The 233-room Hyatt Centric hotel in downtown Austin will be a new build, wholly owned by Hyatt. Centrally located on Congress Street, the hotel is expected to open in mid-2020 and will be near the State of Texas capitol building. A passionate team with local expertise will recommend to guests shareworthy experiences all along Congress Street, a must-stroll for visitors and locals alike.
Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa announces the appointment of Jackie Flory as director of the property's Mokara Spa, which along with the rest of Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, is currently undergoing a significant $150-million renovation. In this role, Flory will oversee the overall operational function and management of Mokara Spa.
It was announced today by Frank Wolfe, CAE, Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) Chief Executive Officer that later this year, pending United States Internal Revenue Service approval, it will finalize its creation of a new organization to conduct research and award scholarships..The Foundation of HFTP. As the new newly-established philanthropic arm of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), the HFTP Foundation assists HFTP to secure nonprofit funding for hospitality and travel industry-related research, educational projects and scholarships. The HFTP Foundation oversees the three HFTP Research Centers - Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Along with the announcement, Wolfe indicated he has chosen Lucinda Hart, CAE, MBA, as its new Executive Director and shared the following: This week marks the 25th anniversary of the second longest tenure of any staff member in our history: Lucinda Hart, CAE, MBA, HFTP's chief operations officer and soon to be full-time Executive Director of HFTP's foundation. Here is a little bit of her story, and as I tell it, those of you who know her will recognize how much of a key ingredient she has been that makes up HFTP's success.
Hoffmann brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience, and his distinguished career has encompassed roles in six countries and three continents. Most recently, he served as opening general manager of the first Autograph Collection hotel in Alabama, the Grand Bohemian Hotel Mountain Brook in Birmingham.
Homewood Suites by Hilton, part of Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) All Suites portfolio, announced today its newest property, Homewood Suites by Hilton Austin Downtown. Designed for guests who want to travel on their own terms, Homewood Suites by Hilton Austin Downtown offers guests all the comforts of home, whether they are traveling for work or enjoying a well-earned getaway. With 150 new suites, the hotel is a great addition to the city's thriving tourism, which has seen a 14.9 percent increase in traveler growth for the first two quarters of 2018 compared to the same time last year.
Proper Hospitality is redefining traditional luxury hospitality, targeting a new generation of high-end travelers who yearn not only for elevated services and amenities, but memorable stays and cultural connectivity. Showcasing the best of what a destination has to offer, Proper intentionally selects creative locations and develops a locally immersed program through eclectic designs by Kelly Wearstler, locally curated F&B programming through incredible culinary partners and world-class amenities, providing one-of-a-kind experiences for locals and visitors alike.
Hyatt brings its nationally acclaimed Miraval spa and wellness brand to Austin, Texas with the opening of Miraval Austin. Set on 220 acres of picturesque land overlooking Lake Travis, Miraval Austin is the brand's second wellness resort to open outside of its flagship property in Tucson, Arizona.
Uptown Suites has announced the official opening of its fifth extended stay property outside of Austin in Round Rock, Texas. This location marks the first property in Texas, with another one opening in March. Uptown Suites will double its footprint this year with another extended stay property located closer to downtown Austin and in the greater Denver and DC metros.
Hyatt Regency Austin, located on the shores of Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, has named Jeff Ouradnik as director of sales and marketing. Ouradnik joins the property from Hyatt Regency Lake Washington in the Seattle area.Recognizing his 10-year anniversary with Hyatt this year, Ouradnik has worked at several Hyatt properties. He has held associate director of sales roles at both Hyatt Regency Bellevue, in the Seattle area, and Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, in Huntington Beach, Calif. Ouradnik served as both director of sales and marketing, and director of sales and events at Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa & Marina in San Diego, and served as an integral part of the pre-opening and opening team for Hyatt Regency Lake Washington when it launched to the public in 2017.
Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa announces the appointment of Stephanie J. Baker as director of marketing for the property, which is currently undergoing a significant $150-million renovation. In this new role, Baker will oversee marketing and communications at the iconic Texas Hill Country resort, reopening in May 2019. Austin's leading luxury resort, the transformed Omni Barton Creek will feature a new hotel tower and arrival experience, expansive Mokara Spa & Salon, seven dining experiences, a new tennis complex, renovated championship golf courses, new conference center and events pavilion, and an updated design throughout the 4,000-acre property.A native Texan who has received many accolades for her innovative and impactful brand campaigns, Baker was most recently chief marketing officer at the prestigious Texas Monthly magazine. Baker had been with the award-winning magazine since 2014, previously serving as vice president of marketing and events. Prior to that, Baker served as director of marketing at the Austin Film Society and held various marketing roles at Condé Nast and Hachette Filipacchi magazines in New York City. Baker has received numerous awards for impactful brand campaigns, including being a two-time recipient of Condé Nast's Media Marketer of the Year Award. Baker received her bachelor of science at Angelo State University in Texas.Baker lives in Austin with her husband Brian and their two school-aged children, Jack and Alice.
