John Brehm joins ECS as Vice President, Sales and Business Development, where he will lead the global sales effort and develop new business opportunities. He brings over eighteen years of leadership experience from American Express Global Corporate Services and most recently Travel Leaders Group, where he served as the Vice President of Franchise Sales.
David McManus will assume responsibility of all hotel operations as the property celebrates its 2 year anniversary later this month. McManus brings with him more than 25 years of New York City hospitality business experience which includes leading iconic properties such as The Empire Hotel in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and overseeing and successfully re-launching and re-positioning of the Shelburne NYC hotel into the marketplace. The renovation resulted in numerous internal year end awards and recognition for McManus, including the award for ‘Hotel of the Year’. Most recently, McManus was the Opening General Manager of Hotel Hugo, a lifestyle boutique property located in SoHo, Manhattan.
As the newly appointed Director of Sales and Marketing, Angela Pina will be responsible for overseeing all sales and marketing efforts for Hyatt Union Square New York. With over 10 years of sales experience in New York City, Angela offers a unique, diversified background with experience in both luxury-lifestyle properties and various branded hotels. Prior to joining Hyatt Union Square New York, Pina was responsible for a cluster of hotels under the HHM umbrella as Area Director of Sales and Marketing. In this role, Pina oversaw all of the hotels in the HHM downtown sub-region and Independent Collection. Before joining HHM, Pina held the position of Director of Sales and Marketing for Sixty LES, a boutique hotel in New York’s Lower East Side neighborhood, as well as Director of Sales and Marketing for Sixty Thompson, a boutique property in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. Pina’s background also includes regional sales management experience with Morgans Hotel Group and Denihan Hospitality Group, where she assisted with the launch of The James New York and repositioning of the prestigious The Surrey Hotel.
People are changing. New York is changing. Luxury is changing. With The New York EDITION, Ian Schrager and Marriott International respond to this changing landscape by introducing a new luxury for a new generation.
Loews Regency Hotel, the landmark hotel in Midtown Manhattan, today announces the appointment of Yvette Edwards as Director of Marketing. With more than 15 years of sales and marketing experience, Edwards boasts a deep understanding of both large business hotels and smaller boutique properties, as well as seasonal and luxury resorts, including properties in New York City, Philadelphia, Newport, and the Bahamas. In her role as Director of Marketing at Loews Regency, Edwards will oversee the planning and implementing of sales, marketing and product development programs for the hotel. “We are delighted to welcome Yvette to the Loews Regency family,” said Jim McPartlin, Managing Director, Loews Regency. “Yvette’s extensive knowledge and breadth of experience, not to mention her warm personality and commitment to excellent customer service, make her a great addition to the team. We look forward to her guidance in continually enhancing the guest experience at Loews Regency.” Prior to joining Loews Regency, Edwards served as a member of the opening team for the 733-room Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, Bahamas, a campus including 40 restaurants, 35 retail shops, a golf course, spa and the largest casino in the Caribbean. As Pre-Opening Director of Sales & Marketing, Edwards was responsible for the booking policies, procedures, and revenue management of the 200,000 square feet of convention and outdoor event spaces used by all four Baha Mar resorts, in addition to overseeing group, leisure, public relations, marketing, catering and social media for Grand Hyatt. Before her time at Baha Mar, Edwards spent four years as the Director of Sales & Marketing for Grand Hyatt New York and Andaz 5th Avenue, where she was nominated for Director of Sales of the Year. Between 2002 and 2009, Edwards developed her skills through Director of Sales & Marketing positions at the Columbus, Newport, and Philadelphia Hyatt Regency properties. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Yvette began her career as a Front Office agent with Holiday Inn, working in rooms operations for several years before moving into catering and conventions services and eventually sales and marketing. “From the buzz of Broadway to the glamour and glitz of Fifth Avenue and the lively, ever-changing restaurant scene, there is no place quite like New York City,” said Yvette Edwards. “I am thrilled to join the team at Loews Regency and help bring the very best of this energetic city to our guests.” Edwards has received numerous accolades throughout her career. Most recently, she was recognized with the 2014 Leader of the Year Award for Baha Mar Resort. Edwards has also served as a Board Member of the HSMAI Philadelphia Chapter.
The HSMAI Greater New York Chapter was named Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International 2014 Chapter of the Year at HSMAI's annual Mike Leven Leadership Conference in Dallas.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced it has completed the previously contracted sale of The New York EDITION hotel for net cash proceeds of approximately $343 million. Today's transaction is the last in a series of three sales of Marriott-owned EDITION hotels, including the London EDITION (completed in 2014), the Miami Beach EDITION (completed in February 2015) and the New York EDITION. Combined proceeds from the sale of these hotels total approximately $816 million.
