Shannon Rinella

In her current role as Senior Director, Project Services for Marriott International, Shannon brings nearly two decades of hotel operations, franchise services, consulting and training expertise to the company's Global Operations team. Before joining the Global Operations, Shannon spent five years with Marriott's Talent Development team, driving associate performance within the company's corporate disciplines and strengthening service culture within Marriott's portfolio of iconic luxury brands, including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, EDITION, JW Marriott, and W Hotels.

Shannon’s career all began with a mouse – Mickey Mouse, to be exact. After graduating from Duke University, Shannon joined the cast of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida as a member of the Disney College Program. In less than a year with the company, Shannon became a Guest Service Manager at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort, where she learned the ropes of front office management and supported her Cast Members in creating “magic” daily for thousands of guests. Shannon took the lessons learned from her time with Disney and applied them to her time at LRA Worldwide (now Deloitte) and Interstate Hotels & Resorts (now Aimbridge Hospitality). During her tenure at Deloitte, where supported CX engagements with some of the biggest names in travel, hospitality, and entertainment such as Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts, Starwood North America, Marriott International, Cosmopolitan Hotel of Las Vegas, Preferred Hotels Group, Delaware North, MSG Entertainment, Compass USA, The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, and The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

A strong advocate for developing the next generation of hospitality leaders, Shannon is an adjunct faculty member in Georgetown University’s Masters in Global Hospitality Leadership program, where she has designed and taught courses on human capital management, branding, and guest service. She currently serves on the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s Education Certification and Advisory Committee and was as a contributing editor to its START (Skills, Tasks, and Results Training) program for front line associates. She has also served as a guest contributor for HotelExecutive.com and Lodging and Hospitality magazine.

Shannon is a proud graduate of Duke University and earned her MBA with a focus in strategic management from Villanova University.