Nov. 2 Meeting - Downtown Business Panel

Nov. 2, 2021, Downtown Business Panel - Relevance and the Return of Tourism and Hospitality

Moderated by Jeff Maul, Lincoln Convention & Visitors Bureau; Panelists = Aaron Stitt, General Manager, Marriott Downtown/Haymarket  and Becky Perrett, Direct of Marketing at Runza

Jeff Maul

Executive Director

Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau

Jeff Maul was appointed as Executive Director of the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau late in 2006.  Maul has been at the Convention and Visitors Bureau since 2002 and has an additional 12 years of sales and marketing experience in the hospitality, corporate and healthcare industries.

Since taking over as Executive Director, the team at the CVB has seen steady growth each year, including recording record breaking lodging collections, prior to the pandemic multiple months in 2018 and 2019 and most recently, in July of this year.  Room night activity, through events, is a generator of lodging tax, sales tax revenue, jobs and overall economic impact for the city.  An example of this is the estimated $30-$40 million impact in Lincoln during the 2010 USA National Games for Special Olympics and similar impacts for the 2015 State Games of America and most recently the National High School Finals Rodeo.

Aaron Stitt

General Manager

Courtyard by Marriott Downtown/Haymarket

Aaron has over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. He has come full circle since his start in the industry as the head bartender at both Lincoln Country Club and Embassy Suites. He then assisted on the task force team opening both Courtyard and Embassy Suites in LaVista, NE and then moved to Phoenix to help open and work for Renaissance Glendale Hotel and Spa for about 6yrs. He came back to Nebraska to open the Courtyard by Marriott Lincoln Downtown Haymarket and have been here since our opening date in 2012.  Under Aaron’s supervision, his team has been a Marriott Circle (Silver/Gold/Platinum) award winner 8 consecutive years in a row (the most of any Courtyard Branded hotel in the world, and are currently ranked 99^th out of 1,000 plus hotels and projected to win another platinum award for 2021. Rankings are based off of guest satisfaction scores and overall performance.

Becky Perrett

Director of Marketing

Runza® Restaurants and Braeda® Fresh Express Café

Becky’s Runza® career started her senior year of college when she worked at the 56th & Highway 2 location as a cashier, never thinking the experience would play such a key role in her future. After traveling as an Educational Leadership Consultant for Alpha Xi Delta women’s fraternity, she began working at Runza® National as Marketing Communications Manager. Becky holds two degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is involved in multiple community organizations. Founded in 1949, Runza® Restaurants – famous for the Runza® Sandwich with its delicious blend of ground beef, cabbage, onions and secret spices baked inside homemade bread; made-to-order hamburgers; and homemade onion rings – operates and franchises 85 restaurants in Nebraska (80), Colorado (Longmont & Loveland), Iowa (Clarinda & Council Bluffs) and Kansas (Lawrence).