Agilysys, Inc. (Nasdaq: AGYS), a leading provider of innovative information technology and hospitality software solutions, today announced that Sandals Emerald Bay in Great Exuma, Bahamas has selected the Visual One™ Property Management System and the DataMagine™ document management solution, both by Agilysys, to streamline operations and enhance guest service at the 183-room luxury resort.
Mr. Weber has spent more than twenty years in hospitality management serving as General Manager for upscale 4 and 5 star resorts including il Lugano Luxury Suite Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Coral Hospitality in Islamorada, Florida Keys and Cap Cana Resort Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where he also received the General Manager of the Year award in 2004/2005. He is fluent in German and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management from the University of Wisconsin Stout and is an international member of SKAL Club.
For the past two years, Young was vice president – operations and general manager for The Sea Island Resorts in Sea Island, Ga. There, he oversaw a team of more than 1,100 employees serving three distinctive properties – The Cloister, The Lodge and Cabin Bluff – plus a private membership club of 5,000 and 150 rental properties. Young was previously vice president – operations for Rosewood Hotels and Resorts LLC, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. He was promoted to this corporate position in 2004 after five years as managing director of the brand’s iconic Caneel Bay, a Rosewood Resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Previously, Young was general manager of the deluxe Metropolitan Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, a member of Preferred Hotels® & Resorts. Among his successes during a tenure that ran from late 1995 to early 1999 was the opening of the restaurant Diva at the Met, which quickly took the top spot among Vancouver restaurants in listings by both Gourmet and the Zagat Guide. He also served as general manager of the deluxe Cap Juluca resort on Anguilla, British West Indies, for three years prior. Young launched his hospitality career with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 1977. Over the course of his 15 years with the company, he rose through a series of positions at nine hotels and resorts in Canada, the U.S. and the West Indies. Most notably, he opened the brand’s first Caribbean property, the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, as resort manager and, as executive assistant manager, guided the repositioning of Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara upon its acquisition by the Toronto-based company. Young’s considerable industry involvement has included terms as president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association and the Vancouver Hotel Association. He has served on the boards of the Caribbean Hotel Association, the Brunswick and the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association. Since 2001, he has also served as executive coach for Cornell University Hotel School’s MMH Leadership Development Program.
Sandals Resorts International (SRI), parent company of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, The Royal Plantation Collection and Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts, today announced the purchase of the recently shuttered Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma at Emerald Bay for an undisclosed sum. According to Sandals Resorts Founder and Chairman, Gordon "Butch" Stewart, the 500-acre property, which features a championship Greg Norman golf course and world-class marina, is set to become a Sandals Resort and will be called Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas. Following certain enhancements customary to the Sandals Resorts brand, including an expansive new pool complex and additional dining establishments, the resort will open January 22, 2010.
A resort professional with more than 18 years of international experience, Mr. Kitchen’s past work has included management positions at four- and five-star properties throughout Australia, Fiji, Mexico, Mauritius and the Caribbean. Before joining the Pink Sands team, Mr. Kitchen served as general manager for the Karma Group, operating five-star resorts in Bali and Koh Samui, Thailand. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Kitchen was resort manager for the Namale Resort & Spa in Fiji. He previously spent five years running the Vatulele Island Resort in Fiji. Working with Allegro Resorts from 1993 to 1998, Mr. Kitchen was stationed in properties throughout Antigua, Dominican Republic, Mexico and St. Lucia. His early hospitality work included postings with the travel group Contiki, based in London and operating all over Europe, Club Med and several all inclusive groups in the Caribbean and Mexico. Mr. Kitchen received a degree in Hotel & Resort Management from Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. He is joined in The Bahamas by his wife Danielle and their two year-old daughter Sienna.
Jordan joined the HVS New York office in 2003. He has worked on numerous mid- and large-scale mixed-use developments, valuations, feasibility studies, and operator searches, and has provided strategic advice, return on investment, and market studies in the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean. A native of Trinidad, Jordan brings the right combination of consulting experience and cultural knowledge of the region to better understand the market and sub-markets on the various islands and the nuances in the way business is conducted locally. Prior to joining HVS, he had more than twelve years of operations and management experience in the hotel and food service industry. In addition to his duties with HVS New York, Jordan teaches a hotel feasibility and development course at New York University. Jordan holds a Masters degree in Tourism from New York University, and a Bachelor’s in Hospitality Management from New York City Technical College.
With more than 30 years of hospitality management experience, Swadish is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the recently renovated resort, a key destination in the lodging chain’s portfolio of 24 hotel and affiliate properties in the Caribbean and Mexico. Joining the Wyndham Nassau Resort team from the Washington D.C. area, Swadish most recently served as chief operating officer at Highland Hospitality in McLean, VA. Prior to that, Swadish held several hospitality management positions including managing director at La Quinta Resort and PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., a division of Hilton Hotels; regional vice president and general manager with Double Tree Hotels in Pasadena, Calif.; general manager of the Doubletree Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah and food and beverage director for Doubletree Monterey, Calif.
With more than 25 years of culinary experience, Quigg joins the Wyndham Nassau Resort team most recently from Sandals Whitehouse, Jamaica, where he served as executive chef for three years, delighting guests with his fusion of Asian, Italian, French, Caribbean, Southwest and American cuisine.