Meet the Experts.

Thought Leaders

Hospitality eBusiness Strategies’ principals are recognized "thought leaders" in Internet strategies for the hospitality and travel verticals, and have pioneered many of the "best practices" in hotel Internet marketing and direct online distribution. HeBS' principals are frequent guest speakers and presenters at industry events, industry association events, major brand conferences and annual GM meetings, hospitality marketing conferences, university-sponsored associations, and government and state-sponsored tourism events.

Internet Marketing Pioneers

HeBS’ principals were among the pioneers in Internet distribution and marketing in hospitality as founders, CEOs and executives in two consecutive Internet start-ups in hospitality and travel, before founding HeBS back in early 2001. At one of these Internet technology start-ups, HeBS’principals won the prestigious 2001 Worldwide Microsoft RAD Award for Web-based technology applications, inventory management and reservation systems for hospitality.

Impeccable Professional and Academic Credentials

HeBS’ principals and consultants combine the best practices in three critical areas: Internet distribution and marketing in hospitality and travel since 1996, solid hospitality and travel background, and a Madison Avenue advertising and marketing background. All of our consultants have impeccable academic credentials: each HeBS employee has at least one Master's degree from a prestigious university.

Our Team:

Max Starkov

Max Starkov is Chief eBusiness Strategist at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, Inc. in New York City. Max is a recognized "thought leader" in Internet marketing strategies in hospitality and is a frequent guest speaker and presenter at industry events and conferences. His eBusiness expertise is sought after by a diverse client portfolio of top tier hotel brands, luxury and boutique hotel chains, hotel management companies, resort and casino companies, franchisees and independents.

Max has spent his entire professional career in hospitality and travel. He has an extensive Internet marketing and online distribution experience. He co-founded and served as CEO of three eBusiness companies: Travelbreak.com 1995-2000 (Innovative direct supplier-to-consumer online travel marketplace, ranked 3rd in traffic after Priceline.com), WhaleMedia.com 2000-2001(Winner of the coveted Microsoft RAD Award for hotel online booking systems), and HeBS (since 2001). Under Max’s leadership, HeBS has pioneered many of the "best practices" in hotel Internet marketing and direct online channel distribution, and has won many prestigious awards for its groundbreaking website design and Internet marketing campaigns.

Max received the prestigious HSMAI “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing” honor for 2008.

Max has written numerous reports, conducted industry research, and published articles in major travel and hospitality publications. Since 2001 he has been teaching, as an adjunct professor, graduate courses on eCRM and Internet Marketing and Distribution at New York University's prestigious Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism Studies.

Max has an MS in Economics of International Tourism and an MBA degree, Beta Gamma Sigma Honors, from Fordham University in New York.

Jason Price

Jason Price is Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategic Marketing at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, Inc. in New York City. Jason's expertise in eMarketing and eDistribution crosses all hospitality business models from flag hotels to independent properties. He also provides extensive business development experience from advising strategic partnerships to capital acquisition, particularly to technology providers in the Travel and Hospitality verticals. Jason is a trained professional in Omniture, the world-class website analytics and campaign tracking and reporting application.

Jason helped build and served as the Vice President of two eBusiness companies: Whale Media, Inc. (B2B travel technology infrastructure provider to the hospitality, corporate travel and convention and meetings markets) and Travelbreak.com, Inc. (B2C online travel marketplace). Jason was a member of the leading team of Whale Media that won the prestigious 2001 Microsoft RAD Award for its ASP technology for the hospitality industry. Jason has over five years experience in pioneering and building successful travel and hospitality businesses and another six years building critical business units for major Madison Ave marketing companies.

Jason has co-authored numerous articles and white papers in hospitality and technology and frequently guest lecturers to academic and professional audiences in US, Europe and Asia. Jason has an MBA degree, from Fordham University in New York and an MS and BA in Economics from the University of Massachusetts.

Denis Strekalov

Denis Strekalov is Chief Creative Officer at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, Inc in New York City. Denis' responsibilities include directing and managing creative services at HeBS as well as overseeing all new product development and custom Web applications.

Denis brings over 12 years of digital media experience as a Web designer, creative professional and interactive design executive.

He has been directly involved in the design and execution of numerous award-winning websites and interactive solutions for the entertainment, technology and hospitality sectors. Under Denis’ leadership, HeBS has pioneered many visual and technical ideas that have since become best practices in the industry, and has won numerous prestigious awards for its groundbreaking website design and Internet marketing campaigns. His combined knowledge of best practices, artistic vision and usability results in the development of highly successful websites, online advertisements and e-marketing solutions, producing exceptional ROIs.

