Meet Our Team

Stay, Play, Made Simple, LLC has been securing housing for teams in the Midwest for more than a decade. During that time we’ve developed a reservation process that’s easy to use and cultivated alliances with key hotels so that we can always block rooms in advance of your event. Working with Stay, Play, Made Simple, LLC helps tournament directors secure more revenue from their event and benefits all of the teams participating in the tournament. We work hard to make traveling to an event or tournament easy and fun for everyone involved.

Our Team

Laurie Santel, CTA

CEO

Laurie has more than 20 years of experience in housing management and planning sports tournaments and events.

She is a parent, has been a team administrator, and served on a planning committee for a large soccer tournament. All of these roles have contributed to her ability to understand the needs of the individual attendees as well as the tournament and event directors.

Outside of work, Laurie enjoys spending time with her family, reading, volunteering, and traveling.

Maria Doherty

Director of Sales

Maria Doherty joins Stay, Play, Made Simple as Director of Sales with over 15 years experience in the hospitality industry. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Workforce Management. She spent six years coordinating weddings at St. John’s Resort in the Metro Detroit area before moving to the Northern Cincinnati area. Over the last 10 years, she worked in sales and marketing for several hotel brands including Hilton and Marriott, specializing in sports, social, and corporate groups.

In her free time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her family. She lives in West Chester, Ohio with her 4 children. She has served on the board of the Rotary Club of West Chester/Liberty since 2015. She is currently Director of Club Services.

Anna Terry

Senior Event Manager

Anna Terry joined our TEAM at Stay, Play, Made Simple as a Customer Service Specialist. She quickly moved into the role of Event Manager and was promoted in January 2022 to Senior Event Manager. She provides support to the events and oversees the Event Managers and Customer Service team.

Anna brings 14 years of experience in customer service. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

Janis Probert, CTA

Event Manager

Janis has been involved in youth soccer and dance for many years. Janis joined the team at Stay, Play, Made Simple LLC in the spring of 2015. Janis brings more than 10 years of customer service experience to her role as Event Manager.

At Stay, Play, Made Simple LLC, Janis works closely with team managers, tournament directors, and hotel sales managers to ensure that the best accommodations are provided to the travelling players and families.

When Janis is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family.

Anne Laflin

Event Manager

Anne joined our TEAM in January of 2022. She comes to us from her first career in a financial role in the insurance industry.

She brings many years of experience from her volunteer roles coordinating large group travel. Anne has served on the boards of many school and sports organizations. She provides support to our teams and individuals making reservations.

Anne enjoys spending time with her family, camping and walking her chocolate lab puppy.

Victoria Timmerman

Administrative Assistant

Victoria joined our TEAM in 2019 as an Administrative Assistant. She provides office support to the CEO, Event Managers and Customer Service team. She has over 7 years experience in customer service working in a dental office.

Victoria loves her pets and enjoys cooking in her spare time.

OUR FANS

We are thrilled to say that our clients love working with us!
Here are a few of the nice things they’ve said over the years.

It is my immense pleasure to recommend Stay, Play, Made Simple as a hotel coordinator for any organization looking to move to a professional service.

Stay, Play, Made Simple has great relationships with hotels and convention and visitors’ bureaus throughout the region. If there is someone they do not know, they will make it a priority to meet them and build a relationship.

I believe that the staff at Stay, Play Made Simple have the knowledge, skills, and desire to be outstanding hotel coordinators for your organization. Owner, Laurie Santel has been a huge asset to Cincinnati Soccer Club and other organizations such as baseball, football, and show choir competitions.

- Joe WuestCincinnati United Soccer Club Tournament

Laurie at Stay, Play, Made Simple is one of the most conscientious, customer service oriented event managers that I have had the pleasure to work with. There are no limits to her dedication and desire to make sure her customers are highly satisfied and have the best possible experience. I highly recommend Stay, Play Made Simple for all your tournament accommodation needs!

- Karen PhillipsMid-American Soccer Classic (MASC) Tournament Director

Working with Stay, Play Made Simple has made a huge difference in our tournament planning and revenue. Laurie and her staff are fantastic about making sure to keep us in the loop as they secure hotels for our events, but they handle all of the details for us. They make sure the families we have coming in are well cared for and ensure that we get the proceeds from the hotel contracts. It is truly a wonderful three-way partnership between Stay, Play Made Simple, our tournaments, and the hotels with a win-win-win situation for all involved. Thank you for all you do!

- Anita GriggsTournament Director, Dayton Hockey Association

It is with much pleasure that I write this letter. I have worked with Laurie Santel of Stay, Play Made Simple for over a decade. I started working with Laurie in 2000 for the MASC tournament while I worked at the Cincinnati Marriott North in West Chester, Ohio. In May 2003, I moved to the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Cincinnati Blue Ash and have enjoyed a wonderful partnership with her ever since. I wish that all tournaments would follow the process that Stay, Play Made Simple has developed to work with teams, hotels, and the tournament to make it successful for all parties involved.

- Donna SeeleySales Account Manager, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Cincinnati – Blue Ash

Stay, Play Made Simple LLC has been a valued partner of Marriott International Inc. for the last 10 years. Prior to opening her own company, Laurie worked with our hotels handling the housing operations for the Mid American Soccer Classic. I have had the pleasure of working with Laurie for the past three years on several different tournaments. Laurie consistently conducts her housing operations with the utmost professionalism and efficiency and is a favorite partner of many area hotel brands.

- Mary Jo HavilandNorthern Mid America Area Sales, Marriott International Inc.

Stay Play, Made Simple has established a fantastic working relationship with our attendees and with hotel representatives. They are both professional and personable in dealing with hotels, visiting teams, coaches and out-of-town referees. I have received numerous compliments from our visitors for the handling of difficult housing situations for their teams – which all reflects well on the organization and the tournament. Owner, Laurie Santel’s attention to detail has been a key component in the MASC tournament’s success and continued attendance of out-of-area teams.

-Ann Yungbluthformer Mid-American Soccer Classic (MASC) Tournament Director

Get in Touch

Give us a call or write us a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

MEET OUR TEAM