About Lauren Coats

Born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, I grew up as the youngest of four and quickly learned the importance of strong family values. All four siblings, and spouses, still get along to this day so clearly my parents did something right with teaching us to respect different viewpoints and personalities. While growing up in a household of four kids and multiple pets, I also learned the importance of perseverance. They say the youngest gets spoiled, which might be true, but what they don’t talk about is the youngest learns quickly to stand up for things they want or believe in. While I may have gotten a cell phone sooner than my older siblings, I learned the importance of hard work by watching and learning from their successes. I was quick to apply for my first job on my 15th birthday, which speaks to my eager work ethic. Or maybe that just hinted at my future love to treat myself, which doesn't come free (but I still stand by its necessity for life-balance). I broke the norm from following my siblings’ footsteps by attending a performing arts high school. It is there that I discovered my love for the arts and entertainment industry. I feel in love with dance, music, and theatre. Although I am not as active in this nowadays, it remains a strong passion of mine- just ask my dog about my mid-workday singing and dancing sessions. Luckily, I work from home so no coworkers have to endure this.

What I did not love about growing up in Georgia was the winters. Even the Georgia winter was too much for me so after high school, I made my way just across the Georgia/Florida state line to Tallahassee where I attended Florida State University. While at Florida State, I joined a sorority and became fully engaged with all things FSU and Greek life, including Dance Marathon among other philanthropic efforts. It is there that I also discovered my passion for the communications and media industry. I took several classes that revolved around TV journalism, the media industry, and general communication efforts. During my senior year, I was even elected as Associate Producer for my journalism class project, which involved co-leading a student-run live broadcast segment on a local news station. I met my now husband at FSU too, which was a nice bonus! I graduated in 2012 with a B.S. degree in Mass Communication Studies and a minor in film studies.

After graduation, I found myself moving farther south to even warmer weather into central Florida. There were a couple of years post-grad where the job market was less than ideal. I took to bartending at an upscale bar and did some freelance marketing work for a real estate investment company. I thought that I would eventually go into the broadcast media industry; however, life had other plans. I was offered a job in sales for LEGOLAND Florida Resort and took it with excitement as a foot in the door with a full-time job, and a foot out of the door with bartending. The job led me to my first passport and my first international trip. I quickly learned my love for travel and tourism industry is just as strong as my love for the media and entertainment industry. I worked for four years as the international trade sales manager. In this position, I focused on developing brand awareness and ticket sales within emerging international tourist markets. LEGOLAND provided me with amazing opportunities that spoke to my passion for travel and taught me the importance of understanding different cultures and communication needs in order to achieve desired sales results. During this time, I also had the pleasure of opening two LEGOLAND Florida hotels and three sister attractions in Orlando. Being on the opening team taught me valuable experience with introducing new products to key international tourist markets. I was given the opportunity to lead an in-market Brazil team as well, which resulted in consistent growth for the theme park awareness and ticket sales in that target market.

After four years with LEGOLAND Florida Resort, the time came to expand my experience and I began working with HD Supply as a hospitality sales rep in Tampa. I managed a portfolio of over 150 hotels, promoting operating supply solutions to them. Although a very different angle to what I did at LEGOLAND, I enjoyed getting to know my customers, their unique needs, and the Tampa tourism market. It is through this deep understanding of my clients and the market trends that I was able to grow sales even in the worst of selling environments: the COVID pandemic. I have since been promoted to a hospitality national account manager and now oversee a portfolio of 35 hotel management groups across the country. This newer role allowed me to tap back into my strategy and creative solutions side as I work to develop strategic partnerships that support both company and client initiatives. 

My experiences have taught me that despite never originally having the intentions to work in sales, I am actually good at it. I have a knack for building strong relationships to understand customer needs and expectations. I also have a strong ability with overcoming tough obstacles through creative problem-solving, all while maintaining a positive attitude. Regardless of the challenges thrown my way, and I have had plenty over my career, I find a way to combat them with a smile on my face. I have a strong work ethic and a determination to succeed in things I put my mind to. 

Positivity is a huge part of my personal and professional journey. Those that know me often wonder how I manage to stay so calm in times of high stress. While going on evening runs and OrangeTheory classes help, I have found that my best work is often done under some degree of pressure. Life has taught me some hard lessons with how to focus on things within my immediate control, i.e. replanning my wedding three times during the COVID pandemic. By accepting what I can and cannot control, I’ve developed the ability to put a positive outlook on even the toughest situations. After all, it’s all about perspective and there is always some sort of learning opportunity! It is this positive outlook that differentiates me from others within my industry, and something that I often lead with in problem-solving scenarios. 

About two years ago, I began my journey to get my Master's degree in Public Relations with University of Florida. Attaining a higher education degree was always a dream of mine so I figured what better time than now to achieve this. Going back to school and working a full-time career is not for the weak; however, it has taught me some extremely valuable lessons in time management, priorities, and determination. I always believed that if there is a will, there is a way. This journey proved that. My local coffee shops also played a helping hand. I've learned a lot about public relations and communication strategy through my graduate journey. I am excited to mix my sales experience with my communications passion to create a unique blend of skills. Branding has always been an interest of mine, going back to even pre-LEGOLAND days. With my sales-based background, creative drive, and my new perspective on public relations tactics, I have a powerful skillset that can help clients in creating awareness and demand. 

I recently took the Clifton StrengthFinders test and discovered my natural strengths as empathy, individualization, arranger, learner, and ideation. It is through these natural strengths that I will find a unique way to promote positivity, perseverance, and openness within the hospitality industry while helping brands find their unique voices. I want to help connect the world through kindness and positive, open-minded thinking. It is this why that will satisfy my desire to make the world a kinder place.