Before joining HeBS, Denis co-founded and served as Chief Creative Officer at Centrade, an award-winning, high-end website design studio, which later became part of HeBS. Denis holds a Bachelor of Science, Information Systems degree from the University of Maryland.

Meet HeBS’ highly talented Creative Team

Mariana Mechoso Safer

Mariana Mechoso Safer is Senior Director, Marketing at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. Mariana develops and implements website optimization and Internet marketing strategies for HeBS hotel clients. Her responsibilities include project and client management services, Internet marketing campaign management, eCRM, and direct online channel development. She has been instrumental in developing award-winning Internet marketing campaigns and website re-design and optimization projects for HeBS' clients. Mariana is a trained professional in Omniture, the world-class website analytics and campaign tracking and reporting application.

Mariana's professional experience includes over five years of work in the global travel and tourism industry. She has held travel management and group travel management positions in the United States, England, and Australia in leading hospitality and tourism companies, including STA Travel and world-renowned attractions such as the Westminster Abbey in London.

Mariana is bilingual and holds an M.S. degree in Travel and Tourism Management from New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management and graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from UCLA.

Mariana Mechoso Safer is a Qualified Google Advertising Professional and a Yahoo Search Marketing Ambassador.

Evan Rosenblum

Evan Rosenblum is Senior Director, Analytics & Online Media at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. Evan develops and manages Internet marketing strategies for HeBS hotel clients, including all aspects of search marketing (SEM): organic search, keyword buys (Pay-per-click-PPC), paid-inclusion, local search and meta search. His responsibilities include Internet marketing and SEM campaign management, client reporting services, project and client management services, direct online channel development. Evan continues to work on conceptualizing and finding innovative Internet marketing and SEM initiatives, new and improved effectiveness measurement and ROI reporting.

Evan's professional experience includes over five years of work in the advertising and hospitality industries. His past experience includes advertising traffic manager at a boutique Manhattan-based advertising agency, where he played a key role in the development and execution of many award-winning advertising campaigns. Evan gained valuable insights and hands-on experience in the hospitality industry while working for prestigious major brand hotel in New Jersey.

Evan holds an M.S. degree in Hospitality Industry Studies from New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, and graduated with a B.A. in Marketing and Communications from Queens College in New York City.

Evan is a trained professional in Omniture, the world-class website analytics and campaign tracking and reporting application. He is also a Qualified Google Advertising Professional and a Yahoo Search Marketing Ambassador.

Michael Bongiovanni

Michael Bongiovanni is Director of Sales at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, and is responsible for business development and increasing HeBS’ presence in the global market. Michael assists clients in evaluating the various elements of a successful web presence, and then helps get them started on the process of significantly increasing their direct online bookings and ROI.

Michael brings more than 12 years of experience in the online space, starting in 1997 as an Internet Business Advisor for CitySearch.com; in 1999 Michael moved to Show Digital as Director of Sales and worked with Hoteliers to deliver high speed internet access to hotel guests. After 4 years in the United States Marine Corps, Michael returned to New York and worked for Permission Data doing lead generation for CPG, Retail, Hospitality and B2B clients. Michael recently spent a year in Los Angeles working with business owners in the Industrial market place, helping them build a robust internet strategy.

Michael holds a B.A. degree from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a former United States Marine Corp officer (2001 - 2005). Michael is a devoted husband and loving father.

Tara Rattigan

Tara Rattigan is Manager, eMarketing Services at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. Tara conceptualizes and implements website optimization and Internet marketing strategies for HeBS hotel clients. Her responsibilities include website optimization and search engine marketing services, Internet marketing campaign management, online PR services, and project management services. Tara is a trained professional in Omniture, the world-class website analytics and campaign tracking and reporting application.

Tara’s expertise benefits from her professional experience in both the public relations and travel & tourism industries. At a world renowned public relations firm in New York City she has worked with a range of travel and tourism accounts gaining a valuable understanding of communications and media relations. She has worked on projects and key research studies on trends in the hospitality and travel & tourism industries and destination marketing, including a benchmark research study "Marketing Trends in the Mountain Resort Industry".

Tara holds an M.S. degree in Travel and Tourism Management from New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, where she was the recipient of the Preston Robert Tisch NYC & Company Foundation Leadership in Tourism Scholarship. She graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Tara is a Qualified Google Advertising Professional.

