Her Story
About Traci
Traci Galyean serves as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Courtyard Marriott in Houston, Texas. She has been with Marriott since 1999, advancing through roles including catering sales manager, sales manager, convention services manager, and Director of Group Sales at properties ranging from 144 to 700 rooms across Houston, New York, Kansas, and Virginia. Galyean began her hotel career after a year at a law firm, where she coordinated meetings and became fascinated by hotel operations, starting as a catering admin. Her primary expertise involves securing new business via shift-sharing from other hotels and sustaining major corporate accounts such as Eli Lilly. She holds Marriott Bonvoy program certifications and Sales Success program credentials, and has earned honors including Business of the Year 2025, Hotel of the Year, Manager of the Year, and Director of Sales of the Year on multiple occasions. Galyean is active in professional organizations such as the National Association of Catering Executives and First Houston Corporation, serves on the board of one chamber of commerce and as ambassador chair for two others, and contributes to the community by speaking at local schools and charity organizations while hosting interns. She attributes her success to caring for customers and building lasting relationships, values honesty and loyalty, and advises aspiring professionals to gain sales experience, cultivate a bubbly personality, work across departments, and seek mentors.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Traci
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's actually caring about the customer. I've developed relationships over the years and had people follow me from one hotel to another. It's mostly building and maintaining relationships. I don't just seek new business; I cater to existing accounts and focus on them just as much as trying to find new business because a lot of people focus so much on getting new business that the other companies kind of feel taken for granted.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say probably look into any type of sales-type position, even if you were in a retail position or a restaurant position. It's very easy to translate that experience into the hospitality field. You have to definitely be a person that's got a bubbly personality because you're selling, and it's not necessary to have a hospitality degree or anything in order to be in my position. And just be willing to work in different departments, and work operationally and kind of learn the business, and then you literally can move up. Get somebody, find a person that is like a mentor that can mentor you in the hotel because that's key.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges are the economy. A lot of companies are on travel freezes or very limited travel. They're holding meetings in-house or in their local areas instead of flying people all over the country. Fuel prices have put a big dent in a lot of our business. Companies with international travel are having issues getting visas. Opportunities include getting different business from other hotels through shift share to make up for deficits, and showing our hotel's good product in a nice walkable area with restaurants, banks, entertainment, parks, and stores nearby.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think that honesty and loyalty are two things that I hold dear. I think that you always have to be honest, no matter how hard the truth may be at some times. And I just do appreciate loyalty, whether that's with family, friends, co-workers, a sense of trust that you can actually trust them. That's a big one for me.
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