Christopher Walling has been promoted Vice President of Operations and MD at Innisbrook in Tampa
The Salamander Collection, the hospitality company founded by Sheila Johnson, has appointed Christopher Walling as Vice President of Operations and Managing Director of Innisbrook in Tampa Bay, Florida.
A highly experienced hospitality leader, Walling has worked with the Salamander Collection since 2022, previously directly overseeing Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club in the British West Indies. His new Vice President role will involve developing further synergies between Salamander's golf properties, which include Innisbrook, Aurora Anguilla and the storied Half Moon in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
In his new role, Walling will also oversee all areas of Innisbrook's day-to-day operations. One of the most iconic golf resorts in the United States, Innisbrook is renowned for its famed Copperhead Course which annually hosts the PGA TOUR's Valspar Championship. This year, the resort will undergo a series of enhancements, including to its meeting space and Packard's Steakhouse.
Walling began his career in food and beverage with senior leadership positions at the Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, FL; Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort & Club in Amelia Island, FL; and Ritz Carlton Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He has also served as General Manager with Howard Hughes Hospitality properties in Texas and Gurney's Resorts in Montauk, NY, as well as Senior Vice President at Garden of the Gods Resort and Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Innisbrook is located on 900 wooded acres of rolling hills in the Tampa Bay area. The resort features four acclaimed golf courses, over 300 recently renovated guest suites and rooms, four restaurants and three bars, 11 tennis courts, a Salamander Spa with 12 treatment rooms, six heated swimming pool complexes, and extensive indoor and outdoor meeting space.
Salamander's inclusive style of luxury has become a defining approach to hospitality in recent years. The company's unique collection of iconic properties in storied destinations includes Middleburg, VA; Washington D.C.; Charleston, SC; Aspen, CO; Tampa Bay, Jamaica and Anguilla.
