Rick Stiffler is the Senior Vice President of Global Sales – Leisure for Preferred Hotel Group, overseeing the efforts of global leisure sales for the Preferred Hotels & Resorts and Beyond Green brands. Since joining the company in 2000, Rick has worked closely with the independent travel agent market to drive bookings for member hotels worldwide while managing relationships with luxury organizations such as Virtuoso, Signature, Ensemble, and American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts. Rick has also identified innovative ways for Preferred to capture business from growing niche markets. In 2011, he spearheaded the launch of Preferred Pride, a portfolio of hotels and resorts that are certified to serve LGBTQ travelers and their families, which has since generated $27 million in revenue for participating hotels. In early 2016, he conceptualized and rolled out Preferred Platinum, the company’s first travel agency VIP program, which extends value-added amenities to its top global independent travel agencies when booking hotels in the program. In 2021, Rick helped develop a similar program, Green to Gold, which launched as part of Preferred’s newest sustainable hotel brand, Beyond Green. A graduate of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Rick has more than 25 years of experience in hospitality sales, previously managing travel for companies such as Carlson Wagonlit and Calvin Klein. He is an active leader in the LGBTQ travel community and a member of Preferred’s Diversity & Inclusion Task Force.