Cy West

Background

About Cy West

Results-focused and widely experienced hospitality professional with a proven track record in developing and managing B2B and B2C sales plans and strategies, leading successful teams, generating revenue, and hotel management. A global outlook, having spent 25 years living and working in Asia Pacific, and over 30 years’ experience in the travel industry. My first six years in Tokyo were spent establishing a well-founded reputation as a high performing leader in inbound MICE sales. I was instrumental in bringing together government bodies and private stakeholders in the post 3-11 disaster inbound tourism recovery effort. After joining Marriott International GSO Tokyo at the end of 2012 I focused on driving outbound group business, developing our global account portfolio, restructuring the sales team and supporting the expanding number of hotels in the region. New initiatives have included the first ever hosted buyer groups from Japan to global travel trade shows. Promoted in August 2014 to manage Marriott's Global Sales Offices in both Japan and South Korea, and again in 2018 to lead Sales and Distribution for the Marriott portfolio in Japan and Guam. In 2023 took on the challenge of my first GM role, joining JR Kyushu on a contract basis for the opening of the Nagasaki Marriott in January 2024. In 2024 I made the move to IHG, becoming Chief Operating Officer of the 1,001-room RIHGA Royal Hotel Osaka, overseeing the hotel's entry into the Vignette Collection brand in April 2025. A confident communicator, I have had a number of articles published in trade journals and have presented, in both English and Japanese, at sales and marketing conferences in Japan and Osaka.