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People & Places Presented
By Association News (February 2017)
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Los
Angeles, CA – February 2017 / Newsmaker Alert / Each monthly issue of
Association
News contains information from state and regional associations,
convention bureaus, hotels and hotel chains and other meeting facilities.
CVBs/DMOs
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Ken
Lawson has been named president and CEO of Visit Florida. A former
U.S. Marine Corps judge advocate general, Lawson most recently served as
secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Lawson succeeds former president and CEO Will Seccombe, who resigned
amid a controversial $1 million tourism promotion contract with the rapper,
Pitbull.
Steve
Hammond has announced that he will retire as president and CEO of Visit
Sacramento, effective June 30. He held the position since 1999. During
Hammond’s tenure, the organization’s convention and sports sales production
has increased by 78 percent and its operating budget has grown from $2.2
million to $11 million. His successor is expected to be confirmed this
spring.
VisitPittsburgh
has announced the promotion of Tom Loftus to chief marketing officer,
a newly created position aimed at capitalizing on the organization’s marketing,
digital marketing and communication departments. Loftus joined VisitPittsburgh
as vice-president of communications in 2015.
Moji
Rosson has been named vice-president of sales at Visit Wichita (Kansas).
Rosson previously served as the general counsel and director of government
affairs for the Realtors of South Central Kansas.
Jodi
DiSalle has been appointed vice-president of communications at Experience
Kissimmee (Florida). She most recently served as director of marketing
and public relations at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center,
also in Kissimmee.
Phil
Hannes has been named senior director of international marketing at
the San Diego Tourism Authority. Hannes most recently worked at Visit Anaheim
(California) where he served as director of tourism development for 20
years..
Hosts
& Suppliers
Lukus
Kindlesparker has been named general manager of the Westin/ Nashville
in Tennessee. Kindlesparker most recently served as general manager of
the W/Atlanta-Midtown, and prior to that, he was general manager of Atlanta’s
Glenn Hotel and W/Atlanta Perimeter.
Tauseen
Malik has been named general manager of the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas.
Malik most recently served as general manager of the Lakeway Resort &
Spa in Austin, Texas.
Kathleen
Cochran has been hired as general manager of the Alisal Guest Ranch
Resort & Spa in Solvang, California. Cochran most recently served as
general manager of the Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana.
Zach
Meyers has been named general manager of the Arrabelle at Vail Square
in Vail, Colorado. He has served as director of hotel operations for the
Grand Teton Lodge Company in Moran, Wyoming, and as hotel director of operations
and acting general manager at Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colorado.
Peggy
Trott has been appointed general manager of the Stella Hotel, which
is scheduled to open in March in Bryan, Texas. Trott has previous experience
serving as general manager of the Inn at Laguna Beach in Southern California
and as general manager of the Kimpton Hotel Palomar/Philadelphia.
Kate
Grattan has been appointed general manager of the Lodge at Vail in
Vail, Colorado. Grattan has been with Vail Resorts for 17 years, serving
in various management positions. She also served as general manager of
One Ski Hill Place in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Justin
Simpson has been named general manager of the Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel
in Huntington Beach, California. He most recently served as director of
operations at the Westin/San Diego. Prior to that, he spent three years
at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point, California,
most recently as director of front office operations.
Mark
Karbotly has been named general manager of the Hotel Indigo/Tuscaloosa
Downtown in Alabama. He previously served as director of operations at
the Houston Marriott North.
The
Residence Inn/Breckenridge in Colorado has hired Scott Lypson as
general manager and Pamela Brown as director of sales and marketing.
Lypson previously was director of services at Marriott’s Timber Lodge in
South Lake Tahoe, California. Brown most recently worked at Robert Half,
an international staffing firm. The property opened in December with 129
guest suites and nearly 3,000 square feet of meeting space.
