About

For more than 25 years Betsy O’Rourke has enjoyed a successful career in the travel and tourism industry as a marketing professional, creating award-winning campaigns and launching innovative partnerships and promotions for numerous brands.

Currently she is Chief Marketing Officer of  the Xanterra Travel Collection, a highly diversified global travel and hospitality company operating concessions in iconic U.S. National Parks (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier, Crater Lake, Zion, Death Valley, Mt Rushmore), the Oasis at Death Valley luxury resort, adventure tour operators (VBT, Country Walkers and Holiday Vacations) and a luxury small ship cruise line (Windstar Cruises). She oversees all of the marketing, sales, PR, revenue management and reservations activity across the businesses within the Xanterra portfolio as well as leads a cross-marketing team encompassing other Anschutz hospitality companies.

Prior to joining Xanterra, she was Senior Vice President of Marketing, Royal Caribbean International where she led the launch of their newest ships, Oasis and Allure of the Seas. This included negotiating global strategic alliances with DreamWorks and Starbucks as well as having Allure named one of Oprah’s Favorite Things on her farewell show.  She led the successful creation and launch of the new global brand campaign, “The Sea is Calling. Answer it Royally” and produced two award-winning films for the brand, “The Allure of Love” with James Brolin and “Royal Reunion” with Jenny McCarthy.  Her partnership with Broadway produced the first-ever brand integration during the live broadcast of the TONY’s.

Prior to her role at Royal Caribbean, she was SVP Marketing and Communications at Wyndham Worldwide, the world’s largest hospitality company with leading market share in three business units: lodging, vacation rental and exchange and timeshare.  While at Wyndham she led the expansion of the Women on Their Way program across all businesses as well as the expansion of the original hotel loyalty program across all businesses. She also led the creation of the philanthropy platform for the company and each business unit, Wishes by Wyndham.

Prior to her role at Wyndham, O’Rourke was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Travel Industry Association, creating a cooperative marketing program supported by all segments of the travel industry promoting travel to and within the USA. She was honored by the Association of Travel Marketing Executives with the Atlas Inspiration Award for the 9/11 recovery campaign, “See America Now More Than Ever”. Other key accomplishments during her tenure at TIA included successful partnerships with government agencies including See America’s National Parks.   She was also the General Manager of International Pow Wow, the largest US travel trade show for international inbound travel.

O’Rourke was part of the senior leadership team at Choice Hotels, most known for the award-winning celebrity-in-a-suitcase campaign starring renowned figures from the worlds of entertainment, politics and sports including football coach Tom Landry, Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, TV star Vanna White and numerous others.

She has received numerous silver and gold HSMAI and Platinum awards for various advertising and PR campaigns, including one of the Top 25 Sales & Marketing Professionals in three different years, and in the last two years, the Platinum Award for PR for the Greenest Train, a story by Peter Greenberg about the Historic Grand Canyon Railroad and another Platinum award for an integration with Oprah and the Grand Canyon.

A graduate of UC Berkeley, O’Rourke spent many years living abroad and speaks French and Italian.  She is married with two grown children and lives in Denver, Colorado.