Ocra appoints James Hansen as head of partnerships. Hansen will lead strategic partnerships as the company scales its AI-powered parking revenue management platform across the hotel industry.
Hansen brings more than 25 years of experience in hospitality and hotel management, with a career spanning sales, marketing, operations and finance. Most recently, Hansen focused on strategic growth initiatives as vice president of development at Reeco, where he drove growth in ARR and customer acquisition while positioning the company as the leading AI-driven procure-to-pay solution in the industry.
Prior, he served as chief development officer at OTH Hotels & Resorts, where he led the growth and development of a portfolio of 15+ hotels across the United States. His previous roles include leadership positions at Hotel Equities, Kolter Hospitality and Interstate Hotels & Resorts.
In his new role at Ocra, Hansen will focus on building and expanding partnerships with hotel asset owners. His appointment underscores Ocra’s commitment to helping hotels unlock incremental, high-margin revenue from underutilized parking assets through AI-powered revenue management and global inventory distribution.
“After meeting James at an industry conference a few years ago, it was clear that he understood the value Ocra drives in the hospitality sector,” Ethan Glass, CEO and co-founder of Ocra, said in a statement. “We first had the pleasure of working with James when he was at OTH Hotels & Resorts as a client, then we saw the incredible impact he made on the technology side at Reeco. When the opportunity presented itself for us to bring James on board, it was a no brainer. He’s been an extraordinary champion from the start, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him on our team.”
“I’m beyond excited to join such an elite team of thought leaders and a company that is truly leading innovation in the space,” says James Hansen, Head of Partnerships. “I’ve been an advocate for Ocra for nearly two years now. Parking is a massive ancillary revenue stream and profit center for hotels, and one that’s been overlooked for too long. I’m excited to help the industry recognize and maximize this untapped opportunity to grow NOI.”
Hansen’s hire indicates momentum for Ocra expanding its footprint in the hotel sector, partnering with assets to unlock parking as a high-margin revenue stream through hands-on revenue management, sophisticated software, robust platform integrations, and AI-driven pricing strategies.
Ocra is an AI-powered revenue management system and global distribution system purpose-built for hotel parking assets. Hotels use Ocra to sell underutilized parking inventory to non-guest customers using online marketplaces ("parking OTAs") to find parking near airports, venues, and other hotspots. Ocra's team of parking revenue management experts drives growth without adding labor or disrupting operations, helping hotels increase net operating income (NOI) while never compromising guest parking.