Thompson Hotels announced today the appointment of Steve Shern as general manager of the highly-anticipated Thompson Chicago, slated to open fall 2013. Shern, a hospitality industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, will oversee the general operations of the 247-room lifestyle hotel.
Lou DeMarchi has been promoted to general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn of Warrenville, Ill. Previously, DeMarchi was the general manager at the Courtyard Chicago Midway Airport, where he led the property through a 3.5 million dollar renovation. DeMarchi also served as the first assistant manager at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Lombard, Ill., where he was responsible for overseeing all operational departments of the property and helped managed the conversion property form the original Amerisuites Hotel to a Hyatt Place.
Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago announces Valeria Benner as the new Executive Chef of the 306-room historic hotel. Chef Benner will oversee all culinary operations, including NiX Restaurant featuring American cuisine and seasonal menus. She will also be in charge of catering for weddings, meetings and events.
Konstantine Drosos, a 17 year veteran of Hilton Hotels has been appointed to the position of Hotel Manager of the Palmer House, the longest continuously operating full service hotel in North America. The announcement was made by Dean Lane, Palmer House Hilton General Manager. Drosos’ most recent position -- as Director of Finance, was at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, California, for which he was on the hotel’s opening team.
Swisscom Hospitality Services announced today that Mark Holzberg has joined the company as Vice President, The Americas and Global Managed Services. Mark has been tasked to strengthen Swisscom's presence in the Americas and its managed services business globally, as the international hotel industry's leading network operator and provider of managed services, while building on the company's existing footprint of more than 250 partner hotels in North America and over 2'000 properties worldwide. Mark Holzberg has over 20 years of experience building and running companies in the hospitality technology space. As CEO of Lorica Solutions he pioneered the marketing of a managed services offering for the hospitality industry based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology. Subsequent to selling Lorica to XETA Technologies in 2010, he organized and ran XETA's hospitality business, whose product portfolio included converged networks, voice, data and managed services. Previously, Mark served as President, Americas for Bartech Systems International and as CFO for TravelClick. In his most recent role prior to joining Swisscom, he was Vice President & Group Executive, Hospitality / Travel / Leisure for AGC Networks, Inc.
White Lodging Services is pleased to announce Jeremy Wilson has been named the general manager of the Holiday Inn Chicago Midway Airport in Bedford Park, Ill. Previously, Wilson was the assistant general manager at the Tucson Marriott University Park in Tucson, Ariz. Wilson's hospitality career began with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in 1997 when he graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Hospitality Business. From there, he gained a decade of experience in back of the house and front of the house food & beverage operations at six different Hyatt properties in states such as Ill., Fla, N.Y. and Cali. His most significant roles included director of hotel operations at the Hyatt Regency Long Island, N.Y. and director of food & beverage at Hyatt Regency Orange County, Cali.
With more than 30 years of national and international hospitality experience, Bob is a seasoned veteran, who has held positions as both hotel General Manager and Vice President of Finance for major hotel companies. Most recently, Bob was the General Manager of The American Club Resort in Kohler, Wisconsin. Prior to this, he was the Managing Director of the Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row in Washington DC and The Umstad Hotel and Spa in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has also served as Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Financial Officer for L’Ermitage Hotels in Los Angeles. In addition, he has held Vice President level finance positions with The Sheraton Corporation and Inter-Continental Hotel Corporation.
As Director of Group Sales for Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, Wiese is responsible for the success of the hotels sales strategies and well as oversees the group sales team of ten. Tinas proven success with th e hotels meeting planner satisfaction scores and her reputation as an energetic and engaging team member ensures us that she is the ideal leader for our group sales team, stated Dan Dolan, Director of Sales and Marketing for Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park.
Previously, Marco was the General Manager at the Sleep Inn, right next door. He has been dedicated to the Midway Hotel Center since 2004, where he started at the Holiday Inn Select as an international intern from the University of Sunderland in England.
Hall started with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in 1992, and since has held various positions with hotels under the Fairmont umbrella in Canada and Bermuda. As Hotel Manager for Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park, Hall oversees the functions and quality control of many departments within the illustrious hotel including rooms, food and beverage, security, engineering, parking, and the hotels business center and spa. We are excited to welcome Ken Hall to our team. His extensive experience with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and his commitment to guest satisfaction and excellence are the at tributes that ensure he will be an outstanding addition to our hotel, stated Mark Huntley, Regional Vice President and General Manager of Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park.
Destination Hotels & Resorts has appointed Heidi Edinger, CMP, CASE as the director of sales and marketing for MileNorth™, A Chicago Hotel. In her new role, Edinger will be responsible for strategy, development and implementation of marketing, public relations, and sales initiatives for the newly-branded property in addition to strengthening relationships within the local community. The focus at MileNorth is on creating a Chicago-centric brand with warm and inviting service and Midwest hospitality. The hotel’s central location in the heart of the Windy City is just steps from The Magnificent Mile, near the city’s numerous cultural and tourist attractions and three miles from the convention center, making it an attractive choice for business, convention and leisure travelers. Complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property and in all guestrooms is the icing on the cake. As part of Destination Hotels & Resorts’ mission to integrate hotels into the destinations where they are located, Edinger and her team will work to develop local partnerships in addition to fostering relationships with the meetings and travel industries, associations and agencies. Her twenty years of experience in the hospitality industry, combined with her vast knowledge of the Midwest market make Edinger a perfect fit for this role.
