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Appointment

Rajesh Khubchandani has been appointed as Hotel Manager at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles

Rajesh Khubchandani has been appointed hotel manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles at L.A. Live, which will be opening on February 15, 2010 as the first luxury hotel in Downtown L.A., adjacent to the Staples Center, Nokia Theatre and the Grammy Museum. Khubchandani has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry working in several countries, including Thailand, the Maldives Islands, India, Sri Lanka, Canada and the United States. He was most recently the director of operations for The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common. Prior to that, he was the director of operations for the Toronto Airport Marriott, where he aided in the renovation and re-positioning of that hotel. While as the Toronto Airport Marriott, he was awarded the North American Lodging Director of Event Management award in 2004. In 2000, Khubchandani worked at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto as the director of food and beverage outlets. Prior to working in Toronto, Khubchandani served as the resort manager of the Taj Coral Reef resort in the Maldives. During his time abroad, he also helped to open an Oberoi and a Taj Hotel in Asia.

The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Bob Bennett has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer at Luxury Link

Bob joined Luxury Link in 2008 as Chief Product Officer overseeing product management and development, technology, marketing and customer support. He has been instrumental in making numerous site upgrades over the past year, including streamlining the purchase process, perfecting merchandising practices and enhancing Luxury Link’s already outstanding customer service. These changes and Bob’s leadership over improvements in the Company’s marketing efforts have led to a record number of buyers and room nights booked for hotel clients this year, with two months left to go. In his expanded leadership role, Bob will be focusing on increasing consumer awareness of Luxury Link among online travel buyers while continuing to enhance the site to better serve Luxury Link customers and add even more marketing value for luxury hoteliers and advertisers.

Luxury Link
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Bruce Orinstein has been appointed as Director of Sales & Marketing at Hilton Garden Inn

Orinstein brings over 30 years of hotel sales and marketing experience to his new position. Prior to joining the Hilton Garden Inn Monterey, Orinstein was most recently Senior Sales Manager of the Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort & Conference Center. Orinstein is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), a Certified Government Meeting Professional (CGMP), and the recipient of the Sam Gilmer Supplier of the Year Award (a national honor) from the Society of Government Meeting Planners (SGMP). He also is a three-time recipient of the President’s Award from the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of SGMP. Orinstein earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing from California State Polytechnic University.

Hilton Garden Inn
Monterey, California, United States
Appointment

George Kalogridis has been appointed as President at the Disneyland Resort

George Kalogridis, a 38-year Disney veteran and former Disneyland executive, has been named president of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Kalogridis most recently served as chief operating officer for Disneyland Resort Paris, where he was responsible for leading the operations team and overseeing the highly successful 15th anniversary celebration of the resort. Kalogridis, 55, will report to Al Weiss, president of Worldwide Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. He replaces Ed Grier, who is retiring from the company. From 2000 to 2002, Kalogridis served as senior vice president of Resort Operations for the Disneyland Resort, where he played a significant role in the first expansion of the resort - the opening of Disney's California Adventure park and Downtown Disney. In addition, he was responsible for the daily operations of both theme parks and three hotels, as well as Downtown Disney.

the Disneyland Resort
Anaheim, California, United States
Appointment

Ana Diaz-Coreas has been appointed as Director of Sales - West Coast at Barceló Hotels & Resorts

In her new Los Angeles-based position, Diaz-Coreas will be responsible for the sales and promotion of Barceló resorts located on the West Coast of Mexico, with particular emphasis on driving sales to the all-new Barceló Los Cabos Palace Deluxe, debuting later this year. With more than two decades of sales experience in the tourism and hospitality industry, Diaz-Coreas previously served as director of sales for North America at both Barceló Karmina Palace Deluxe in Manzanillo, Mexico, and Barceló La Jolla de Mismaloya in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She also brings with her prior sales experience with Mayan Group Resorts and Blue Bay Resorts, among other hotel and travel-related companies. In her new role, Diaz-Coreas will assist with the December 2009 grand opening of the newest Barceló property, Barceló Los Cabos Palace Deluxe, a 626-all-suite, all-inclusive resort offering 34 unique swim-up suites, the first and only swim-up suites in the destination. She will also work to increase awareness of the hotelier’s "B Partner" program.

