The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism) has named veteran hotelier Klaus Peters to the newly created position of Vice President, Client Services, it was announced today by Roberta Rinker-Ludloff, Senior Vice President Sales and Client Services. 

In this role, Peters will be responsible for creating and managing the organization’s service standards and overseeing the team coordinating citywide conventions, self-contained meetings, client events and trade shows.

Peters’ hospitality management experience spans properties in five countries including, Germany, Switzerland, France, Canada and the U.S.  He has managed a diverse collection of hotels ranging from large convention and resort hotels with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Hotels Corporation, and ITT Sheraton Corporation to private small luxury hotels such as The Watergate Hotel and The Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada, Fla. and The Delamar Greenwich Harbor in Greenwich, Conn.  Along the way, he instituted Mobil Five Star Training programs and had a property recognized by Condé Nast Traveler as one of the best new hotels in the world in its first year of operation.  He began his career at the historic Schlosshotel Kronberg, a five-star luxury castle hotel in Germany.

“Klaus’ extensive background in hotel management provides a unique combination of skills to ensure every customer exceeds the value of their investment in LA through creative event execution, exceptional service and budget management,” said Rinker-Ludloff.  “In the past year, we have evolved our sales approach to incorporate international and national selling expertise while layering on local LA expertise for the city’s diverse regions from the beaches to Downtown LA to our luxury collection in Beverly Hills. Klaus’ demonstrated passion and track-record for delivering global service excellence is an exciting leadership addition to our new sales and services approach in LA.”  

Last year, Los Angeles welcomed a record 41.4 million visitors from around the globe, making it one of the most visited destinations in the U.S. Hotel occupancy set a record at 75.4 percent, surpassing the previous 2006 record of 75.1%; and hotel rooms sold set a record at 26.64 million hotel room nights generating $180 million in tax revenue for the city. Tourism is a leading industry in Los Angeles, supporting 386,200 jobs and contributing more than $16.5 billion in visitor spending.