Montage Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce the appointment of Rick Riess as managing director of Montage Laguna Beach. In his new role, to be assumed on August 18, 2014, Riess will oversee all operations of the flagship resort.
Sharon Holtz, appointed to Terranea as the Spa Director, will lead the development of spa programming as well as continue to position The Spa at Terranea as a premier destination resort spa. With more than 20 years of experience in the spa and wellness industry, Sharon spent ten years with Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group creating distinctive holistic experiences within their spas. Working throughout the United States, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, Sharon learned a variety of culturally-inspired healing traditions and brings a global perspective to her role. She also spent time with Starwood Hotels & Resorts as Health Club Manager for the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco and as the Spa Manager at Elbow Beach in Bermuda.
Amy Funke, the newly appointed Associate Director of Marketing, will oversee the strategy for marketing communications and planning to enhance revenue generation at the resort. Prior to joining Terranea, Amy was a Senior Strategist at Allied Integrated Marketing in Los Angeles and served as the Account Director for the GRAMMYS, managing data analysis and strategy across the website, social media and digital marketing in support of the 2014 broadcast. She brings to Terranea more than seven years of experience, specializing in digital marketing and communications.
Bryan Haluza joins Terranea as the Director of Revenue Optimization. With over 25 years of hospitality experience, Bryan will be heading up the strategy and planning to maximize revenue generation at the resort. Bryan’s previous positions include Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in Elbow Beach, Bermuda, The Sagamore Resort in Lake George, New York and Mount Snow Resort Lodging in Mount Snow, Vermont.
Chef Cyrille Pannier joins Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills as Executive Chef after spending two decades with the company.
Lee, a native of Newport Beach and now Irvine resident, most recently held various senior-‐level positions within the Davidson Hotel Company, where he spent seven years working with brands such as Starwood, Hilton, Hyatt and Intercontinental. Prior to joining the team at Davidson, Lee played a key role in notable projects including the re-‐launch of the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the Governor’s Ball at The Academy Awards, and the production of numerous high-‐profile events and initiatives within the hospitality and entertainment industries in Los Angeles. Lee started his hospitality career as the Director of Food & Beverage at the Sofitel in Beverly Hills and at the Bel Age Hotel on the famed Sunset Strip. Lee is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Master’s Degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Travel Administration.
Hawkins-Vogel is currently employed by the Hilton Del Mar's management company, Sage Hospitality, one of the top hotel investment and management companies in the United States, based in Denver, Colorado. She will be relocating from across the country from Fort Lauderdale, Florida where she's led as General Manager of the il Lugano hotel. In her new location in Del Mar, Hawkins-Vogel will continue to work with Sage and the Hilton brand to deliver the best guest experience and drive positive results and returns for the hotel.
Benchmark Hospitality International, a U.S.-based hospitality management company, has named Jerome Strack general manager for the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, the historic hotel located near San Diego. The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe is part of Benchmark Hospitality’s Personal Luxury Resorts & Hotels brand collection. Greg Champion, executive vice president & COO, made the announcement. Jerome Strack was previously regional director of food & beverage, North America, and regional director of operations, North America, for Warwick International Hotels. In this position he oversaw six properties in North America and the Caribbean. Prior to this appointment he served as area general manager for Horizon Hospitality of Palisade, Colorado, where he transitioned the company’s boutique hotel to four star status and supervised two additional limited service hotels. Mr. Strack was vice president and general manager for the Saguaro Ranch Development Corporation of Tucson, Arizona. He previously held the title of general manager for hotels in Burbank and Los Angeles, and began his US hospitality career in the Front Office. Prior to this he held positions of increasing responsibility for hotels throughout Europe. A native of The Netherlands, Jerome Strack is a graduate of the Hotel School Wageningen, Netherlands, where he majored in hospitality administration. He subsequently furthered his education at Cornell University. Passionate about horses, Mr. Strack is ideally suited for the equestrian charm of the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe. He and his wife have relocated to Rancho Santa Fe.
This is a return for Orlich to the heart of Beverly Hills where he was on the pre-opening team as the hotel manager in 2007. In 2010, Orlich was named general manager for Montage Laguna Beach where he has led the team to noteworthy success. A twelve year associate of Montage Hotels & Resorts, Orlich joined Montage Laguna Beach on the pre-opening team in 2002 as food and beverage director, where he was instrumental in positioning the property as an industry leader. Under his direction as general manager, the hotel generated many accolades including Five Star ratings from Forbes Travel Guide for the hotel, Spa Montage and Studio restaurant as well as the AAA Five Diamond Award for the resort. Orlich's leadership resulted in the resort being recognized locally as the "Top Workplace in Orange County" by the Orange County Register. Globally, Montage Laguna Beach was honored by Condé Nast Traveler with the "World Saver Award" for sustainable practices.
Before joining the Ocean Pearl Spa team, Migneault advanced her career by accepting increased responsibilities at Spa Aquazul located at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Migneault concluded her time there as the Interim Spa Director. Migneault prides herself on creating and excelling at personalized guest experiences and services. As the new Spa Director, Migneault will lead Ocean Pearl Spa’s staff in enhancing the guest experience—from the minute they are greeted at the front desk to the time they leave their treatment.
With his most recent position as general manager of The Lodge at Tiburon, Nabben takes on his new role with more than 17 years of hospitality experience.Prior to joining the MetWest Terra Hospitality team, the Netherlands native came to the United States after his work with Marriot International led him to additional Marriot properties in Chicago, Munich and Boston. Furthermore, Nabben was the director of operations at Affinia Chicago Hotel, general manager of Acqua Hotel and The Laurel Inn Hotel of Joie de Vivre Hospitality in San Francisco. Prior to his new position, Nabben joined MetWest Terra Hospitality in 2012 as general manager of The Lodge at Tiburon. In his role, Nabben oversaw a multi-million dollar renovation and repositioning of both the hotel and restaurant.