Barcelo
Los Angeles, California, United States
Appointment

Fadhel Tahar has been promoted to Director of Operations at Sofitel San Francisco Bay

has served in management positions with the Sofitel San Francisco Bay for nine years. In addition to his most recent executive committee role as Director of Food & Beverage for the last three years, he served as Director of Food & Beverage Outlets from 1994 -2000. As Director of Operations, Tahar is responsible for Housekeeping, Guest Services and Food & Beverage departments of the hotel. A veteran in the hospitality industry, with a focus on food and beverage operations and management for the last 20 years, Tahar has also held positions with Guckenheimer, Redwood Shores, CA; Clarion Hotel , Millbrae, CA; Hyatt Hotel, Palo Alto, CA as The Meridian Hotel, Nice, France. Originally from Tunsia, Tahar received a B.S. in International Business from San Francisco State University as well as an M.B.A in International Marketing.

Sofitel San Francisco Bay
San Francisco, California, United States
Appointment

Thane Kuhlman has been appointed as Director of Food & Beverage at InterContinental San Francisco

Kuhlman was first introduced to the InterContinental Hotels Group during two externships at the InterContinental Miami where he trained in the food and beverage division and later the rooms division receiving first hand exposure to the inner workings of a hotel. While earning his degree in Hotel Administration and International Relations at Cornell University, Kuhlman spent five months at the InterContinental Paris focusing on overall hotel operations while working with the rooms division and marketing managers on property. Upon completion of his studies in 1998, Kuhlman segued into several business development and marketing roles while living in Madrid, London and Sao Paulo and working for companies such as American Express Corporate Travel, Thomson Financial and Matlock Bank Limited. By July 2005, he returned to his roots with the InterContinental Hotels Group, accepting the role of Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at the Presidente InterContinental Mexico City which features over 19,000 square feet of meeting space, 661 guestrooms, six restaurants and one bar. Following his promotion to Food and Beverage Manager, Kuhlman filled the same role at the Presidente InterContinental Cancun Resort overseeing the food and beverage operations for 299 rooms, three restaurants and two bars. Before joining the InterContinental San Francisco team, Kuhlman returned to the Presidente InterContinental Mexico City as Executive Assistant Manager in charge of food and beverage.

InterContinental San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
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Appointment

Ed Skapinok has been promoted to Vice President of National Sales at Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants

In his new role, Skapinok will oversee Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants’ efforts to develop the company’s largest sales segment and will oversee the Key Account Management Program (KAMP) which focuses on direct sales for both regional and national accounts. He will also direct Larkspur Premier, a program geared towards smaller companies and other organizations. Prior to his work at Larkspur, Skapinok served as the Director of Corporate Sales for Bass Hotels & Resorts, now the InterContinental Hotels Group. In addition to his tenure in the hospitality industry, Skapinok also served on the National Business Travel Association Hotel Committee from 1996-1998 where he co-authored the NBTA Standard Hotel Modular RFP form. In 1998 he sat on the Editorial Board of Business Travel News, the leading publication in the corporate travel segment. Skapinok holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from California State University, Long Beach and an MBA degree from the University of California at Davis.

Larkspur Hotels & Restaurants
Larkspur, California, United States
Appointment

Ronald Taylor has been named Regional Director of Sales at Windsor Hospitality Group

Windsor Hospitality Group and its parent company, Windsor Capital Group, welcome Ronald Taylor as their new Regional Director of Sales, Eastern United States. This month, he assumed WHG’s corporate sales responsibilities for the company’s properties in Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. The 10 properties in Taylor’s region include the brands Embassy Suites, Courtyard by Marriott, Renaissance by Marriott and Residence Inn. He is based in Atlanta, where Taylor and his family have lived for several years. Taylor first started in hospitality sales in Lowell, Massachusetts, 20 years ago. In that time, his regional sales responsibilities have run south to Miami, north to Baltimore and west to Portland, Oregon. Over the last 10 years, he has held various regional and vice president positions with multi-property responsibilities in companies such as Wyndham, HEI Hospitality, Coral Hospitality and Lodgian. Prior to that, I was with Interstate Hotels out of Pittsburg for 10 years.

