Noble House Hotels & Resorts a collection of luxury hotels and resorts is pleased to announce the promotion of Thomas Hansen to Group Sales Manager at The Commons Hotel, located close to downtown Minneapolis on the University of Minnesota campus. In his role, Hansen will oversee the university and corporate group market segments for The Commons Hotel.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts – a collection of luxury hotels and resorts – is pleased to announce the appointment Christopher Preston as Director of Catering to The Commons Hotel, located close to downtown Minneapolis on the University of Minnesota campus. Preston will oversee the day-to-day operations of the events and catering departments, while maintaining focus on the strategic goals of The Commons Hotel.
Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown announces the appointment of Mark Naber as Hotel Manager, effective immediately. With nearly 20 years of hospitality industry experience, Naber will oversee the guest experience at the hotel including overseeing the hotel’s operations, guest services department, and restaurant, FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar. With his appointment, Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown is poised to strengthen its presence in the Midwest as a must-visit hotel for both business and leisure travelers through excellent service and innovative, memorable experiences.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts - a collection of luxury hotels and resorts – is pleased to announce the appointment of Frederic Bermond as Executive Chef to The Commons Hotel, located close to downtown Minneapolis on the University of Minnesota campus. Bermond’s focus in this position will be overseeing all culinary operations for the hotel and its signature gastropub restaurant, The Beacon Public House, which combines great mixology, good times and superior regional cooking in an industrial schoolhouse chic setting.
Jim Waldvogel has been named managing director for the Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington hotel and Crowne Plaza Minneapolis Northstar Downtown. Waldvogel previously served as area vice president and general manager of the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. Waldvogel joined Marcus Hotels & Resorts in 1997 as general manager of the Crowne Plaza Northstar Downtown and served as general manager of the Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington from 2007 to 2014.
Starwoods Twin City sister properties, W Minneapolis The Foshay and Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis are pleased to announce the recent appointment of David Cronin as complex General Manager of both historic hotels.
CSM Corporation welcomes hospitality veteran Lisa Schetinski to its sales team. Schetinski has worked in the Minneapolis market for close to 15 years. As Director of Sales and Marketing for Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot and Residence Inn Minneapolis Downtown at The Depot, Schetinski will drive revenue, maximize profit and ensure quality for Guests and visitors. She and her team will also focus on increasing guest satisfaction and building positive employee relations.
Ableitner comes from the DoubleTree by Hilton St. Paul and Rival House where she was the director of sales and marketing. Prior to this role, she held director and assistant director positions at the Loews Minneapolis Hotel and The Hotel Minneapolis. She has also held senior sales positions at the Westin Minneapolis, Radisson Blu and the Millennium Hotel. Throughout her career in hospitality, Ableitner has been promoted into a number of positions from executive meeting manager, business travel sales manager, senior sales manager, assistant director and director of sales and marketing. She also brings a solid marketing background and has created and delivered successful marketing campaigns that increased product and service awareness through media and public relations.
Jamie Hopwood has been promoted to general manager of the Hyatt Place Bloomington. Hopwood brings over 10 years of experience with White Lodging to his new role. Previously, Hopwood was the general manager at the Courtyard by Marriott at the Capitol in Indianapolis. He also brings experience as general manager from the Residence Inn Merrillville, Courtyard Hammond and SpringHill Suites Carmel. Prior to joining White Lodging, Jamie worked for RockResorts, Vail Resorts Lodging and Marriott International.
Rosemont, Ill.-based First Hospitality Group, Inc. (FHG) has hired Carolyn Murphy as the new general manager at the Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis Downtown in Minneapolis. First Hospitality Group, Inc. President and CEO Robert Habeeb made the announcement. Murphy comes to Hilton Garden Inn with more than 15 years of leadership experience in the hospitality industry. She has earned seven awards as a general manager from CSM Lodging for highest revenue, RevPar Index and House Profit Award.
CSM Lodging names Barbara Hartman general manager of TownePlace Suites in Eagan. Barbara in an industry veteran, most recently with Hyatt Place Eden Prairie and Marriotts Fairfield Inn. As General Manager with CSM Lodgings TownePlace Suite, shell oversee all the hotels operations and success.
The DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Minneapolis, located on 1101 LaSalle Avenue, has hired Patrick Bissen as General Manager. In this position, Bissen will be responsible for leading and inspiring associates, driving revenue and managing hotel operations to make the DoubleTree the best choice for guests traveling to Minneapolis. The DoubleTree Minneapolis is managed by Denver-based, Sage Hospitality. Bissen joins the hotel with more than 18 years of experience with brands such as Marriott, Hilton and IHG. Most recently he served as General Manager of the Holiday Inn & Suites/Venetian Indoor Waterpark in Minneapolis. He has also spent time managing hotels in Portland, Oregon.
