Hotel Opening
Kimpton Gray
Opening a boutique luxury hotel in the heart of Chicago.
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About Carbide
No one remembers the square footage.
They remember how a place made them feel. Carbide exists to design that feeling on purpose, and make it perform.
Why We Exist
Built from inside the room.
For 20 years inside hospitality, I watched the same pattern. Millions went into renovations and new builds. Then the property was sold by its specs: square feet, room counts, minutes from the airport. The asset was ahead of its own story.
Architects designed the space. Agencies made it look good. Operators ran the day. The feeling in between was left to chance, and no one owned it. Carbide was built to own it.
The Founder
Shannon Braniff
Founder & Principal Architect
I spent 20 years inside hospitality, most of them at Marriott, across revenue, events, sales, and marketing leadership. My last role was leading group demand strategy across a global portfolio of hotels, connecting what we knew about customers to how we went to market, and making sure it held up in the field.
What I'm good at
Taking an idea, pressure-testing it, getting the right people aligned, and making sure it works both commercially and operationally. I connect the dots, then build what comes next.
How I work
Every great kitchen has an expediter: the one at the pass who makes sure what reaches the table is what the guest was promised, on time and as one experience. That's what I do for hotels and hospitality brands. I work alongside your team to remove friction, speed conversion, lift guest spend and connect every moment from pre-arrival to post-stay. Like marbling in a great cut, I don't change who you are; I work through it, so guests remember it and come back.
Beyond the work
I'm a mother, a partner, and a creator at heart. I shoot photography, direct and produce video, and I'm always chasing the next idea worth learning.
Proof
The proof is on the plate.
A snapshot of the work behind the work, from network-wide strategy to opening day.
Marriott Bonvoy Convention & Resort Network
$13.6M
in revenue influenced through a multi-year, marketing-led group offer
7.5K
meeting planners completed the curriculum I built
2.1M
page views on the sales-enablement website I architected
Experiential Events
Meet with Momentum
An experiential event series built to show planners what a meeting can feel like.
Watch the film →Beyond the Network
Destination Sales
Chicago Marriott Magnificent Mile
Selling the city as much as the hotel, as a destination sales executive.
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Weddings
Wedding Producer
Producing celebrations where every detail had one chance to be right.
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Partnership
Rooftop Cinema Club × Renaissance Worthington
A partnership that turned a hotel rooftop into a Fort Worth destination.
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Owner & Investor
Elder & Oat
Opening a neighborhood coffee shop, from concept to first pour.
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Restaurant Marketing
Toro Toro
Marketing a celebrity chef restaurant inside a hotel.
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Content Production
The Gwen
Photo shoots that captured a luxury hotel's sense of place.
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Catering Sales & Marketing
W Hotels of Chicago
Reimagining catering sales and marketing for a next-generation audience.
Request the story →Full case details, creative work, and references available on request.
Request examples →What People Say
In their words.
“She brings strategic clarity and alignment to complex initiatives… translating complexity into tools the entire field can use.”
Jordan Bakovic
Senior Director, Marriott Bonvoy Convention & Resort Network
“Your ideas are grounded in reality — you know what it takes to bring experiences to life.”
Paul Tramonte
Principal Event Designer, Paul Tramonte Events
“She brings innovative ideas to life through collaboration and thoughtful execution.”
Elizabeth Martin
Senior Director, Meetings & Events, Marriott International
“A rare talent for visual narrative… I produce my best work when I collaborate with Shannon.”
Isaac Maiselman
Photographer
“She is easily one of the sharpest people in the field.”
Emily Bond
Director of Marketing, Marriott International
The Name
Why Carbide.
Carbide is formed under heat and pressure, and it's the material on the best cutting tools because it holds its edge. That's the idea: strategy, systems, and story fused into one experience that stays sharp long after opening day.
Our mark was designed from a drill bit, sharpened with carbide so it never rounds off, set inside the spokes of a compass. The tool and the direction: every investment is headed somewhere, and our job is to make sure the experience is steering it.