Hilton Orlando General Manager Doug Gehret has been appointed area vice president of operations for Hilton Worldwide properties in Central Florida and South Carolina.
Jennifer Curtin has been promoted to general manager of the Homewood Suites Tampa/Brandon in Tampa, Fla. Previously, Curtin was the dual assistant general manager at the Hampton Inn/Hilton Garden Inn West Palm Beach. She began her career with White Lodging in 2010 as a banquet server at the Radisson Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Ind. where she took part in task-forcing at different properties including Brush Creek Ranch in Saratoga, Wyo. for two and a half months. In 2012, Curtin became operations supervisor at the Courtyard by Marriott in Hammond, Ind. and later that year was promoted to assistant general manager at the same property before assuming her dual AGM role in West Palm Beach.
Logan Wolverton has been promoted to general manager of the Residence Inn Ft. Lauderdale Plantation in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Previously, Wolverton was the assistant general manager at the Hyatt Place Nashville Downtown where she helped open the hotel in 2013. In 2013, she gained experience as a bench general manager where she would assume the role of general manager at an assigned hotel. She has operations and front desk experience at Courtyard, Fairfield Inn and Residence Inn by Marriott brands.
Palace Resorts - the company that sets the standard in five-star, all-inclusive resort accommodations- is pleased to announce the addition of three new Business Development Managers to the brand’s Field Sales Department. Gina Lavoice, Christina Kemp and Cindy Gongora will now manage the Eastern and Western markets, respectively. Following a record-breaking 2014, with a reported increase in travel demand, Palace Resorts is strengthening their sales department in an effort to continue this upward trend. Before joining the Palace Resorts team, Lavoice worked as a Front-Line Sales Executive at Wyndham Vacation Ownership for more than two years, where she was recognized as a key contributor for her outstanding sales accomplishments. Lavoice earned her dual Bachelor of Marketing and Bachelor of Wealth Management degrees from Coastal Carolina University’s Wall College of Business.
Palace Resorts - the company that sets the standard in five-star, all-inclusive resort accommodations- is pleased to announce the addition of three new Business Development Managers to the brand’s Field Sales Department. Gina Lavoice, Christina Kemp and Cindy Gongora will now manage the Eastern and Western markets, respectively. Following a record-breaking 2014, with a reported increase in travel demand, Palace Resorts is strengthening their sales department in an effort to continue this upward trend. Prior to her post at Palace Resorts, Kemp created a solid foundation in social media and digital communication at Weber Shandwick, developing and analyzing digital campaigns. Her prior experience also includes event planning and media relations.
Palace Resorts - the company that sets the standard in five-star, all-inclusive resort accommodations- is pleased to announce the addition of three new Business Development Managers to the brand’s Field Sales Department. Gina Lavoice, Christina Kemp and Cindy Gongora will now manage the Eastern and Western markets, respectively. Following a record-breaking 2014, with a reported increase in travel demand, Palace Resorts is strengthening their sales department in an effort to continue this upward trend. As Business Development Managers, Lavoice and Kemp will focus their efforts on relations with valued travel agents based in the Eastern territory, working closely to ensure Palace Resorts remains top-of-mind. As part of their responsibilities, the new executives will assist travel professionals and keep them abreast of marketing tools and product updates including the newly relaunched Palace PRO Specialist program. Lavoice will collaborate with travel agents from Southern New Jersey, Staten Island and Delaware while Kemp will work specifically with agents in the Greater D.C. area, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Gongora, an additional source for agents, will focus on the Western territory with the goal of expanding travel agent partnerships for the brand.
Most recently, Galati was the Director of Sales & Marketing at W Hollywood Hotel & Residences in Los Angeles. She also has strong W Brand experience holding posts in both W New York Union Square and W San Francisco. While shes had roles in other major metropolitan markets like London, Toronto and DC, shes happy to be back in South Florida where she previously led Sales efforts for Starwood in both Ft. Lauderdale and South Beach.
Gregory Polino has joined the W South Beach as Hotel Manager. He was most recently overseeing Zuma in Miami. He is the former Director of Food and Beverage for the Conrad New York, the Sofitel New York and the Sofitel Miami.
Edd Karlan has been appointed director of sales and marketing of Hilton West Palm Beach, a 400-room hotel currently under construction and expected to open spring 2016. The hotel, located within the epicenter of downtown Palm Beach, Florida and connected to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, will offer over 24,000 square feet of refined meeting space, two restaurants, fitness center and an expansive pool deck.
Carrie Duncan has been named the new General Manager at the Aloft Tallahassee Downtown. Duncan has spent over 11 years working in management in a wide variety of hotels in the Midwest and Florida, including brands such as Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn by Marriott, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott and Homewood Suites by Hilton. She joined McKibbon in 2012 and was most recently the general manager at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gainesville, Florida. Throughout her career, Duncan has received multiple awards including Homewood Suites Merit Award for Year Over Year Extended Stay Occupancy in 2011 and Apple REIT Master of Margins Award in 2011 and 2014. The award is given each year to hotels with the highest profit margin growth year of year. Duncan will assume the general manager position at Aloft Tallahassee Downtown in early April.
