Kathleen (Kat) Olarte, Training Specialist
While attending St. Thomas University a volleyball scholarship, Kathleen (Kat) Olarte began her career in the hospitality industry as a bar manager for several of the prominent, high-profile night clubs in South Beach and Miami. With an educational background in psychology and marketing, Kat was a Marketing Assistant at Miami Air International. Later, while working as an administrative manager of a real estate firm, Kat connected her passion for customer service with her love of training by mentoring under Internationally acclaimed sales coach Darryl Davis as a trainer for her company.
Kat’s career path took her back to her roots in the hospitality industry when she joined the KTN team in 2007. Kat's coaching clients include Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Superclubs, Peabody, Brett-Robinson Vacations and Ganesvoort South Beach. Participants report on evaluations that they find Kat’s presentation style to be warm, approachable, and engaging; that they really sense she cares about helping them achieve their new goals and objectives.
(Below) Karla DeCastro, Director of Operations
(Below) Samantha Speigel, Reservations Coach
Customized sales, hospitality/guest services, and revenue management training programs for the hotel and lodging industry.
Company Information
Kennedy Training Network (KTN) is the lodging industry’s best source for customized hotel training workshops and seminars, along with sales and reservations sales mystery shopping services. KTN's specialized topic areas include reservations sales, hospitality and guest service excellence, hotel sales training, and front desk profit optimization. Services including customized, on-site hotel training workshops, private, individual hotel team webinars, and sales, reservations, and front desk telephone mystery shopping . Additionally, KTN is a resource for conference speakers for lodging and tourism industry associations, brands, management companies, and other affiliation groups.
Douglas Kennedy, founder and President of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc, based in Hollywood, FL, has been a fixture on the hotel and lodging industry’s conference circuit for over two decades, having spoken on the subject of hotel sales and hospitality related training topics for hundreds of association, brand, and management company conference events. It is estimated that over 10,000 others have participated in training workshops and seminars he has presented personally throughout North America and in places like Sao Paulo, Brazil, Singapore, Kaula Lumpur , Malaysia, Sophia, Bulgaria, and Moscow Russia. Thousands of others worldwide read his monthly articles in publications such as Hsyndicate, eHotelier, Hotel Online, Hotel News Resource, HotelMarketing.com, Hcareers and 4Hoteliers.
Doug is an experienced presenter who can reach audiences ranging from a small group of frontline employees just as effectively as a room full of hundreds of GM’s , equity partners, and VP’s. His presentation style is described on participant evaluations as being energetic, practical and real-world, and also entertaining, enjoyable and fun.
Doug is an experienced presenter who can reach audiences ranging from a small group of frontline employees just as effectively as a room full of hundreds of GM’s , equity partners, and VP’s. His presentation style is described on participant evaluations as being energetic, practical and real-world, and also entertaining, enjoyable and fun.
In the last year or so, Doug’s clients for his customized, on-site training services have included MGM Grand Las Vegas, Seaport Hotel Boston, Ganesvoort South Beach, Affinia Hotels/Denihan Hotel Group, Cove Haven Resorts, Hotel 71 Chicago, Brittain Management/Myrtle Beach Resorts, and Sage Hospitality Resources. (See He has also recently been a guest speaker for a diversity of organizations including Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association, Davidson Hotels & Resorts, Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association, HSMAI Central Florida, and Outer Banks Realtors/Vacation Division. (See the Clients and Testimonials page for an expanded client list.)
Colleen Tuttle, Director of Training & Webinars
After graduating from Florida State University with a degree in Fashion Merchandizing with a minor in Marketing, Colleen Tuttle began her career in the retail fashion industry with companies such as Banana Republic, The Limited, and Macy’s. Later, Colleen served as a Store Manager for the Walt Disney Company’s retail division, where she also took on the role of trainer for new and existing associates.
Having joined the KTN team shortly after the company was founded, Colleen started out as a Reservations Coach. Later that year Colleen began delivering KTN's private training webinars and soon began to show her talents for facilitation and instructional design. In 2008 Colleen was promoted to Director of Training. Since that time she has become our most requested presenter, having delivered workshops for a variety of clients including Myrtle Beach Resorts, Superclubs, the Peabody Hotel Group, Ganesvoort South Beach, Loews Hotels, and Myer Hotels.
Participants always comment on Colleen’s incredibly energetic and fun delivery style and that her presentations are informative, educational, while also being enjoyable.
Having joined the KTN team shortly after the company was founded, Colleen started out as a Reservations Coach. Later that year Colleen began delivering KTN's private training webinars and soon began to show her talents for facilitation and instructional design. In 2008 Colleen was promoted to Director of Training. Since that time she has become our most requested presenter, having delivered workshops for a variety of clients including Myrtle Beach Resorts, Superclubs, the Peabody Hotel Group, Ganesvoort South Beach, Loews Hotels, and Myer Hotels.
Participants always comment on Colleen’s incredibly energetic and fun delivery style and that her presentations are informative, educational, while also being enjoyable.
(Below) Vanessa Camilien, Reservations Coach
