Wingerberg has been with the Hyatt family since 2006 and brings several years of hospitality experience to Andaz San Diego. He began his career with the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa in Kola, Hawaii, and most recently held the position of assistant director of sales with Park Hyatt Aviara Resort and Spa in Carlsbad.
Prior to joining W Los Angeles - Westwood, Eberwein was W San Francisco's Director of Operations. While there, Eberwein gained extensive experience managing a Starwood hotel property. Mark was instrumental in leading Green Initiatives at the recently certified Silver LEED-EB property.
The Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection hotel, is pleased to announce Mark Sneen as the new Hotel Manager of the iconic San Francisco property. Mark comes to the Palace from the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa where brought his enthusiastic and visionary leadership to the entire team in his role as Resort Manager. Prior to his role as resort manager at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, Sneen was the Director of Restaurants and Bars where he was a driving force of the team that spearheaded the award-wining Forbes Five Star, AAA Five Diamond Kai Restaurant culture and concept. Sneen received his Master’s in Business Administration (Executive Platform) from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Recently praised on a top 25 list by The Wall Street Journal, the school ranks high at number 13 among the best executive MBA programs in the world. Curriculum and field of study included a public policy class conducted in Washington D.C. and an international session in Austria and the Czech Republic.
Cindy most recently worked as a Regional Sales Manager for La Quinta Hotels in California and Nevada, where she identified and maintained accounts, achieved revenue targets in each assigned market segment by developing and implementing strategic sales and marketing efforts. Prior to La Quinta, she was the Regional Director of Sales for Extended Stay Hotels in San Diego, Riverside, Orange County and San Bernardino. Cindy has also worked with Marriott brands such as Residence Inn and Courtyard.
Prior to joining Commune Hotels, Lemmond oversaw the flagship The Standard, High Line. He is the former General Manager of The Standard, Downtown LA and The Standard Spa, Miami Beach - each was launched by Lemmond and his team. Lemmond's management of luxury boutique properties extends to Chamberlain, West Hollywood, Viceroy Santa Monica and Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica, which he also established. The Pennsylvania native began his hospitality career at the five-star, five-diamond The Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia.
With deployment of its Mobile Key front-desk bypass solution well underway at hotels around the world, and its OKIDOKEYS solution now released into the residential market, OpenWays is hiring more talent. To apprise properties, managers, owners and brands on the mobile-strategy enhancement capabilities of Mobile Key — a technology that enables travelers to use any of the 6.8 billion cell phones or smartphones worldwide as a mobile room key — OpenWays Founder and CEO Pascal Metivier has hired 30-year hospitality industry veteran and hotel technology advocate Peter Klebanoff as Senior Vice President, Business Development. Prior to joining OpenWays, Klebanoff spent 16 years with LodgeNet Interactive Corp. (SONIFI Solutions) where he played numerous executive roles and developed a customer-satisfaction index program to help measure and improve hotel satisfaction, including ways to speed check-out. On the hotel operations side, Klebanoff played front office and housekeeping roles for Holiday Inn, Ramada, Sheraton and Marriott (where he went through their management training program as well). He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in hotel management from the University of Massachusetts and received executive education at the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Business. He has numerous professional affiliations, and served on the American Hotel & Lodging Association E-Business Committee and Tradeshow Task Force. Klebanoff is a published author, contributing several articles for hotel and security trade publications.
Lake Arrowhead Resort & Spa, managed by Crescent Hotels & Resorts and part of Marriott International's exclusive Autograph Collection of upscale independent hotels, has announced the appointment of Norm Santos as General Manager. With more than two decades of experience in hotels and hospitality management, much of it at Marriott International properties, Santos oversees all operations at the historic lakeside resort located high above Los Angeles in the San Bernardino National Forest. Santos has spent his entire hospitality career in California, arriving at Lake Arrowhead after a turn as general manager at The Belamar Hotel. Previously he held a range of upper-level management positions including director of operations for SMG Long Beach Convention Center and the Aquarium of the Pacific, general manager and corporate director of operations for At Your Service Hospitality based in Anaheim Hills, California, director of rooms operations at Manhattan Beach Marriott Hotel, and general manager at Fullerton Marriott Hotel.
David Lewin, General Manager of Hyatt Regency San Francisco, has announced the appointment of Stacey Edinger as the hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing. Edinger replaces Judy Cronkhite who has transferred to the Grand Hyatt San Francisco.
Fugit comes to the Sheraton after holding senior posts with other Starwood properties, including The Westin Orlando Universal Boulevard, where he served as director of Rooms, and The Westin Pasadena, where he served as director of Operations after being promoted from front office manager.
Kerstiens brings 12 years of group sales, marketing strategy, event management, top-line revenue growth, revenue management, customer service and owner relations experience to the position. Kerstiens began his career in hospitality when he moved to the four-diamond Lodge at Vail ski resort in 2001 and accepted a position as a sales and marketing coordinator. The next summer, Kerstiens joined the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort family as a sales manager. He quickly moved up the ranks over the course of the next 12 years, becoming senior sales manager, associate director of sales, director of group sales and, ultimately, director of sales and marketing. A graduate of California State University, Chico, the Northern California native returns to his home state to lead sales and marketing initiatives for the Napa hotel after an award-winning career with Vail Marriott Mountain Resort. During his tenure as director of sales and marketing in Vail, Kerstiens and his team led the resort to record occupancy and top-line revenue levels. In recognition of their achievements, Kerstiens and his team received awards for 2010 Marriott Global Property Sales Team of the Year (franchise hotels), 2011 Marriott Global Event Management Team of Year (franchise hotels) and 2011 and 2012 No. 1 ESS Overall Satisfaction.