Julie will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of both existing and future Hard Rock branded and non-branded programs.
Amanda's position includes developing unique selling strategies, overseeing Tour Operator contracts, promotions, niche market sales and managing online travel agencies in U.S. and Canada.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Ltd. - a collection of luxury hotels and resorts - proudly announces the appointment of Scott Maurer as executive chef to Ocean Key Resort & Spa - the vibrant seaside classic renowned for its vivid décor, energetic vibe and worldly charm. In this role, Maurer will oversee all culinary operations for the hotel and its signature restaurants including Hot Tin Roof, Sunset Pier and LIQUID Pool - Bar - Lounge, which include breathtaking waterfront and poolside views and encompass tropical and Caribbean culinary delights.
The Mediterranean-inspired The Hotel Zamora, which debuted last summer as St. Pete Beach's first new hotel in more than 20 years, welcomes Ilija Manevski as Director of Food & Beverage. In his role, Manevski will oversee daily operations of the hotel's food and beverage division, including Castile Restaurant, named one of Tampa Bay Times' "Top 50 Restaurants" for 2015.
Coming to Palm Beach from Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler, where he was Executive Chef for the past five years, Chef Martindale has a more than 20 year illustrious career with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Having worked his way up through the ranks and gaining experience in Santa Barbara, Nevis, Vancouver and Dublin, the British Columbia-born chef headed to Whistler on task force for the 2010 Winter Olympics and it wasn't long before his talent earned him the Executive Chef role.
Accor North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC) region has announced the promotion of Balendra Nagesvaran to vice president of operations for Accor luxury and upscale brands in the region. The segment encompasses all Sofitel (luxury), Pullman (upscale), and MGallery (upscale) hotels throughout the region, excluding Cuba and the Dominican Republic. His role will also include the development of the luxury and upscale segment in the region, including Sofitel Mexico Reforma, set to open in 2017.
Atlanta-based Hotel Equities (www.hotelequities.com) announced the hiring of Sean McKeen as the General Manager of the new Residence Inn by Marriott Miami Beach-Surfside. The $52 million resort-style hotel recently topped out at 92nd Street and Collins Avenue in the Surfside area of Miami Beach. Hotel Equities who has an ownership position in the project is also managing the 175-room upscale property for their JV partner Hotel Development Partners (HDP) of Atlanta.
Alex Caceres recently joined the AC Hotel Miami Beach team as General Manager. The 150-room design-led hotel, scheduled to open April 13, is the AC Hotels flagship property and one of the first to open in the United States.
A combined 1,100-room multi-brand complex including Courtyard Orlando Lake Buena Vista, SpringHill Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista and Fairfield Inn & Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Marriott Village is excited to have McCracken and his 27 years of hospitality experience leading the properties designated Walt Disney World Good Neighbor® Hotels. Beginning as a bellman, McCracken’s career spans more than a quarter of a century. McCracken was first introduced to Marriott brands while working at Courtyard Richmond Airport in Sandston, VA and Courtyard Charlottesville – University Medical Center in Charlottesville, VA. After relocating to Orlando to be closer to his family, McCracken was named general manager of Residence Inn Orlando Convention Center. McCracken then became the assistant general manager for the Orlando Marriott Village, overseeing the food and beverage operations for the complex’s Lake Buena Vista hotels. Following two successful years at the Marriott Village, McCracken was promoted to general manager of Residence Inn International Drive. McCracken won numerous awards in his 14 years as a general manager including the Franchise GM of the Year and Opening GM of the Year for Courtyard. In his latest role of area director of modern essentials and extended stay, McCracken supported hotels in Georgia and North Florida and was responsible for annual revenue in excess of $80 million.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT) today announced plans to spin-off its vacation ownership business, Starwood Vacation Ownership ("SVO"), into a separate publicly traded company. Matthew Avril, who retired as President of Starwood's Hotel Group in 2012, will return to lead the new company as Chief Executive Officer following completion of the spin-off. Stephen Williams will continue to serve as Chief Operating Officer. Avril, 54, began his career with Starwood in 1989 through Vistana, Inc., the original predecessor to SVO. During his tenure with SVO he served as both Chief Financial Officer and subsequently as Co-President. He became President of Starwood's Hotel Group in 2008 with oversight responsibility for the company's global hotel operations for all nine of Starwood's brands and its Global Sales Organization. Throughout his tenure, Starwood's hotel business experienced significant market share gains and record high associate engagement. He also contributed to Starwood's success as a global enterprise, driving key initiatives and best practices across all geographies.