John N. Elston, Jr.
Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Sunstone Hotel Properties, Inc.

John Elston joined Sunstone Hotel Properties, a division of Interstate Hotels & Resorts, in March 2000 as the vice president of sales. In June of 2000, he was promoted to senior vice president of sales & marketing and was subsequently promoted to executive vice president of sales & marketing in March 2002. Elston has over 23 years of experience in the hotel and travel industry. Early in his career, Elston earned the reputation as a turnaround specialist managing and leading numerous hotels to a successful turnaround and recovery. Prior to joining Sunstone, he oversaw the direct sales and marketing efforts for 27 Doubletree and Hilton hotels on the West Coast. Prior to that, he was corporate director of hotel performance for Promus Hotels. Elston has more than 20 years of top leadership experience with the industry's leading brands. His entrepreneurial spirit and experience has allowed him to create and implement successful multimillion dollar marketing campaigns.

Elston has served on more than a dozen tourism, association and bureau boards holding a variety of positions including vice chair, president, vice president and director. He has had articles published on Managing and Winning During a Recession and Capturing More Than Your Fair Share. Elston regularly speaks to audiences of all sizes on topics including "How to Find Business That's Not Finding You" and "Motivating Others to Sell".