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People & Places Presented
by Association News (April 2014)
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Los
Angeles, CA – April 2014 / 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
NYC
& Company has named Fred Dixon president and CEO. Dixon started
with the organization in 2005 and had been serving as interim president
and CEO since January. Prior to NYC & Company, Dixon served in leadership
positions for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau. Additionally,
Cory
Rosenberg has been appointed regional director of national and global
MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) accounts for the
organization.
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The
Norman (Oklahoma) Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Dan Schemm
executive director. Previously, Schemm was the director of destination
sales and services at Go Wichita (Kansas).
John
McNichol has been named president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Convention
Center Authority in Philadelphia. McNichol has served as vice-chairman
of the center’s board of directors and has been acting president and CEO
of the PCCA since December 2013.
The
DuPage (Illinois) Convention & Visitors Bureau has promoted Beth
Marchetti to deputy director. Marchetti has worked for the CVB since
December 1999 and most recently served as its director of development.
Visit
Aurora (Colorado) has promoted Briley Peters to vice-president and
hired Justin Clark as director of sales and marketing. Peters joined the
organization in 2011 and most recently served as its director of marketing.
The
Charlotte (North Carolina) Regional Visitors Authority has named Steve
Bagwell vice-president of venues. Bagwell has worked for the visitors authority
for nearly two decades, most recently as director of the Charlotte Convention
Center, a role he is expected to continue in addition to his new duties
as vice-president.
Visit
Tucson (Arizona) has promoted Allison Cooper to vice-president of
sales and marketing. Most recently, Cooper worked as the organization’s
vice-president of marketing. Prior to turning to tourism, she served as
the deputy director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington,
D.C.
Elsie
Jean Rodriguez has been appointed national sales manager for Visit
Huntington Beach (California). Rodriguez most recently served as senior
sales manager of the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point,
California.
Hospitality
& Suppliers
Thomas
Meding has been promoted to area vice-president for the SBE Hotel Group’s
Florida portfolio, which includes the SLS/South Beach, the Raleigh Hotel
in Miami Beach and the Redbury/South Beach. Previously, Meding served as
the company’s area general manager.
Red
Lion Hotels has appointed Bill Linehan executive vice-president
and chief marketing officer and promoted Harry Sladich to executive vice-president
of hotel operations and sales. Linehan most recently served as chief marketing
officer and managing director of Richfield Hospitality and Sceptre Hospitality
Resources. Sladich joined Red Lion Hotels in 2010 and led the company’s
new brand image and segmentation.
W Hotels
Worldwide has named general managers at four New York properties: Anna
MacDiarmid at the W/ New York in Midtown Manhattan; William Bunce
at the W/New York–Union Square; Jorge Tito at the W/New York–Times
Square; and Patrick Horstmann at W/New York–Downtown.
David
Lemmond has been appointed general manager of the Hotel Vitale in San
Francisco. Lemmond previously worked for André Balazs Properties
for 15 years. He also served as the general manager of the Standard High
Line in New York City.
The
Pacific Hospitality Group has named Sam El-Rabaa general manager
of the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach, California. He most recently
served as hotel manager of the Meritage Resort & Spa in Napa, California.
The
W/Los Angeles–Westwood has appointed Mark Eberwein general manager.
Eberwein has more than 20 years of industry experience and was previously
director of operations at the W/San Francisco.
The
Palace Hotel in San Francisco has named Mark Sneen hotel manager.
Sneen was formerly resort manager at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort
& Spa in Chandler, Arizona.
The
Coastal Hotel Group has named Diana Delgado as senior vice-president
of marketing. Bringing more than 18 years of experience in marketing, sales
and revenue management to her new position, Delgado most recently served
as director of marketing and sales for the Pan Pacific/Seattle.
Denise
Bradbury has been appointed director of sales and marketing for the
Algonquin Resort, which opened in March in St. Andrews by-the- Sea, New
Brunswick. Bradbury was most recently director of sales for the Westin
Nova Scotian in Halifax.
The
One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach, Florida, has named Christopher
Quinlan director of sales and marketing. Quinlan previously worked
at the Omphoy Ocean Resort & Spa in Palm Beach, Florida, as director
of sales.
The
Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona, has named Matt
Brody director of sales and marketing. Prior to joining the resort,
Brody held sales and marketing leadership roles, most recently with Marriott
International as a director of sales and marketing.
Tia
Graham has been named director of sales and marketing for The London/West
Hollywood in Los Angeles. Prior to her new position, Graham worked as the
director of sales and marketing at the W/ Hollywood.
The
Meliá Caribe Tropical, a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic,
has appointed Florian Connert director of sales and marketing. Connert
previously served as regional director of sales and marketing for BlueBay
Hotels & Resorts in Cancún, Mexico.
The
Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, California, has named Kathy Van
Vechten director of marketing and sales. Van Vechten previously worked
for Omni Hotels & Resorts, most recently as task force director of
sales and marketing, and for KSL Capital Partners as director of marketing,
special projects.
The
Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa in South Carolina has hired
two sales managers: Mike Drinkwalter and Tina O’Keefe-Holly.
Previously, Drinkwalter represented a group of luxury hotels as national
sales manager. O’Keefe-Holly was formerly a sales manager for the Sheraton
Nassau Beach Resort & Casino in the Bahamas.
Construction
& Expansion
The
Riverside
Convention Center in Riverside, California, has completed a $43 million
renovation and expansion project. The center now offers more than 65,000
square feet of indoor event space, including a larger exhibit hall and
new meeting rooms, and 20,000 square feet of outdoor space.
The
Loews
Portofino Bay Hotel at Florida’s Universal Orlando Resort has completed
a $22 million renovation, which included its 750 guest rooms. The hotel
offers 42,000 square feet of meeting space, and planners also have access
to Universal Orlando’s 250,000 square feet of indoor event space and its
outdoor venues, which can accommodate groups of up to 20,000 people.
On
the south side of Ireland’s capital city, the DoubleTree by Hilton/
Dublin–Burlington Road has completed a $21.6 million renovation of
its public areas, guest rooms and conference facilities. The exterior of
the 501- room property was also updated, and the hotel now offers more
than 30,000 square feet of event space.
The
Orlando
World Center Marriott in Florida has completed a multimillion- dollar
renovation. The 2,009-room hotel offers more than 450,000 square feet of
meeting and event space.
The
iconic Plaza Hotel in New York City has completed a renovation of
its exterior. Its brick and marble façade was restored and much
of its ornamental terracotta was replaced. The historic property features
282 guest rooms and 21,000 square feet of event space.
The
Park
Central Hotel, also in New York City, has completed a multimillion-
dollar renovation, which included upgrades to its meeting spaces. The 761-room
property offers 15,000 square feet of event space.
The
Kennedy
Space Center Visitor Complex in central Florida has opened the $100
million Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit. The 90,000-square-foot attraction
features the shuttle as its centerpiece.
And
Finally…
Registration
has begun for Texas Travel Industry Association’s Travel & Tourism
College, a three-year program taught by industry CEOs and college professors
through which students can receive the Certified Tourism Executive designation.
Open to anyone in the travel and tourism industry in the United States,
Travel & Tourism College will be held June 16 – 20 at the Hyatt Regency
Lost Pines Resort in Lost Pines, Texas. For more information, visit travelandtourismcollege.com.
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What’s
Ahead at Convention Centers for Meeting and Event Planners?
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Download “Convention
Trends 2014” (PDF
File)
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current issue of Association News can be viewed in digital format
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Contact:
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310-577-3700
Schneider
Publishing Company, Inc.
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