The highly-anticipated Tempo by Hilton Times Square announced today that Joe Monserrate has been named director of sales of the 661-room property. Scheduled to open in the second half of this year, the property will mark the global premiere of Hilton's newest lifestyle brand, Tempo by Hilton, dedicated to exceeding the expectations of the ambitious, modern traveler.
The Luxury Collection, part of Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of 30 extraordinary hotel brands, announces chef and artist Laila Gohar as the brand's newest Global Explorer. In her role as a brand ambassador, Gohar has collaborated with The Luxury Collection to create a globally inspired barware collection with complementing cocktail recipes drawing from her travels with the brand. Gohar marks The Luxury Collection's first epicurean Global Explorer, underscoring the power of cultural discovery through food and drink.
The BLLA Team sits down with Eric Freitas Orford, General Manager of The Ludlow, as he delves into his experience as a boutique hotelier.
Moxy Williamsburg debuts today as the brand's first hotel in Brooklyn, featuring interiors by BASILE Studio in collaboration with Lightstone Design Studio and four new dining and drinking venues from Bar Lab Hospitality, the creative force behind Broken Shaker. The heart of New York's creative class, Williamsburg is a fitting location for Lightstone's growing collection of boundary-pushing Moxy Hotels, part of Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of 30 extraordinary hotel brands.
Adam Klein, a graduate of Boston University, is a hospitality industry veteran with 23 years of experience in executive roles. He spent most of his career with Turnberry and Fontainebleau Development, developing, opening and operating The Fontainebleau Miami Beach and JW Marriott Turnberry Resort and Club. Shortly after, Adam launched his own advisory firm, Klein Hospitality, assisting in the development, opening, and operations of private clubs, luxury restaurants, and hotels, including Hotel Barrière Fouquet's New York.
Diana is a luxury hospitality sales leader with over 20 years of sales & marketing and business development experience at some of the best-in-class hotels throughout the world. She previously held sales and marketing roles with Faena Hotels, The Savoy London, and The St. Regis New York. Born in Hong Kong and raised in New York City, Diana holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
Hotels are a vital part of New York City’s economy, accounting for approximately $13 billion of revenue per year. In recent years, however, the City Planning Commission has adopted certain amendments to New York City’s Zoning Resolution in an attempt to curtail hotel development. These changes have been top-of-mind for owners and developers involved in the New York City hotel real estate market.
Increases in occupancy, ADR and revenue per available room (“RevPAR”) continued to accelerate across Manhattan during the second half of 2022. Q4 RevPAR experienced a year-over-year increase of 54.2 percent, with the strongest gains in October - up 85.8 percent. Q3 RevPAR increased 75.1 percent from the same period in 2021.
The newest hotel from Sir Richard Branson's luxury lifestyle hotel brand brings a fresh hospitality concept to New York City's NoMad Neighborhood.
Hilton has named Matthew Slippoy as the general manager of Tempo by Hilton Times Square, scheduled to open in the second half of 2023. Located at 47th Street and Broadway at TSX Broadway, the property will mark the global premiere of Hilton's newest lifestyle brand, Tempo by Hilton.
Pendry Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce the appointment of Kelly Merryfield as director of sales and marketing for Pendry Manhattan West. Merryfield has been tasked to drive overall sales, marketing, and public relations efforts for the hotel, the brand's first New York City hotel, and part of the eight-acre, six-building mixed-use Manhattan West development. The hotel features 164 guest rooms including 30 suites; a signature restaurant, Zou Zou's; lobby bar, Bar Pendry; vibrant open-air terrace bar, Chez Zou, and over 6,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
Luxury hotel demand staged a respectable resurgence last year as the dreadful impact of the pandemic continued to fade. Trailing twelve-month RevPAR for luxury hotels in NYC, as of November 2022, has already surpassed its pre-pandemic benchmark from December 2018. This was a welcome improvement for prominent Midtown hotels that had reopened after many months of closure, including the Mandarin Oriental, Ritz-Carlton, The Plaza, St. Regis, The Peninsula, and the Lotte New York Palace.