Hotel
Becket, which recently opened in South Lake Tahoe, California, has named
Gregg Harper as general manager and Kate Brown as regional
director of sales and marketing. Harper most recently was general manager
of the Salishan Spa & Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. Brown
has worked at properties including Northstar and the Grand Sierra Resort
in Reno, Nevada.
In
Irvine, California, Hotel Irvine has hired Joe Martino as director
of sales and marketing and John Cullinane as director of sales.
Martino most recently served as director of sales and marketing at the
Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point, California. Cullinane
most recently was associate director of sales for the Hyatt Regency/Jersey
City in New Jersey.
Construction
& Expansion
The
International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) has opened in
the heart of its own harbor waterfront precinct. ICC Sydney features more
than 375,000 square feet of exhibition space, more than 85,000 square feet
of meeting space and a theater.
The
Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa recently opened as the first Andaz
property in Scottsdale, Arizona. The 201-room resort offers 10,000 square
feet of indoor meeting space and more than 36,000 square feet of outdoor
event space. A more secluded option is “The Retreat,” located on the southern
portion of the resort; it features 22 guest rooms and several outdoor dining
and event spaces.
The
Marriott Marquis/Houston has opened in downtown Houston. Connected
to the George R. Brown Convention Center, the 1,000-room hotel offers more
than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, including Houston’s largest
ballroom. The property’s outdoor event space includes Parkview Terrace,
home to a rooftop, Texas-shaped lazy river.
The
Radisson/Oakland Airport has opened less than two miles from California’s
Oakland International Airport. The hotel has 280 guest rooms and more than
7,400 square feet of meeting space.
The
Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya has opened near Playa del Carmen,
Mexico, and is the brand’s first property in that country. The beachfront
resort features 214 guest room and 14,000 square feet of meeting space.
The
Four Points by Sheraton/Cleveland Airport recently opened with 147
guest rooms, more than 7,000 square feet of meeting space and an indoor
pool. It is the brand’s first hotel in Cleveland.
Ithaca
Marriott Downtown on the Commons has opened in Ithaca, New York, with
159 guest rooms, a restaurant and a fitness center. For meetings, the property
offers more than 2,300 square feet of meeting space.
The
Four Seasons/New York in New York City recently unveiled a $120
million renovation of its 368 guest rooms. For meetings, the property offers
12,123 square feet of space.
In
Hawaii, the Wailea Beach Resort–Marriott, Maui has completed a $100
million transformation. The shorefront property now features six new dining
options, three new distinct pool experiences and 547 redesigned guest rooms.
The update also included a modernization of its meeting spaces—30,000 square
feet indoors and 72,000 square feet outdoors— fitness center and spa.
The
Hilton Marco Island Beach Resort & Spa in Marco Island, Florida,
has completed a $40 million renovation with updates to its lobby, 310 guest
rooms and pool. The Deck at 560 Bar & Restaurant and 560 Market were
also recently unveiled. The resort features more than 25,000 square feet
of meeting space, and a beachfront event lawn is expected to debut this
fall.
The
Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort & Casino in Palm Beach, Aruba,
recently completed a $25 million renovation that redesigned guest rooms,
refreshed its pool and beach areas and updated menus and décor at
its restaurants. The 357-room property also offers 15,000 square feet of
indoor event space and 24,000 square feet of outdoor space.
The
174-room Hotel Karlan San Diego, a DoubleTree by Hilton property,
has completed a $12 million renovation. Features include remodeled guest
rooms, a new dining concept and gastropub, an upgraded spa with a fitness
center and an upgraded pool with outdoor cabanas. The hotel features six
meeting spaces, totaling more than 14,000 square feet.
In
Memoriam...
Jef
Russell III, former executive director of the Beaumont (Texas) Convention
& Visitors Bureau, passed away in Beaumont on December 31, 2016. He
was 68. In addition to leading the Beaumont CVB for more than 10 years,
Russell also held leadership positions at the Fort Worth (Texas) Convention
& Visitors Bureau and the Eureka Springs City (Arkansas) Advertising
& Promotion Commission.
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