Austin's stature as a quirky, progressive pocket in the state of Texas comes with plenty of perks, and increasingly draw a global crowd of likeminded tourists and professionals. As of late, a new hotel has bowed smack in the centre of town, flaunting a look and vibe that resonates specifically well with the creative crowds from home and abroad. It's the newest outpost of The LINE, one of the hospitality brands of the rapidly expanding Sydell Group, and occupies a mid-century structure which originally opened as the Sheraton Crest Inn in the 1960s. Back in the day, the venue served as a buzzing social hub and beacon of modern lifestyle, but its transformation into The LINE Austin has put it right back in the spotlight.
Hotels in Austin, Texas are on track to get a boost of around $20 million from today's United States Grand Prix as takings for the week are expected to hit $45 million which is 71.4% higher than the average according to new research.
Omni Hotels & Resorts announces the appointment of Todd Raessler as general manager of Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, which is currently undergoing a significant $150 million renovation. In this new role, Raessler will oversee all operations at the transformed Texas Hill Country resort, reopening in May 2019.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) has finalized an agreement with Brendan Gilyan of Mopac Hotel Development, LP, to develop the Cambria Hotel Austin near the Domain. The five-story, 135-room upscale hotel is slated to open in 2021.
Hilton today announced the appointment of Joe Bolash to the position of general manager of Hilton Austin. At the helm, Bolash will lead his team in the successful operation of the award-winning 801-room hotel located in downtown Austin.
The 123-room, five-story hotel will be located in The Domain area of Austin, close to the city's prominent technology corridor, which includes a strong concentration of high-tech companies such as Dell, IBM, Amazon, Apple and Hewlett-Packard. This new-build hotel will have 2,500 square feet of meeting space, a business center, Athletic Studio and onsite parking. Expected to open in Q1 2020, the EVEN Hotel Austin is owned by Mopac Hotel Development LP, which also owns the Holiday Inn Austin Airport. This will be the first EVEN Hotel to open in Texas.
Marriott International, Inc. announced today two anticipated lifestyle hotel openings in Austin, the dual-branded AC Hotel Austin and The Otis Hotel, an Autograph Collection hotel. Developed by White Lodging, the country's fastest-growing hotel ownership, management, and development company, the dual-branded complex is set to open its doors in Q4 of 2019. Located at 1901 San Antonio Street along the southwest edge of University of Texas at Austin's campus, the two hotels will set a new standard of Texan hospitality and bring 347 rooms to the city; 191 rooms including 29 suites at The Otis Hotel, and 156 rooms including two suites at AC Hotel Austin. White Lodging is also currently under construction on the new 613-room Marriott in downtown Austin, adjacent to the Austin Convention Center.
Marriott International has appointed longtime W Hotels veteran Joanna McCreary to General Manager of W Austin. McCreary returns to her Austin roots where she served on the opening team as W Austin's Director of Rooms.
Valencia Group's Lone Star Court is thrilled to announce Savanna Wesley as general manager of the retro-inspired boutique hotel located at The Domain in Austin, Texas.In her role as general manager of Lone Star Court, Wesley leads day-to-day hotel operations, ensures a top-quality experience for all hotel guests and collaborates with other Valencia Group properties to execute overall brand initiatives across concepts.An Austin-native, Wesley was most recently the ass istant general manager at Homewood Suites by Hilton followed by general manager at Present Homewood Suites by Hilton in Somerset, New Jersey. Prior for Hilton Hotel and Resorts, she worked with Marriott as the housekeeping manager for a Residence Inn in Stanhope, New Jersey, and the assistant general manager at the Fairfield Austin North. Long before her career as a leader in the hospitality industry, she was as an active duty member of the United States Air Force from 2004 to 2009 as a monitoring facility operator and response force team leader. During this time, she received several Air Force Achievement medals for service overseas in deployed locations. When she became a traditional military reservist in 2009, she took a job as a guest services representative at the Sheraton located in downtown Austin and immediately fell in love with the hospitality industry. Soon after, she served as the assistant general manager at the Fairfield Austin North by Marr iott. Since then, Wesley has continued to excel in her positions and has quickly gained valuable experience.Wesley is taking over for previous general manager John Thomas who has been transferred to help open a new Valencia Group property, Texican Court, coming soon to Irving, Texas.