David Lewin, General Manager of Hyatt Regency San Francisco, has announced the appointment of Stacey Edinger as the hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing. Edinger replaces Judy Cronkhite who has transferred to the Grand Hyatt San Francisco.
RobertDouglas announced today that it advised Justice Investors in the $117 million refinancing of the Hilton San Francisco Financial District. The 10‐year, fixed rate financing was provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Clarion Partners. Ideally located in the heart of San Francisco, the iconic hotel is at the crossroads of the Financial District, Chinatown and North Beach.
Monica Dropkin joins the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco as Area Reservations Manager with laudable credentials. An experienced and AAA Five Diamond trained hospitality professional, she has experience in hotel revenue, reservations, group management, guest relations, and operations. Prior to her new role, Dropkin was the Revenue and Reservations Manager at the Montauk Yacht Club hotel in Montauk, New York where she implemented innovative new policies and procedures resulting in improved hotel operations. Dropkin’s more than five years of experience in hotel management roles has prepared her for a new chapter with InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco.
Seasoned hospitality professional Siamak Nassirpour brings more than ten years of experience to the InterContinental San Francisco as Director of Rooms. Prior to his recent appointment, he spent more than two years as the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, where he improved rooms profit margin by 4% from 2011 to 2012. Prior to his work at the Four Seasons, Nassirpour held positions as Director of Rooms and Revenue Management at the Marriott Downtown Los Angeles and Director of Rooms at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza.
Kelly S. Q. He joins the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco as a rising star of the hospitality industry. In 2011, she began work at the InterContinental Hotel Shanghai, where she was intimately involved in leading the overall strategic sales and marketing efforts to achieve and exceed hotel revenue goals. In 2012, she returned to the United States accepting the position of Corporate Sales Manager at the Crowne Plaza in Palo Alto, CA. Having honed her managerial skills in sales and marketing, she flourished in her new role and exceeded revenue goals by soliciting, developing and closing local corporate group business. In her role of Sales Manager, she brings a global perspective to the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco team with her knowledge of English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Nick Hamati continues his work at the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco as Revenue Manager. Hamati joined the InterContinental team in 2012 as Revenue Analyst after graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of San Francisco. His undergraduate experiences included prestigious internships with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and experiences living abroad in France and Hungary. With his French and Arabic language skills, Hamati brings a global perspective to the new role in addition to his financial and hospitality forte.
Martin has more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, most recently as general manager of the Aloft Tucson University. His previous positions include stints at Hilton El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa and Hard Rock Hotel San Diego.
Silicon Valley's tech firms, venture capital, cleantech companies, and private developers are leading vigorous economic development and growth in the region and giving its lodging market a robust outlook. The prevalence of biotech and high‐tech firms, startup venture capital, plus emerging cleantech companies, places Silicon Valley in an advantageous position for future economic development and growth. Furthermore, the capital invested in state‐of‐the‐art technology and infrastructure for such companies is an indication of investors' long‐term confidence in the market.
As a graduate of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Scaramellino received a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration. Recently Scaramellino served as hotel manager of The Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Calif. where he strived to strengthen brand identity and customer service. Prior to his time with The Palace, he acted as hotel manager for the US Grant in San Diego. During his time there he also had numerous temporary assignments as GM for the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the St. Regis Deer Valley Resort, and the W Hotel in San Diego, Calif. With passion for the industry and fostering education, Scaramellino has served on the board of directors for the New York State Restaurant Association and as a advisory board member for Westchester Community College Hospitality program. He has also served his community on the foundation board of directors for the Hudson Valley Hospital Center and for the Peekskill Area Health Center. Among numerous awards, he has received Businessman of the Year from the Peekskill-Cortlandt Chamber of Commerce and the President's Award from the Sheraton Corporation of North America.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced that it has completed the sale of both The Westin San Francisco Airport and Aloft San Francisco Airport to a venture led by Ultima Hospitality for $125 million. As part of the agreement, the hotels will be managed under long-term license agreements by Ultima Hospitality and continue to fly the Westin and Aloft brand flags. ?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /
LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYSE: LHO) today announced that it acquired the Serrano Hotel in San Francisco, CA. The purchase price was $71.5 million. The Company funded the transaction with borrowings from its Senior Unsecured Credit Facility.
