Starwoods Twin City sister properties, W Minneapolis The Foshay and Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis are pleased to announce the recent appointment of David Cronin as complex General Manager of both historic hotels.
CSM Corporation welcomes hospitality veteran Lisa Schetinski to its sales team. Schetinski has worked in the Minneapolis market for close to 15 years. As Director of Sales and Marketing for Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot and Residence Inn Minneapolis Downtown at The Depot, Schetinski will drive revenue, maximize profit and ensure quality for Guests and visitors. She and her team will also focus on increasing guest satisfaction and building positive employee relations.
Ableitner comes from the DoubleTree by Hilton St. Paul and Rival House where she was the director of sales and marketing. Prior to this role, she held director and assistant director positions at the Loews Minneapolis Hotel and The Hotel Minneapolis. She has also held senior sales positions at the Westin Minneapolis, Radisson Blu and the Millennium Hotel. Throughout her career in hospitality, Ableitner has been promoted into a number of positions from executive meeting manager, business travel sales manager, senior sales manager, assistant director and director of sales and marketing. She also brings a solid marketing background and has created and delivered successful marketing campaigns that increased product and service awareness through media and public relations.
Rosemont, Ill.-based First Hospitality Group, Inc. (FHG) has hired Carolyn Murphy as the new general manager at the Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Downtown in Minneapolis. First Hospitality Group, Inc. President and CEO Robert Habeeb made the announcement. Murphy comes to Hilton Garden Inn with more than 15 years of leadership experience in the hospitality industry. She has earned seven awards as a general manager from CSM Lodging for highest revenue, RevPar Index and House Profit Award.
Loews Hotels & Resorts, a wholly owned-subsidiary of Loews Corporation (NYSE: L), today announced that the company completed the acquisition of the 255-room Graves 601 Hotel Wyndham Grand.
Sage Hospitality, one of the nation's top hotel investment and management companies, has announced the acquisition of the Marriott Minneapolis Southwest in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Sage intends to invest more than $10 million into staffing and a full renovation of all public spaces and guest rooms in the 321 room hotel.
Loews Hotels & Resorts, a wholly owned subsidiary of Loews Corporation (NYSE: L), today announced that the company has entered into an agreement to purchase the 255-room Graves 601 Hotel Wyndham Grand from the Graves Hospitality Corporation. The acquisition is expected to close in early July.
CSM Lodging, a division of CSM Corporation, has promoted Shand Luce to director of sales and marketing for both The Depot Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel and The Residence Inn at The Depot Hotel. Both properties are situated within an historic 19th Century train depot complex. Kate Burda, vice president sales & marketing, made the announcement.Shand Luce was previously director of operations for The Depot Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, a position to which he was appointed in 2013 and in which he experienced significant success. Mr. Luce came to CSM Lodging following service as general manager for the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort in Sunny Isles, Florida. He has previously successfully served as director of operations for both The Ritz Carlton of Coconut Grove, Florida, and the Westin Fort Lauderdale. Mr. Luce resides in the Minneapolis area with his family.
The DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Minneapolis, located on 1101 LaSalle Avenue, has hired Patrick Bissen as General Manager. In this position, Bissen will be responsible for leading and inspiring associates, driving revenue and managing hotel operations to make the DoubleTree the best choice for guests traveling to Minneapolis. The DoubleTree Minneapolis is managed by Denver-based, Sage Hospitality. Bissen joins the hotel with more than 18 years of experience with brands such as Marriott, Hilton and IHG. Most recently he served as General Manager of the Holiday Inn & Suites/Venetian Indoor Waterpark in Minneapolis. He has also spent time managing hotels in Portland, Oregon.
Patrick Vyncke was most recently an associate for Watermark Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago, and co-advisor of Carey Watermark Investors, Incorporated (CWI), a $1 billion publicly-registered REIT. In this role, he was directly involved in the acquisition, disposition and asset management activities for the various properties within the portfolio. Previous to this appointment he held the title of finance manager for American Property Hospitality Management, LLC, a private equity-backed owner and operator of hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Mexico, based in Los Angeles.
CSM Lodging, a division of CSM Corporation, has named Brad Carroll general manager for The Residence Inn Depot Minneapolis Hotel. A native of Minnesota, Mr. Carroll's new appointment returns him to his home state. Bill Upshaw, president of CSM Lodging, made the announcement. Brad Carroll previously held dual roles as general manager for both The Courtyard by Marriott Hotel and The Residence Inn Dallas Central Expressway, located in Dallas, Texas. He invested a number of years within his hospitality career working for the Marriott Hotels organization, serving in senior leadership positions, including as general manager and assistant general manager for hotels in a variety of markets.
