Gilad Berenstein—Founder and CEO of Utrip

Technology, most of the time we love it, sometimes it frustrates us, but when you have someone like Gilad, some things can be so much easier.

In 2010, Gilad began planning a dream vacation to Europe, and spent untold hours researching his trip. He had an epiphany—there had to be a better way to plan the perfect trip. Upon returning to Seattle, Gilad vowed to make his vision a reality and founded Utrip.

Gilad’s background includes leadership positions in business development (Watch2Help and GB Consulting), financial and asset management (PricewaterhouseCoopers and Harris Allison Buxbaum Group), and entrepreneurship (Seattle Alumni Club). He holds a BA in Business Administration, Accounting and Finance and a Masters in Taxation from the University of Washington.

Patrick Smyton, Senior Director of Convention Strategy

Patrick will share highlights from the Visit Seattle Annual Hotel Symposium and update us on the latest trends for our area. Seattle is a great place to visit and we see its popularity with the amount of cruise ship sailings, conventions, major exhibitions, and sporting events. Patrick will review the exciting events for 2016 and how it will affect Seattle.   

Visit Seattle is a private, nonprofit marketing organization serving as Seattle and King County’s official destination marketing organization (DMO) for more than 50 years. Through our efforts, we work to enhance the employment opportunities and economic prosperity of the region. 

As a partnership-based organization, Visit Seattle connects more than 1,000 local businesses, their products and services with the lucrative visitor market. The Visit Seattle Partnership Services team also offers professional development events, orientations and a variety of networking tools throughout the year.