Herman will oversee all aspects of marketing and communications for the renowned desert resort featuring 796 elegantly-appointed casitas and suites, Spa La Quinta®, three restaurants, 23 tennis courts and famed PGA WEST which includes five award-winning public golf courses. A veteran of the leisure hospitality industry with over 15 years of experience, Herman previously served as regional director of marketing for KSL Resorts in La Quinta, Calif., in a newly-created position which included multi-property oversight, repositioning of new properties and strategic development of the hotel management company's desert portfolio. During his tenure with KSL Resorts, Herman was credited with a series of major accomplishments including the successful launch and rebrand of Montelucia Resort & Spa and boosting market share for the Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa product. Raised in New Jersey and a current resident of La Quinta, Calif., Herman received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the University of Maryland, is a member of HSMAI and has been named a "Top 40 under 40" by Palm Springs Life magazine.
Veteran hotelier Jonathan Litvack, named general manager of the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel in 2013, will oversee a $45 million rejuvenation of the 485-room property to include all guestrooms, meeting space and the lobby area, as well as the restaurant and lounge. He successfully converted the hotel, which is located in the heart of the city's financial, sports and entertainment epicenter, from a franchise operation to the world's newest Starwood-managed hotel on June 1. The rejuvenation, which includes the hotel as well as the adjacent office tower and retail shopping center anchored by a flagship Macy's, will be renamed the Bloc. Upon completion, it will be the largest single asset mixed-use property in the City of Los Angeles.
Alyssa Courtney has been appointed senior sales executive at the Anaheim Marriott, it was announced by Dan Shaughnessy, director of sales and marketing. Mrs. Courtney will be covering the Mid-Atlantic region including Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia and will be focused on securing corporate and association business. She has been with the Anaheim Marriott for the past two years, where she cultivated the hotel’s presence in the California State Association and Affinity markets. Alyssa brings over 10 years of expertise in the hotel industry to her new position. Prior to joining the Anaheim Marriott, she was a sales executive for Marriott’s Southwest Region representing the Marriott, JW, Renaissance Hotels & Resorts, Residence Inn, Courtyard, Fairfield, Townplace and Springhill Suites brands in the Los Angeles market. In her spare time, Alyssa enjoys staying active while enjoying Southern California's sunshine, beaches, and trails.
Benchmark Hospitality International, a leading U.S.-based hospitality management company, has named Jeff Livingston director of sales & marketing for Chaminade Resort & Spa, a Benchmark Resort® located in Santa Cruz, California, featuring majestic views of Monterey Bay. Kevin Herbst, Benchmark's general manager at the resort, made the announcement.Jeff Livingston was previously director of sales for L'Auberge Del Mar, located in Del Mar, California. Mr. Livingston experienced significant success during his tenure at the resort and its sister property, Estancia La Jolla, receiving several promotions and serving at times as associate director of sales as well as national sales manager. Earlier in his career he held sales positions of increasing responsibility for major-brand hotels and resorts.
Monica Dropkin joins the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco as Area Reservations Manager with laudable credentials. An experienced and AAA Five Diamond trained hospitality professional, she has experience in hotel revenue, reservations, group management, guest relations, and operations. Prior to her new role, Dropkin was the Revenue and Reservations Manager at the Montauk Yacht Club hotel in Montauk, New York where she implemented innovative new policies and procedures resulting in improved hotel operations. Dropkin’s more than five years of experience in hotel management roles has prepared her for a new chapter with InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco.
Seasoned hospitality professional Siamak Nassirpour brings more than ten years of experience to the InterContinental San Francisco as Director of Rooms. Prior to his recent appointment, he spent more than two years as the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, where he improved rooms profit margin by 4% from 2011 to 2012. Prior to his work at the Four Seasons, Nassirpour held positions as Director of Rooms and Revenue Management at the Marriott Downtown Los Angeles and Director of Rooms at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza.
Kelly S. Q. He joins the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco as a rising star of the hospitality industry. In 2011, she began work at the InterContinental Hotel Shanghai, where she was intimately involved in leading the overall strategic sales and marketing efforts to achieve and exceed hotel revenue goals. In 2012, she returned to the United States accepting the position of Corporate Sales Manager at the Crowne Plaza in Palo Alto, CA. Having honed her managerial skills in sales and marketing, she flourished in her new role and exceeded revenue goals by soliciting, developing and closing local corporate group business. In her role of Sales Manager, she brings a global perspective to the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco team with her knowledge of English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Nick Hamati continues his work at the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco as Revenue Manager. Hamati joined the InterContinental team in 2012 as Revenue Analyst after graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of San Francisco. His undergraduate experiences included prestigious internships with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and experiences living abroad in France and Hungary. With his French and Arabic language skills, Hamati brings a global perspective to the new role in addition to his financial and hospitality forte.
The SpringHill Suites San Diego Oceanside/Downtown is gearing up for its February 2014 opening and is excited to announce the addition of Karla Sweeney as Director of Sales and Marketing. The SpringHill Suites will open in Oceanside, California as a contemporary modern hotel with unique amenities including a roof top pool, scenic views of the Pacific Ocean and Hello Betty, a unique fish house concept by restaurateur, Peter Karpinski.
Martin has more than 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry, most recently as general manager of the Aloft Tucson University. His previous positions include stints at Hilton El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa and Hard Rock Hotel San Diego.