Ken Hall, who takes on the role of hotel manager, Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. With 20 years of hospitality experience, Hall brings a wide scope of industry knowledge to the hotel, gained during a career which has taken him around the world from Jasper Park, Canada to Fujiya, Japan.
Oakley has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the U.S. hospitality market. He joined Sheraton New Orleans Catering & Convention Services in 1999, and has grown within the hospitality industry ever since.
Corrigan arrived at The Blackstone from The Curtis, which she joined in 2008 as General Manager, or "Queen Bee" in the playful style of the hotel. Arriving during challenging economic times for the hospitality industry, Corrigan played a key role as Sage Hospitality soft-branded The Curtis with Doubletree. Hilton recognized her role by including her in the prestigious Circle of Leadership program. She was also named Sage Hospitality's Leader of the Year in 2011. Prior to joining The Curtis, Corrigan spent four years as General Manager of the 206-room, all-suite Embassy Suites Denver Southeast. From 2002-2004, she was owner and operator of The Last Detail, a self-launched, lifestyle management outfit in the Denver suburb of Louisville. Previously, Corrigan held a host of hospitality management positions, from Director of Marketing and Operations at Starwood Vacation Ownership in Denver to Executive Director of Operations at Bally's Grand Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. Her industry experience dates back to 1980 and includes positions at The Tropicana Hotel Casino and the Playboy Hotel & Casino.
Prior to this appointment, Lynch successfully opened the Trump SoHo New York as the Director of Sales and Marketing. During the pre-opening stage, Lynch was responsible for the hiring and managing of the sales team as well as implementing an action plan for the hotel’s opening in 2011. Once open, he contributed to exceptionally high occupancy during for the hotel’s first two years of operation.
A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, Olmstead spent the initial years of his professional career working in restaurant kitchens in Honolulu and San Francisco. In 1998, he accepted a position at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, where he was promoted from second cook to executive sous chef to executive chef, a position he held for four years before begin appointed director of food and beverage. In that new position, which he held for three years, Olmstead was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the property's food and beverage operations, which included two restaurants, room service, and catering. During his tenure at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, he served on a special task force as director of food and beverage for the opening of the InterContinental Los Angeles Century City, a 10-day project renowned as the quickest conversion in InterContinental history, earning him a place on the brand's 2007 "Team of the Century." In 2007, he accepted the position of director of food and beverage for the InterContinental San Francisco and regional director of food and beverage for InterContinental Hotels Group. This promotion involved leading all food service operations for the brand new 550-room property, as well as assisting with other directors of food and beverage at the brand's Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza properties in the West and Southwest, and coordinating the corporate World Class Beverage program. In 2009, Olmstead moved across the country to serve as executive assistant manager at the InterContinental New York Barclay, a position he held for three years before taking on his new venture at the InterContinental Chicago.
Destination Hotels & Resorts appoints Frank Leone as General Manager of the newly-branded MileNorth™, A Chicago Hotel. In this role, Leone will be instrumental in the rebranding of the property, building a culture on exceptional, genuine service, as well as the day-to-day operation of the hotel. Destination Hotels & Resorts puts an emphasis on integrating its hotels into the destinations where they are located and building a strong authentic experience. The focus at MileNorth is on creating a Chicago-centric brand with warm and inviting service. The hotel’s central location in the heart of Chicago’s bustling business and steps from The Magnificent Mile, near the city’s numerous cultural and tourist attractions and just three miles from the convention center, makes it an attractive choice for business, convention and leisure travelers. Complimentary Wi-Fi throughout the property and in all guestrooms is the icing on the cake. Leone brings a vast knowledge of the hospitality industry to his new role, combined with years of experience in the Midwest market. Prior to joining MileNorth, he held several management positions with Starwood Hotels, Sage and, most recently, with Remington Hotels as the general manager of The Silversmith Hotel & Suites in downtown Chicago.
Swissôtel is pleased to announce the appointment of Jack Breisacher as the new General Manager of Swissôtel Chicago. Breisacher returns to Swissôtel Chicago from China, where he spent the last twenty months at the helm of Swissôtel Beijing, Hong Kong Macau Centre.
Prior to this appointment, Evanich served with Irvine Company Resort Properties. He joined the organization in 2008 and served as Managing Director of the award winning Island Hotel Newport Beach. Previously Evanich also served with Ritz-Carlton Hotels for seven years. During his tenure, he served as General Manager for some of the company’s finest hotels including The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park. He also served as a general manager at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park and The Ritz-Carlton Boston Common.Evanich’s early career included experience as director of food and beverage for the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel where he oversaw a major renovation of the property’s food and beverage operations. He was also the Director of Food and Beverage at the Fairmont Hotel San Francisco and director of operations of the Westin Cincinnati and the Westin Maui. In addition to his experience as a hotel executive, Evanich is a highly trained and accomplished chef. He studied culinary arts in Italy, France and Scottsdale, Ariz., and has worked as an executive chef at various high profile resorts, among them the Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert, the Maui Marriott Resort and the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale.
Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park is pleased to announce experienced hotel professional Mark Huntley as their new General Manager and Regional Vice President. Huntley started with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in 1986, and has since held various positions with hotels under the Fairmont umbrella across the United States and in London.