Capital Hotel Management (CHM), a leading hotel asset management and investment advisory firm, today announced that it has been retained by the Denver International Airport (DIA) to provide asset management services for its 519-room Westin Hotel, scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2015. CHM will provide pre and post-opening asset management services and Starwood Hotels & Resorts will operate the hotel.
Inspirato, the world’s largest destination club, announced today that Jennifer Fox, president of FRHI Hotels & Resorts, International Division, and Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, has been named to the company’s Board of Directors. Fox has been president of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a luxury brand known for operating some of the world’s most storied hotel properties, since 2011. She also holds the role of president, International Division, for FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI), the parent company of Fairmont and its sister brands Raffles Hotels & Resorts and Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts. Fox is coming to Inspirato with more than 25 years of experience in the luxury, resort and business segments of the hospitality industry, with an extensive background in hotel operations, brand development, marketing and hotel brand and market repositioning. She also has extensive experience as a general manager, having run some of the finest luxury hotels and resorts in the world including the InterContinental Hong Kong, which she rebranded from the Regent, and the Orchid at Mauna Lani (now a Fairmont), which she rebranded from Ritz Carlton.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.® (NYSE:HOT) today announced the debut of its innovative Aloft brand in the heart of downtown Denver. Located at the corner of 15th Street and Stout Street, Aloft Denver Downtown features 140 spacious, loft-like rooms, cutting-edge technology and a lively social atmosphere. Owned by JBK Hotels and managed by Interstate Hotels & Resorts, Aloft Denver Downtown offers a vibrant social scene in the center of one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
Returning to the state where his hospitality career began, Giamundo first served as director of services for The Lodge at Vail in Colorado. He then joined the Residence Inn by Marriott team in 1984 as general manager and then regional manager.
Denver’s only dedicated pop culture hotel, the Curtis - a Doubletree by Hilton, is pleased to announce that Scott Sloan is now serving as the “Starship Captain” or General Manger. Managed by Denver’s Sage Hospitality, the modern Curtis recently completed an extensive $7 million property renovation that included upgrades to all 336 guest rooms and a lobby expansion. Since mid-2014, Sloan has been a Task Force Manager for Sage Hospitality, most recently serving as the Acting Director of Sales & Marketing at the Marriott Minneapolis Southwest. With more than 15 years of hospitality experience, he previously served as the General Manager of the Messina Hof Winery & Resort in Texas and the Hilton San Diego Del Mar, another Sage Hospitality hotel. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Sloan has also held senior hospitality sales positions at the Hilton College Station and Conference Center and the Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark, both in Texas.
Young joins the JW Marriott Denver sales team from Kevin Taylor Catering at the Denver Art Museum, where she most recently served as the Director of Events & Catering. She has extensive restaurant management experience, including serving as the General Manager of The Pinyon and Assistant General Manager of Radda Trattoria, both in Boulder, Colorado. A graduate of Emerson College, Young also holds a Masters in Hospitality Industry Studies from New York University. She is currently a Robert B. Sturm Fellow at the Anti-Defamation League and holds a Level 2 Wine Fundamentals Certificate from the International Sommelier Guild.
With more than 22 years of hospitality experience, Elston was most recently the General Manager of Denver’s Curtis, a Doubletree by Hilton. Denver’s Sage Hospitality, one of the top hotel investment and management companies in the United States, manages both the JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek and the Curtis. Elston joined the Curtis team in 2010 as the Director of Sales & Marketing and was promoted to General Manager in 2012. She also served as Sage’s Sales & Marketing Leader for its Team Denver business group. Other previous management experience includes The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island in Florida, The Paramount Hotel in New York, the Wyndham Bristol Hotel in Washington, D.C. and the Wyndham Copley Plaza in Boston. Elston has been honored with numerous awards, including receiving Sage’s Property of the Year, Community Service Award, Excellence in Profit Performance and Excellence in Revenue Performance while at the Curtis. She also earned the President’s Award at Wyndham Hotels and the Golden Circle Silver Level at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for being in the top 6% of all sales people.
Kaminsky joins Four Seasons from The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo. A native of Kansas City, Kaminsky is a graduate of the University of Kansas with degrees in marketing and journalism. From Kansas, he relocated to Colorado for positions as a food and beverage manager at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek and then, Vail Marriott Mountain Resort. Kaminsky continued his career in food and beverage in California with positions at Renaissance Montura Hotel (Los Angeles) and The Ritz-Carlton (Marina del Rey). When an opportunity in Asia presented itself in 2010, Kaminsky transferred to The Portman Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai. At the hotel, located on the famous Nanjing Xi Lu, Kaminsky acted as executive assistant manager of food and beverage. In 2012, Kaminsky was named executive assistant manager at The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, which occupies the top nine floors and the first three levels of the tallest skyscraper in the city, Midtown Tower.
Sage Hospitality has named Frederick J. Kleisner II as the Area Managing Director overseeing The Oxford Hotel and the new 112-room Crawford Hotel, an independent hotel opening in Denver’s revitalized Union Station this July.
