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful!”

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