Carnes Agency continued to expand its team in 2026, adding new talent and specialized capabilities to support a growing client portfolio and increasingly diverse scope of work.

Built as a modern, nimble agency, Carnes Agency brings together professionals across strategy, account management, content, creative, digital, and technical disciplines. The team structure allows the agency to provide clients with senior-level strategic guidance alongside the day-to-day expertise needed to execute across multiple channels.

Carnes Agency partnered with KLA Schools in 2026 to support the organization’s franchise growth, marketing strategy, and communications efforts.

KLA Schools is a premium early childhood education and private school brand with a growing franchise network. The engagement represents a natural extension of Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes’ experience working with franchise organizations and owner-led businesses throughout her career in hospitality.

Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes will speak at the 2026 AAHOA HerOwnership Conference, taking place September 27–28 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Carnes will join the AAHOA Charitable Foundation session, “Lead with Purpose: How Service Shapes Stronger Leaders,” alongside Dee Patel and Kataki Patel, with Jagruti Panwala serving as moderator.

Carnes Agency expanded its partnership with She Has a Deal (SHaD) in 2026, providing strategic marketing, communications, and brand support for the organization’s growing portfolio of programs and initiatives.

Founded by Tracy Prigmore, She Has a Deal is a hotel ownership education and investment platform designed to help women—and increasingly a broader community of aspiring owners—build the knowledge, relationships, and resources needed to pursue hotel ownership.

Carnes Agency will partner with a hospitality management company in 2026 to support the development and launch of a new hotel operations and sales technology platform designed to streamline communication, task management, sales activity, and day-to-day property performance.

The engagement brings together Carnes Agency’s hospitality experience with its growing work in brand development, technology positioning, and go-to-market strategy.

Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes was featured in the August 2026 issue of Today’s Hotelier as the publication marked its 10th anniversary, reflecting on her role in helping develop and launch the magazine in 2016.

The milestone carries particular meaning for Carnes. As she shared on LinkedIn, Today’s Hotelier became her gateway into hospitality — introducing her to an industry, a community, and what would ultimately become her life’s work.

Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes took on an expanded role at LendingCon – Hospitality Investors Conference in 2026, serving as emcee, podcast guest, panel moderator, and strategic communications partner during the annual event.

LendingCon brings together more than 1,000 hotel owners, investors, developers, operators, lenders, and industry partners to discuss hospitality investment, capital, operations, brand growth, and emerging opportunities across the industry.

Carnes Agency partnered with Storied Global Foundation in 2026 to support the organization’s communications, storytelling, and digital content initiatives centered on African and African-diasporic history, culture, and wellness.

The engagement reflects a core commitment of Carnes Agency: supporting nonprofit and mission-driven organizations whose work creates meaningful cultural, educational, and community impact.

Carnes Agency partnered with Hospitality Visual Group (HVG) on the launch of a new hospitality-focused photography and video company built specifically for hotel owners, operators, developers, and brands.

Founded by Saahil Patel, Lina Patel, and Bipin Patel, Hospitality Visual Group brings an owner’s perspective to hotel photography and video, helping properties create high-quality visual assets that support marketing, sales, brand standards, and guest engagement.

Carnes Agency marked its first anniversary in 2026, following a year of significant growth across its client portfolio, team, and service offerings.

Founded in 2025 by Heather Carnes, the agency was built to provide strategic marketing, communications, and brand support to organizations navigating growth, change, and new opportunities.

Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes took on an expanded leadership role with the AAHOA Charitable Foundation in 2026, serving as the organization’s part-time Executive Director and helping advance its strategic priorities across programming, fundraising, communications, and organizational development.

The role represents a meaningful return to work Carnes helped shape earlier in her career. While serving in executive leadership at AAHOA, Carnes helped launch the AAHOA Charitable Foundation in 2023 and supported the organization’s early development, positioning, and communications.

Carnes Agency partnered with Innerstone Group in 2026 to lead the company’s rebrand and develop a new digital presence reflecting the breadth of its work across hospitality development and commercial real estate.

The project marked an evolution from the company’s previous brand, creating a new identity and platform designed to better represent its expanded capabilities, market position, and long-term vision.

Carnes Agency is supporting the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance through volunteer marketing and creative services, reflecting founder Heather Carnes’ unwavering belief that women in hospitality deserve stronger support, greater visibility, and more meaningful opportunities to lead and advance.

That belief has been a consistent thread throughout Carnes’ career and continues to shape how she chooses to contribute her time, expertise, and platform within the industry.

Carnes Agency successfully completed its event management partnership with the Asian American Business Owners Association (AABOA) in 2026, supporting the organization from planning through on-site execution of its signature industry event.

The engagement marked an important expansion of Carnes Agency’s capabilities, bringing together event strategy, communications, marketing, sponsorship support, programming, and attendee experience under one integrated partnership.

Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes was selected to moderate the Preheat Panel at Red Roof’s Ignite 2026 Brand Conference, taking place October 1 at the Signia by Hilton Diplomat Beach Resort.

The session, “Ignition Point: How to Think Bigger, Commit Differently, and Turn Ambitious Goals Into Action,” is designed as an opening-day conversation focused on the mindset, habits, discipline, and practical decisions that help move meaningful goals from idea to reality.

Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes joined the Advisory Board of LendingCon – Hospitality Investors Conference in 2026, marking her first formal advisory board appointment.

LendingCon brings together hospitality investors, developers, lenders, brand leaders, and industry partners focused on hotel investment, development, financing, and growth.

Carnes Agency supported the 37th annual Hunter Conference in 2026, marking the agency’s first year working alongside the Hunter organization during a significant period of evolution for the event.

The 2026 conference introduced a new venue, refreshed branding, and an updated format, helping usher in a new era for one of hospitality’s longest-running and most influential industry gatherings.

Carnes Agency founder Heather Carnes joined Female Founders in Hospitality (FFiH) in 2026, becoming part of a global community of women building companies across the travel and hospitality industry.

Founded in 2022, Female Founders in Hospitality is focused on raising the visibility of women entrepreneurs in travel and hospitality and helping accelerate their success through peer connection, resources, speaking opportunities, and collaboration.

Carnes Agency is excited to announce another milestone: the addition of our first hospitality brokerage and its nationally recognized industry conference to our client portfolio. This partnership reflects the agency’s growing role in supporting hospitality leaders across investment, development, and events.