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Gary Oster - Senior Vice President, Business Development

Gary A. Oster is Senior Vice President of Business Development and joined the Travel Industry Association in 2005. He is responsible for overseeing TIA's business development activities which include membership, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, exhibition sales, advertising and publication/subscription sales.

A travel industry professional with over 37 years of experience, Mr. Oster most recently worked for Avendra, a company specializing in professional procurement for the hospitality industry. He served as Vice President Independent Hotels, Resorts and Casinos before assuming the role of Vice President of Native American Gaming.

Retired in early 2002 from Marriott International, his last assignment was Vice President of Owner Relations, responsible for managing the relationships between Marriott and its managed, North American ownership groups. Prior to this current assignment, Mr. Oster was Vice President Sales-Marriott Lodging. His duties were to manage technology and information projects that supported the Global Lodging Sales Organization.

Mr. Oster joined Marriott through the acquisition of Renaissance, where he was Vice President Sales-America's. During his tenure with Renaissance, he worked at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel (1990-1996) where he was General Manager, served as Director of Marketing at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel (1985-1990) and the Renaissance Westchester Hotel (1983-1985). He joined the company (then known as Stouffer Hotels and Resorts) in June of 1982 as Director of National Sales, running the Washington, DC National Sales Office. Mr. Oster started his hotel career in 1968 at the Sheraton International Hotel, BWI Airport.

During his career, Mr. Oster has been an active volunteer within the travel industry. He was a founding board member for the Baltimore Academy of Travel and Tourism and served multiple years on the boards of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and Marriott's Employee Federal Credit Union. He has also served on the Greater Baltimore Committee as hospitality chairman and was founder and co-chairman of the Public Safety Coalition. Currently, he serves on the HSMAI-America's Board of Director's.

In 1996, he received recognition as Hotelier of the Year for the Maryland Hotel and Motel Association, the Mayor's Outstanding Citizen Award in 1995 for the City of Baltimore and the Hospitality Professional of the Year by the Academy of Travel and Tourism in 1994.

Mr. Oster has the distinction of being a commercially rated, United States Coast Guard Captain, which allows him to operate passenger vessels of up to 50 tons, typically a vessel of up to 100' in length. Since he is also an ordained Minister, he is in the unique position to also officiate and perform shipboard weddings (as both captain and reverend).

Gary is an award-winning photographer, free-lance writer, is married, has two grown sons and lives with his wife Lisa, near Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, MD.