Denver and the state of Colorado have seen a spike in travel interest since the sale of recreational marijuana was legalized to anyone 21 or older at the start of the year, according to search data from Hotels.com®. Denver has seen a 25 percent increase in hotel searches in the first three months of the year compared to 2013.
–Sage Hospitality, one of the nation’s top hotel investment and management companies, has named Michelle Baca a Senior Sales Manager at Denver’s Oxford Hotel and the new Crawford Hotel, an independent hotel opening in Denver Union Station this July. With a decade of hospitality experience, Baca started her career with Marriott International before joining Sage in 2008 as a Total Account Manager at The Oxford. She has also served as an Area Sales Manager overseeing several of Sage’s select service Marriott properties and most recently as a Business Travel Sales Manager at The Westin Westminster. Situated in the heart of Denver’s LoDo district, the 80-room Oxford Hotel was featured on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2014 Gold List as one of the “511 Best Places on Earth.” Last fall, the historic property completed a $1.5 million renovation of its 10,000 square feet of meeting space, as well updates to its restaurant and popular Cruise Room martini bar.
McHugh most recently served as a Catering Sales Manager at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver. Prior to that, she spent six years as the Director of Catering/Regional Resource at Denver’s Hotel Monaco and Panzano Restaurant, where she was responsible for a 16 person Banquet & Conference Services team. McHugh also previously served as a Catering/Conference Services Manager at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort and the Scottsdale Plaza Resort, both in Arizona. A graduate of the University of Alaska, McHugh also previously owned Denver’s Newport Furnishing.
Ruth Kilzer brings over two decades of hospitality industry experience to her new role as Account Director of Group Sales. Her markets will include Colorado Corporate and Association, and Government. Prior to joining the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, Kilzer served as a Senior Account Executive for Marriott International, in which she managed the Association market. Before that, she served as Group Sales Manager at the Denver Tech Center Marriott and Director of Event Management at the Renaissance Denver Hotel. Kilzer also served for over six years with the New Orleans Marriott. Originally from Ireland, Kilzer is active with many local organizations including the Colorado Society of Association Executives and the Professional Convention Management Association.
With nearly 25 years of industry experience, Deseri Martinez will be responsible for group sales throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. Prior to joining the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, Martinez was the Group Sales Manager for the 430-room Westin Denver Downtown. She previously served as Catering Sales Manager at The Westin Denver Downtown and at the Colorado Convention Center. Martinez also served for over eight years with Hyatt Hotel and Resorts. A Colorado native, Martinez is active with many organizations including the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Denver Women’s Chamber of Commerce, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI).
CSM Lodging, a division of CSM Corporation, has named Kayla Lynn Dacosta-Avery director of sales for the Courtyard and Residence Inn Denver South Park Meadows. Tara Cates and Michelle Davis, general managers of the properties respectively, made the announcement. Kayla Lynn Dacosta-Avery was previously owner and principal of KLD Media and Design, a marketing communications consulting firm. Prior to this Ms. Dacosta-Avery was national sales manager for the Plantation on Crystal River Resort in Crystal River, Florida. Earlier in her career she held sales leadership positions for Fairfield Inn and Suites, Springhill Suites, and at Hotel Indigo, an Intercontinental Hotel Group property.
Larsen fell into the hospitality industry in the early 2000s. She has held a tenured career with two Hotels in the Denver Airport area, recently making the leap to the downtown market. She marries her passion for hotels with her love of hospitality and plans to use her experience to strengthen the sales team and help young talent move up the ladder. Larsen has earned many accolades in her career such as; Supplier of the Year by Rocky Mountain chapter of Meeting Professionals International, Connect Magazine's 40 under 40, Marriott's Meeting Excellence award and Colorado Business Council Excellence Award. She also formed the Gateway Park Hotel Association, uniting neighboring hotels for events such as blood drives and volunteering at children’s clinics. Larsen is a Colorado Native and is married with three teenage daughters.
With more than 15 years of luxury hotel experience, Gaherty was the Director of Sales & Marketing at the JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek from its opening in 2003 through mid-2011, when she took a break to spend more time with her young children.
The JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek is thrilled to announce that it has been named a winner of the 2013 Best in Stay Awards from Orbitz. The 2013 Best In Stay Awards recognized top-rated hotels in 10 national markets based on reviews by Orbitz customers. The winners were selected based on the overall numeric score of nearly 300,000 verified hotel reviews submitted by Orbitz customers that have booked and stayed at hotels over the past year.
Sage Hospitality, along with its partners in Denver's Union Station, is proud to announce that the 112-room hotel within the historic building will be named The Crawford Hotel. Named after urban preservationist and Union Station partner Dana Crawford, the hotel will fill the upper floors of the north and south wings of the station when the building opens Summer 2014. Local Denver companies redeveloping the building with Sage include Larimer Associates, McWhinney, REGen, LLC, and Urban Neighborhoods.
A 25-year hospitality veteran, Damion will oversee all operations, business development and guest relations at Renaissance Denver Downtown. Most recently, Damion was general manager of the boutique Hotel Latham in the popular Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C. Here, Damion managed the 133-room hotel, as well as the Five-Star Citronelle Restaurant, located within the property. Prior to that, Damion had a decade-long tenure with Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, managing various luxury boutique properties throughout the country.