Dan Maurer was most recently director of sales & marketing for the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest, where he led a team of professionals which surpassed annual budget goals and doubled annual revenues during his tenure. Prior to this, he served in the same position for the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West.
CSM Lodging, a division of CSM Corporation, has named Michael C. Coolidge senior vice president, real estate & lodging development for the growing hospitality company. Bill Upshaw, president of CSM Lodging, made the announcement. Michael Coolidge was most recently senior vice president-real estate & acquisitions for Watermark Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago, and co-advisor of Carey Watermark Investors, Incorporated (CWI), a $1 billion publicly-registered REIT. In Michael’s role at CWI, he was responsible for handling all real estate acquisitions and development activity as well as supervising the asset management activities related to CWI’s properties. Previous to this, Mr. Coolidge served as vice president of real estate for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, responsible for handling all full-service real estate acquisitions in the western United States and Canada. He has held similar positions for Sage Hospitality, and was directly involved in all of the company’s Urban Heritage Development projects, overseeing and implementing $1 billion in real estate development.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Ltd. (NHHR) – a collection of luxury hotels and resorts – announces the appointment of Kelly Commerford, CHME as Director of Sales and Marketing to the Commons Hotel, located in Minneapolis, Minn. In this role, Commerford will provide leadership and oversee the day-to-day operations of the sales and marketing departments, while maintaining focus on the strategic goals of the Commons Hotel.With 29 years of industry experience, Commerford has achieved dramatic, record-breaking revenue increases through the execution of targeted, creative and well-planned sales strategies. Commerford joins the Commons team most recently from Manchester Grand Hyatt, where he served as the Director of Marketing, implementing and managing a $9 million Sales & Marketing budget while successfully leading the transition, re-branding and marketing strategy of Regency Spa to Kin Lounge. As well as being a Certified Hospitality Marketing Executive, Commerford is the recipient of outstanding and distinguished industry awards including the 2005 Director of Sales and Marketing of the Year and nominated for the 2011 Hyatt Sales Team of the Year.
The first woman to ever hold the position of White House Chief Information Officer, Theresa Payton will lend advice to CIOs and CSOs on protecting digital assets at the opening session of the 2013 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®). Payton will speak to HITEC 2013 attendees on Monday, June 24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn. In addition, HITEC has scheduled two other keynote sessions featuring experts highlighting current business trends and practices.
Anna Owens was most recently the highly successful area director of sales for Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites (all by Marriott®) in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. While serving in this position, Ms. Owens was nominated for the Marriott Director of Sales of the Year award multiple times, and achieved the high honor last year. She held several field support leadership positions across multiple CSM Lodging properties. Prior to joining CSM Lodging, Ms. Owens was lead admissions representative for Le Cordon Blue Culinary College in Minneapolis.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) today announced that a Hyatt affiliate acquired a select service hotel in downtown Minneapolis and will rebrand the hotel as Hyatt Place Minneapolis Downtown following $20 million in capital improvements. The rebranding is scheduled for the summer of 2013.
Becker, a 22-year Hyatt veteran, will oversee operations at the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. As General Manager, Becker is responsible for the overall vision and future direction of the property. He began his career with Hyatt in 1990 as a Housekeeping Supervisor with Hyatt Regency Greenwich. Becker acted as Executive Assistant Manager for Hyatt Grand Champions Resort and Spa at Indian Wells, CA and Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. While serving as Rooms Executive, he oversaw a $36 million expansion of the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort and developed the first Medical and Skin spa in Hyatt’s portfolio. During his time as a Senior Rooms Executive with Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach, he implemented a recreation department and developed the first ocean front property partnership with Disney. As General Manager of Hyatt Regency Sarasota, Becker was the leading force behind a $20 million transformation which resulted in a 4 Diamond rating.
It's been a rough year for Best Buy -- it's shuttered dozens of stores, seen its founder step down and even lost its CEO, Brian Dunn. Still, the big box retailer hasn't given up hope, and today chose a new chief executive, one Hubert Joly. Until Sunday afternoon, Joly was responsible for Carlson, a hospitality and travel outfit that operates hotels and restaurants in over 150 countries. If you've eaten at a TGI Friday's, you've patronized Joly's old firm. Best Buy seems optimistic, according to the Wall Street Journal, noting that Joly has a knack for turning around companies in trouble. Still, Best Buy will have to get along without its new head honcho until September -- the new boss is French, and is apparently waiting on a visa. In the meantime, Mike Mikan will continue to serve as interim CEO, presumably helping the board of directors sift through Richard Schulze $10 billion rescue plan.
Warnick + Company, one of the world’s leading hospitality asset management and advisory firms, has further expanded its presence with the opening of a fifth U.S. office in Minneapolis, Minn. With offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, the newest location adds to the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company’s growing national presence.