Visit WeHo Adds Two Senior Staff Members

Visit West Hollywood, the city’s visitor and tourism marketing organization, has added two senior leaders to its executive team. Jonathan Mattis has been named vice president of marketing and sales and will oversee the organization’s marketing, business development and communications programs, which are designed to increase visitation to the destination. Alexander Stettinski has been named vice president of operations and strategic planning and will manage the overall budget and finances of the company while simultaneously aligning and mobilizing the organization to successfully implement its strategic plan objectives. Mattis and Stettinski will report to Bradley Burlingame, president & CEO. Bill Hynes, the organization’s executive vice president for sales and marketing, retired recently.

“I am pleased to welcome Jonathan Mattis and Alex Stettinski to these critical positions overseeing the marketing programs, strategic planning and operations of Visit West Hollywood,” Burlingame said. “They have demonstrated extensive leadership in their respective careers and will ensure that our organization continues to deliver industry-leading productivity in support of West Hollywood’s hotels and tourism industry, which contributes more than $900 million annually to the local economy.”

In his role as vice president of marketing and sales, Mattis will work closely with West Hollywood’s hotels and stakeholders to develop domestic and international sales and marketing initiatives that will drive visitors to West Hollywood. He will lead a team of eight staff members in the fields of marketing, business development, public relations and film marketing. Mattis will be responsible for setting the programming budget, establishing goals and objectives, planning and implementing advertising campaigns, brand management, overseeing collateral development and managing the organization’s research activities.

Mattis had previously served since 2001 as director of marketing at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel Air—members of the Dorchester Collection—where he oversaw marketing and communications for these landmark hotels. His prior marketing experience includes luxury brands and advertising agencies in New York. He holds a BA in Communication from Monmouth University.

In his role of vice president of operations and strategic planning, Stettinski will be responsible for managing the overall budget and finances of Visit West Hollywood while simultaneously aligning and mobilizing the organization to successfully implement its strategic plan. He will work closely with the president/CEO, staff, board and stakeholders to evaluate strategic plan growth and the effectiveness of the plan’s productivity in relationship to the budget and its return on investment. He will also oversee the accounting and human resources functions.

Stettinski arrives at Visit West Hollywood from the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, where he served as executive director since 2011. His prior experience includes roles with the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID) in Downtown L.A., and the West Hollywood Design District (formerly known as the Avenues of Art & Design), where he served as executive director from 2001-2007. He holds an MA in Comparative Religion and the Arts from UC Berkeley and a BA in Theology from University of Goettingen in Germany.

Visit West Hollywood is responsible for driving West Hollywood’s tourism industry, which contributes more than $900 million to the local economy annually. In 2014, West Hollywood welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors and tourism supported more than 5,500 jobs in the city. In January 2014, Visit West Hollywood restructured through the formation of a Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) that provided increased funding for tourism marketing. This new funding allows Visit West Hollywood to increase the economic impact of tourism in West Hollywood. The increased revenue from visitation benefits not just hotels but nearly all local businesses, while providing significant tax revenues that fund city services and improve the quality of life for residents. The organization administrates the West Hollywood Design District and Film West Hollywood program (filmwesthollywood.com) in partnership with the City of West Hollywood.