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts®, the ultra-luxury hotel group, has added New York style icon Iris Apfel, famed quarterback Steve Young, and fashion designers Heidi Gosman and Penny Klein of heidi klein to its innovative Rosewood Curators program. Launched in September 2013, Rosewood Curators are a carefully selected collection of luminaries and leaders who share their insider secrets, travel tips and favorite activities in Rosewood destinations around the world.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has announced the appointment of Sam McDiarmid to the role of director of business development, agency sales. McDiarmid joins Shangri-La from the Plaza Hotel, New York, where he held the role of travel industry sales manager, handling the North American leisure, business travel and entertainment markets. Prior to his time at the Plaza Hotel, McDiarmid held several sales positions throughout the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, including a regional role representing the company’s three hotels in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. McDiarmid began his hospitality career with Marriott, where he held a variety of roles including a position within the Marriott global sales organization as group sales manager selling Marriott full service hotels in North and South Carolina, and West Virginia. His hotel career began as front desk agent at the Marriott City Center Charlotte, where he discovered his love of the hospitality industry.
On the heels of its successful 10th anniversary Incentive Travel Exchange (ITE) celebration, Questex Travel Group today announced it is accepting applications for its ITE at Sea event, the latest addition to the company's Global Meetings and Incentive Travel Exchanges (GMITE) portfolio, designed for qualified buyers and premier travel suppliers seeking to maximize their incentive travel business.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, announces the signing of a 251-room Crowne Plaza® hotel in the heart of New York City. The new development aligns with IHG's strategy to grow the Crowne Plaza brand by further strengthening its presence in top-tier business epicenters and priority markets across the Americas. The property is scheduled to open in 2017, and IHG will manage on behalf of the owner, LRR Holdings, LLC.
In an industry game changer, Starwood Capital Group Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht today announced the launch of the new mission-driven luxury lifestyle brand 1 Hotels. The first property debuts in South Beach today, followed by Central Park in late spring and Brooklyn Bridge Park at the end of 2015. 1 Hotels aims to change industry standards—more than a hospitality brand, from no paper or plastic in the guest rooms to nature as art and lobby farmstands, 1 Hotels is a movement with a mindful purpose.
The Cornell School of Hotel Administration (SHA) has announced that multiple Emmy Award-winning journalist, investigative reporter, New York Times bestselling author, and CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg will serve as master of ceremonies at the 7th Annual Cornell Hospitality Icon & Innovator Awards on June 2, 2015, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. At this premier event, Greenberg will help honor Barry S. Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, recipient of the Cornell Icon of the Industry Award, and Damian J. Mogavero, CEO and founder of Avero, recipient of the Cornell Hospitality Innovator Award.
Shiel joins the hotel from Denihan Hospitality Group where he spent the last four years working in sales for the properties Affinia Fifty, Affinia Gardens and The Benjamin in New York. During his tenure as Director of Sales, he oversaw the complete repositioning of Affinia Fifty following a $20 million renovation.
Questex Travel Group has named Eric Edmunds business development manager, responsible for growing its Global Meetings and Incentive Travel Exchanges (GMITE) events portfolio across the western United States, western Canada, Mexico, Latin America and South Pacific.Prior to joining Questex, Edmunds spent three years as West Coast regional director of sales for Palace Resorts of Doral, Florida, which operates all-inclusive luxury resorts along the Caribbean coast of Mexico and in Jamaica. He focused on the chain's meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions division. Previously, Edmunds spent two years in a similar role with Edmunds Direct Inc, a media and hotel marketing representation firm based in Fountain Valley, California.
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has announced the appointment of Mehdi Eftekari as General Manager of Four Seasons Hotel New York. Eftekari arrives at the I.M. Pei landmark and Four Seasons flagship at an opportune moment, amid a hotel-wide renovation including the opening of the new TY Bar and the recent the launch of the hotel’s new event space FIFTY7.
Questex Travel Group has named Eric Edmunds business development manager, responsible for growing its Global Meetings and Incentive Travel Exchanges (GMITE) events portfolio across the western United States, western Canada, Mexico, Latin America and South Pacific.
Let's say hypothetically that you had no legacy commitments to OTAs and other commission-hungry third party relationships. (I know this is impossible, but bear with me for a moment.) Now, what would you do? If we make the assumption that you would still have guests, how would your service delivery change? What would you do differently if you did not have the pressures of margin-eroding distribution systems?
M&R Hotel Management today announced that its 13 hotels in the United States will participate in Clean the World's recycling program, which recycles soap and bottled shampoo left behind by guests for distribution to people in need around the world.
HeBS Digital, the leading hotel digital technology, full-service digital marketing and website revenue optimization consulting firm co-hosted a Google Partners Luncheon at the Google Headquarters in New York City this week on Monday, February 23rd.