Accor today announces that Omer Acar has been appointed as CEO Raffles & Orient Express. His appointment will be effective March 1st, 2023.
Le Méridien New York, Fifth Avenue invites creative travelers to reminisce on the glamorous days of travel and indulge in the brand's European spirit of savoring the good life.
Aman is pleased to announce the appointment of Olivier Lordonnois as Managing Director of Aman New York. Olivier joins the company with over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry across both hotels and private members clubs.
In his new role, Mr. Willoughby will oversee all facets of food and beverage operations at Hyatt Place New York Chelsea's dining venues, including The Breakfast Bar, The Placery lobby bar, The Market, and the upcoming, year-round outdoor terrace. Mr. Willoughby brings years of industry experience to lead the hotel's thoughtful blend of dining experiences, perfect for guests needing a quick meal before meetings to friends and family looking to relax and catch up with a round of custom cocktails.Mr. Willoughby studied corporate communications at Radford University and started his career in advertising and marketing. Soon after, Mr. Willoughby decided to pursue his passion of cooking, which he attributes to his grandmother. He gained knowledge at RUI Plaza NYC and Glory Days Grill (GDG), serving in a vast array of roles in the hospitality industry, including restaurant manager, bartender and bar manager.
Mr. Newman brings years of experience to his role with Hyatt Place New York, including over 11 years working with Hyatt Hotels brand. Within this new role, Mr. Newman will oversee all sales and marketing of the property in an effort to continue building revenue. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a Bachelor of degree in Hospitality Management, Mr. Newman recently served as the Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Blue Sky Hospitality Solutions. Prior to that, he served at a multitude of hotels management companies, including Millennium Hotels, InterstateHotels and Melia Hotels. He has held the DOSM position since 2003 at several hotels including Hyatt Regency Jersey City, Grand Hyatt New York, The Millennium UNPlaza, and INSIDE New York amongst others.
Tom Scudero has been named Director of Engineering at Virgin Hotels New York, bringing with him two decades of experience in the engineering operations space at a luxury hospitality level. He will be tasked with setting operational standards and procedures, while simultaneously liaising with key stakeholders of the hotel to ensure proper execution of plans and project quality. Prior to this role, Scudero worked as the Director of Engineering at YOTEL New York. With his vast knowledge in hotel building infrastructure, environmental codes and regulatory requirements, Tom will bring an innovative supervisory skillset, leading the department to peak performance level.
As Director of Food & Beverage, Dennis O'Connor is responsible for overseeing all facets of the food & beverage development and programming at Virgin Hotels New York City. O' Connor has amassed over twenty years hospitality management experience in New York City, complemented by national food and beverage operations positions across a variety of cuisines and concepts. Throughout his career, O' Connor has held executive positions at several notable restaurant groups, including Soho & Tribeca Grand Hotels, The James Hotel with David Burke, The Ace Hotel with April Bloomfield, and Jean George's 66. O'Connor also worked alongside chef and mentor Laurent Tourondel as Director of Operations and was a key component in developing LT Hospitality. Recently, he served as the Director of Restaurants for all South Florida locations in the Starr Restaurant Organization, as well as collaborated in the openings of the Conrad Fort Lauderdale and AMAN New York.
Maria Murillo has been named Director of People with a core responsibility of supporting employee engagement and productivity. Murillo's approach in humanizing business operations works to create a positive employee experience, which ensures proactive company culture, consistent engagement, training and development, recruitment practices, and other "people processes." The People team's main priority will be to understand employees holistically, not just as individual contributors. Murillo joins Virgin Hotels New York after decades-long experience as Director of Human Resources at The St. Regis New York, The Knickerbocker Times Square, and, most recently, Room Mate Hotels.