Michelle Gatschet has been in the hospitality industry for over seven years, exceeding goals and establishing long lasting business partnerships along the way. Born in Switzerland, Gatschet brings a global perspective to the InterContinental Hotels Group with her knowledge of English, German, French, and Italian. In addition to her position as Senior Sales Manager, Gatschet sits on the board of the National Association of Catering and Events (NACE). Before accepting her new role, she was the General Manager at the University Club of San Francisco. Gatschet’s professional background also includes positions held at Joie de Vivre Hospitality and the Orchard Hotels.
Seasoned hospitality professional Candace Palec brings twelve years of experience to her new role of Senior Sales Manager. Already familiar with the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco, she spent the last three years demonstrating her business savvy as Sales Manager. Before joining the InterContinental Hotels Group team, Palec honed her managerial skills at a number of San Francisco Bay Area destinations including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Hotel Vitale, and the Claremont Hotel & Spa.
Candice Chin joins the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco as a rising star of the hospitality industry. After joining the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village’s opening team as a front desk receptionist in 2007, Chin was promoted each consecutive year and honored as employee of the month in 2011. By 2012, she had ascended to the position of Group Sales Manager where she focused on establishing, developing and maintaining business for the hotel’s southeast and local market.
Ms. Chen boasts nearly ten years of experience within the luxury hotel industry planning elegant weddings, social gatherings, and business meetings in the country's most dynamic cities. Most recently, she served as the director of catering and conference services at the landmark Palace Hotel in San Francisco, where she forged strong relationships within the regional meetings and events community. Prior to this, Ms. Chen was director of conference services at The St. Regis New York after joining as catering sales manager of the flagship hotel. She has also held positions at The St. Regis Washington, D.C. and The St. Regis San Francisco when she served as taskforce conference services manager in 2007. Ms. Chen launched her catering career in Washington, D.C. at the Four Seasons Hotel and is a graduate from the School of Hospitality Administration at Boston University.
California Hotel & Lodging Association (CH&LA) has announced the appointment of Tom Klein, Regional VP of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts for California (and General Manager of The Fairmont San Francisco) as Secretary/Treasurer for its Board of Directors. Klein was elected as the Secretary/Treasurer at last week’s Executive Committee in Los Angeles.
Boasting two decades of international experience in the hospitality industry, Coutouly has held Food & Beverage Director positions for more than seven years. Prior to joining the InterContinental San Francisco, Coutouly served as Director of Food & Beverage at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort in Monaco, Director of Food & Beverage for Norwegian Cruise Line, and Director of Food & Beverage for Hotel Sofitel in Miami, Florida. In his new role, Coutouly will be responsible for day-to-day banquet operations, overseeing 43,000 square feet of event space, in-room dining, and the award-winning Luce restaurant at this 550-room hotel located in San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) district.
Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NYSE: CHSP) (the "Trust") announced today that it has purchased the fee simple interest in the 313-roomHyatt Fisherman's Wharffrom an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) for $103.5 million, or approximately $331,000 per key. The Trust entered into an agreement with Evolution Hospitality to manage the hotel under a franchise agreement with a Hyatt affiliate.
Koch began her career at The Westin Grand, a Starwood hotel in Berlin, Germany and later moved to San Francisco to work at another Starwood property, The Westin St. Francis. After working in a number of positions from Front Desk Agent to Guest Services Manager in California, Koch took positions abroad in Hong Kong and Dubai before returning to San Francisco as the InterContinental Mark Hopkins’ Rooms Division Manager. With her promotion to Director of Rooms, she will be responsible for the Front Office and Housekeeping teams, as well as for the Reservations Department.
Joining the InterContinental Mark Hopkins from the East Coast, Cable held various management positions at hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental and the Jefferson, both in Washington D.C. After a couple years with the Kimpton Hotel Group, she brought her experience to the InterContinental Hotel Group, beginning as the Catering & Conference Service Manager at the InterContinental New York Times Square. Three years later, Cable ventured west to the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, becoming the Convention Services Manager. She is responsible for coordinating meeting and event spaces for clients.