Patrick Vyncke was most recently an associate for Watermark Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago, and co-advisor of Carey Watermark Investors, Incorporated (CWI), a $1 billion publicly-registered REIT. In this role, he was directly involved in the acquisition, disposition and asset management activities for the various properties within the portfolio. Previous to this appointment he held the title of finance manager for American Property Hospitality Management, LLC, a private equity-backed owner and operator of hotels and resorts throughout the United States and Mexico, based in Los Angeles.
CSM Lodging, a division of CSM Corporation, has named Brad Carroll general manager for The Residence Inn Depot Minneapolis Hotel. A native of Minnesota, Mr. Carroll's new appointment returns him to his home state. Bill Upshaw, president of CSM Lodging, made the announcement. Brad Carroll previously held dual roles as general manager for both The Courtyard by Marriott Hotel and The Residence Inn Dallas Central Expressway, located in Dallas, Texas. He invested a number of years within his hospitality career working for the Marriott Hotels organization, serving in senior leadership positions, including as general manager and assistant general manager for hotels in a variety of markets.
Rosemont, Illinois-based First Hospitality Group, Inc. (FHG) announced today that it has hired new general managers to hold the leading roles at two of its Minnesota properties. David Moore has been with the property for four years. An honored military veteran, Moore has more than 15 years of hospitality industry experience serving in various areas of operations, including food & beverage, maintenance and front office.
Dan Maurer was most recently director of sales & marketing for the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest, where he led a team of professionals which surpassed annual budget goals and doubled annual revenues during his tenure. Prior to this, he served in the same position for the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West.
CSM Lodging, a division of CSM Corporation, has named Michael C. Coolidge senior vice president, real estate & lodging development for the growing hospitality company. Bill Upshaw, president of CSM Lodging, made the announcement. Michael Coolidge was most recently senior vice president-real estate & acquisitions for Watermark Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago, and co-advisor of Carey Watermark Investors, Incorporated (CWI), a $1 billion publicly-registered REIT. In Michael’s role at CWI, he was responsible for handling all real estate acquisitions and development activity as well as supervising the asset management activities related to CWI’s properties. Previous to this, Mr. Coolidge served as vice president of real estate for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, responsible for handling all full-service real estate acquisitions in the western United States and Canada. He has held similar positions for Sage Hospitality, and was directly involved in all of the company’s Urban Heritage Development projects, overseeing and implementing $1 billion in real estate development.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Ltd. (NHHR) – a collection of luxury hotels and resorts – announces the appointment of Kelly Commerford, CHME as Director of Sales and Marketing to the Commons Hotel, located in Minneapolis, Minn. In this role, Commerford will provide leadership and oversee the day-to-day operations of the sales and marketing departments, while maintaining focus on the strategic goals of the Commons Hotel.With 29 years of industry experience, Commerford has achieved dramatic, record-breaking revenue increases through the execution of targeted, creative and well-planned sales strategies. Commerford joins the Commons team most recently from Manchester Grand Hyatt, where he served as the Director of Marketing, implementing and managing a $9 million Sales & Marketing budget while successfully leading the transition, re-branding and marketing strategy of Regency Spa to Kin Lounge. As well as being a Certified Hospitality Marketing Executive, Commerford is the recipient of outstanding and distinguished industry awards including the 2005 Director of Sales and Marketing of the Year and nominated for the 2011 Hyatt Sales Team of the Year.
Anna Owens was most recently the highly successful area director of sales for Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites and TownePlace Suites (all by Marriott®) in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. While serving in this position, Ms. Owens was nominated for the Marriott Director of Sales of the Year award multiple times, and achieved the high honor last year. She held several field support leadership positions across multiple CSM Lodging properties. Prior to joining CSM Lodging, Ms. Owens was lead admissions representative for Le Cordon Blue Culinary College in Minneapolis.
Associated Hotels LLC and Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites MSP Airport – Mall of America (www.cpsuitesmsp.com) today announced that Beth Stone has been named Director of Sales & Marketing for the 430-room full service Crowne Plaza Hotel & Suites Mpls Airport – Mall of America. Associated Hotels LLC, located in Chicago, IL, manages 15 hotels nationwide with the majority of their portfolio in the Midwest. Stone’s extensive sales and marketing background is strong in the Minneapolis – Bloomington market. She’s worked at Hotel Ivy and The Common’s Hotel in Minneapolis, the Hilton Bloomington, as well as with CSM Lodging. “After being lured into the hospitality industry by a popular television show, I have grown a passion for building my team and gaining personal relationships with my clients.”