Kristen Romano

Kristen Romano is Senior Account Executive, eMarketing Services at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. Her responsibilities include Internet marketing campaign management, Internet marketing budget planning and management for ongoing campaigns, website advertising, copywriting, editing, and search engine and website optimizations. Kristen also participates in monthly reporting on marketing production and expenditure for clients. She is a trained professional in Omniture, the world-class website analytics and campaign tracking and reporting application.

Before joining HeBS, Kristen worked at a Public Relations and marketing firm for over two and half years, where she specialized in promoting destinations around the world for tourism. She gained much experience in crafting and pitching newsworthy story ideas on behalf of her clients, managing and executing high profile events for the media, and orchestrating significant media outreach resulting in both editorial and online placements.

Kristen graduated from Hofstra University with a B.A. in Business Computer Information Systems, Internet/E-Commerce Track.

Toby Tornay

Toby Tornay is a Senior SEM Specialist at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. His responsibilities include Internet marketing, online campaign management, paid search maketing and optimizations, website advertising, copywriting, search engine optimizations, and online budget and tracking management. He is a trained professional with DoubleClick’s DART display ad and search marketing campaign management and tracking technology platform, as well as Omniture, the world-class website analytics and campaign tracking and reporting application, and Omniture SearchCenter, the industry’s leading PPC management platform. He is also a Qualified Google Advertising Professional.

After graduating from Cornell University with a B.A., Toby worked for a large New York publishing company in their online media department, and gained valuable experience with Internet copywriting and online content creation, as well as database programming. Later, working for a paid search marketing firm in Manhattan, he gained extensive knowledge working as a PPC Marketing Specialist managing multiple high profile online accounts.

Margaret Mastrogiacomo

Margaret is an Account Executive at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, Inc. in New York City. Margaret specializes in Web 2.0 and social media strategies and initiatives including interactive media and social media marketing. Her responsibilities also include Internet marketing campaign management, website advertising, copywriting, editing, and search engine and website optimizations.

Before joining the HeBS team, Margaret worked as a freelance marketing copywriter for many companies, helping them revamp their brand identity and web presence. While at Temple University, Margaret worked at a student-run advertising agency where she conceptualized marketing campaigns, wrote advertising copy for print advertisements, websites, press releases, and worked on multi-media campaigns and business re-branding for real-world clients. She also worked as Feature Writer for Temple University’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management where she wrote articles, press releases, advertorials, and promotional material. During her time there, she published articles on South West Airlines CEO, Gary C. Kelly, the US coaches in the 2008 Olympics, studies on marketing and technology, the world renowned King Tut Exhibit, and many other tourism related topics.

Margaret graduated Summa Cum Laude from Temple University with a B.A. in Advertising and a concentration in Copywriting.

Margaret is a Qualified Google Advertising Professional.

Lauren DeGeorge

Lauren DeGeorge is Account Executive, eMarketing Services at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. Her responsibilities include Internet marketing budget planning, Internet marketing campaign development and management, website advertising and strategic linking, email marketing, copywriting, and search engine and website optimizations. Lauren also specializes in Web 2.0 and social media initiatives.

Lauren’s previous professional experience includes two marketing and translation-copywriting positions at established entertainment companies in Paris, France, as well as social media for an online hospitality marketing company in Boston and branding for a New York off-Broadway theater. These experiences taught her firsthand the value of an international and intercultural working environment and thoughtful and specialized client interaction.

Lauren is bilingual and graduated cum laude from Boston University with a B.S. in Communication and a minor in French Language and Literature.

Lauren is a Qualified Google Advertising Professional.

Adam Brodsky

Adam Brodsky is an Analytics and Reporting Specialist at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. Adams specializes in website analytics, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and reporting. He is a trained professional in Omniture SiteCatalyst, the world-class website analytics and campaign tracking and reporting application, and Omniture SearchCenter, the industry’s leading paid search (PPC) management platform. Other areas of proficiency include DoubleClick’s DART campaign delivery and tracking management system, and search engine marketing on Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Bing.

Before joining the HeBS Team, Adam gained valuable experience at a startup Internet company working in viral marketing, social media and Web 2.0 marketing campaigns. His efforts contributed to a significant increase in website traffic, conversions and brand awareness.

Adam graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a B.S. in Business Administration.

Adam is a Qualified Google Advertising Professional.