Loews Coronado Bay Resort has announced that Brian Johnson has been appointed managing director. Johnson brings more than 31 years of hospitality-industry experience to his role as managing director having most recently served as managing director of Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, a 398-room property nestled in Arizona’s Catalina Foothills.
Megargle joins W San Francisco after successfully directing the Food and Beverage Operations at the AAA Four Diamond Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas. Prior, he was Pre-Opening Director and Director of Outlets at W New York - Downtown, where he executed the hotel's opening, hired and trained talent, and was responsible for maintaining quality assurance of all food and beverage operations, among several other initiatives. Before moving to New York, Megargle opened and operated several renowned independent and corporate establishments. His journey with Starwood began in Detroit, Mich. where he embarked on a successful venture as operating partner for 24grille, located in the Westin Book Cadillac. Megargle's dedication and genuine passion for the Starwood brand is displayed through his loyal career path and successes in creating and executing progressive programs at each of his properties.
With nearly fifteen years of experience in the hospitality industry, Smith was most recently the conference services manager at the Sheraton Sonoma County. Smith has an extensive background in food and beverage, specifically in wine, having served as a wine consultant for The Traveling Vineyard in Georgia in 2009. This position was preceded by her role as food and beverage manager and assistant banquet manager at The Grand Hyatt, Buckhead.
As the new director of finance at The Westin Verasa Napa, Mezeiova brings a wealth of experience in property acquisition, business development and the implementation of management tools and training programs within the hospitality and real estate sectors. After receiving a Master of Business Administration degree from Comenius University in August 2002, Mezeiova began her career as a finance manager at Cresco Group, overseeing the firm’s annual portfolio projections and development. In 2004 she shifted to working within the resort sector—first with Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, followed by a two year tenure at Starwood Capital Group to supervise the asset management and resort development in the Eastern Sierra. This led to her appointment as controller at The Westin Monache Resort, also located in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Prior to joining The Westin Verasa Napa Team, Mezeiova managed all finance and accounting functions as the corporate controller at Azul Hospitality Group in San Diego, Calif.
A veteran of the hospitality industry with nearly 25 years' experience, Rutland previously served as director of sales & marketing at the coveted Stein Erikson Lodge Deer Valley -- Utah's only Forbes 5-Star/AAA 5-Diamond property -- in addition to management of three additional portfolio properties, The Chateaux Deer Valley, The Chateaux Residences and Stein Eriksen Residences. During his tenure with SELMC, Rutland was credited with a series of major accomplishments including generating $1.2 million in group revenue for the new Stein Eriksen Ballroom, boosting mobile and integrated web booking by $1.2 million and annually outpacing sales projections by up to 124 percent. Rutland also held executive positions at a number of prestigious California-based properties including The Beverly Hilton and Raffles L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills and dedicated 19 years to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, holding multiple posts throughout the U.S.
Spittler began her career in the hospitality industry in 2007 as sales and marketing coordinator for the Four Seasons Worldwide Sales Office in New York, NY. In 2011, Jenna moved to California to join the team at La Costa Resort and Spa as travel industry sales manager. Most recently, Spittler served as director of leisure sales for both Omni La Costa Resort and Spa and Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa. Spittler is an honors graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in global and international studies. She is an active member of the Junior League of San Diego and is passionate about the Nebraska Cornhuskers, beach destinations and country music.
With an extraordinary background working at five-star hotels, fine dining restaurants and high-volume catering venues at luxe destinations worldwide, Chef Belliard brings a breadth of experience in international cuisine and instinctive passion to his new role. Chef Belliard holds a Master’s Certificate in Hospitality Management from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, as well as bachelor’s degree in culinary studies from Pullman Cabourg. He began his career gaining experience at an array of Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, the Alps, and the Caribbean, and has worked closely with top chefs including Michel Rostang, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Nicolas Le Bec, as well as Eric Frechon, a legendary three-star Michelin chef based in Paris whom he worked alongside at Epicure at Le Bristol Paris. His first senior management role took him to Beirut where he served as Executive Chef at Le 5 Restaurant, a three Michelin-starred venture led by French celebrity chef Mathieu Pacaud.
Mr. Bowles joins La Quinta after holding senior development positions at Hotel Managers Group, LLC and Hilton Hotels Corporation (now Hilton Worldwide, Inc.). At Hilton, he was Director of Franchise Development responsible for the development of all Hilton brands in the Western Region. Bowles is based outside Los Angeles and reports to David Wilner, La Quinta's Senior Vice President of Development. Mr. Bowles began his duties at La Quinta last month, and can be reached at [email protected] or at (310) 529-3040. He is a graduate of San Diego State University and is active in the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) as well as other professional organizations in the hotel industry.
The Residences at W Hollywood has recruited a key Starwood executive to take over Residential services. Juan Molina, who has been named Director of Residential Services, comes from the award-winning St. Regis, Mexico City. Molina's role is to institute elevated service offerings and ensure flawless delivery of 24-hour residential services and amenities offered to owners of the 143 homes in the private residential tower that adjoins the W Hollywood hotel tower at Hollywood and Vine.Molina brings extensive experience to his new role with The Residences at W Hollywood, having joined the Mexico City St. Regis in 2011 to oversee all residential services, including expert coordination with all hotel departments, such as Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Catering, Transportation, Engineering and Security.