Jim Merkel, Senior VP Marketing

Jim Merkel has joined CTS as Senior Vice President, Marketing. Jim brings 25 years of marketing experience, including senior assignments with The Coca Cola Company and Cadbury Schweppes. In addition, he created and developed several start-up companies that he successfully managed and sold.

At CTS, Jim will be responsible for utilizing a variety of brand awareness and demand generation tactics to expand CTS global marketing footprint. In addition, he will be developing strategic partnerships and alliances in the travel industry.

Tricia Hanson, Manager Hotel Relations

A Division 1 collegiate tennis player from Western Carolina University, Tricia is the newest member of the CTS team, and brings her competitive spirit to the business world. She heads our Hotel Relations Department and works hard to increase our global network of hotels. To date, CTS has developed direct access to over 5,000 independent hotels worldwide.

Tricia and her team work directly with hotels to identify and resolve payment and commission issues. They analyze data and bookings to effectively determine which hotels are paying their commissions in a timely manner and the percentage of bookings that have been reconciled. Tricia will also be responsible for introducing the new CTS hotel payment portal, which will allow hotels to work exclusively with our clients to better manage the inquiry process and pay more efficiently.