Windsor Hospitality Group
Santa Monica, California, United States
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Appointment

Nicholas Emery has been appointed as General Manager at Raffles L’Ermitage

Nicholas joins Raffles from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts where he was most recently pre-opening General Manager of Fairmont Beijing. He brings to Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills 24 years of experience, having held senior management positions in hotels located in some of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities including London and Chicago where he spent 12 years. Nicholas was also formerly General Manager of Fairmont Royal Pavilion and Fairmont Glitter Bay in Barbados. Having enjoyed working in such diverse destinations as Barbados and China, Nicholas says, “embracing the culture and community at all levels is a particular passion” and he expects to continue this heartfelt personal engagement with the residents of Beverly Hills in his new role at Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills where he looks forward to becoming an active participant of the community.

Raffles
Beverly Hills, California, United States
Appointment

Kevin Thorstenson has been named VP of Hotel Operations at Thunder Valley Casino

Thorstenson's 22 years of experience in the hospitality industry and hotel management includes time at resorts in Las Vegas and San Diego. Thorstenson was executive vice president and general manager of Hotel Park City Golf Resort and Spa from 2002 to 2008, which Conde Nast Traveler rated the 11th Best Place to Stay and Ski in North America in 2007 and is a member of Leading Hotels of the World, which identifies hotels where exceptional services is the norm rather than the exception. Thorstenson was responsible for the resort's opening and created its AAA Five Diamond Standard training program. He also convinced Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to call Hotel Park City home and oversaw the design and construction of the Spa at Hotel Park City. Thorstenson has also held executive positions at the Handlery Hotel and Resort in San Diego, the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach, Calif. and Key Largo Casino in Las Vegas. He is also fluent in Japanese and spent two years living abroad in Japan. The 400-room Thunder Valley Casino Hotel id Scheduled to Open Summer of 2010.

Thunder Valley Casino
Sacramento, California, United States
Appointment

Romuald Feger has been appointed as Executive Chef at The St. Regis San Francisco

Romuald Feger most recently served as executive chef at The St. Regis Resort Bora Bora, where he worked under the tutelage of renowned Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten to open the hotel’s signature restaurant, Lagoon, in 2006, when he was chef de cuisine. Feger began his career as an apprentice of Chef Michel Husser, owner of the Michelin two-starred Hôtel-Restaurant Le Cerf in Marlenheim, in the Alsace region of France. Feger has a vast knowledge of Western cuisines – most notably French, Italian and Spanish – but is also well-versed in a great variety of ethnic culinary styles such as Japanese, Thai and Indian. Other assignments of Feger’s have included positions at Hôtel du Palais de la Méditerranée in Nice, France; Le Château du Domaine St. Martin in Vence, France, and Restaurant Le Cirque in New York. Feger holds an Advanced Culinary Diploma and Food and Beverage Diploma from the Apprentice Hotel School of Strasbourg in Alsace, France.

The St. Regis San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
Appointment

Patrick Fernane has been promoted to Director of Inventory Management and Owner Services at Grand Pacific Resort Services

Grand Pacific Resort Services, a privately owned vacation ownership management company located in Carlsbad, CA has promoted Patrick Fernane to the newly created position of Director of Inventory Management and Owner Services. Patrick Fernane has been with Grand Pacific Resort Services for 18 years. Over the years, he has managed operations at many Grand Pacific properties and has held the position of Resort Manager at Coronado Beach Resort, Red Wolf Lakeside Lodge (Tahoe) and Carlsbad Seapointe Resort. He has moved up through the ranks of the well-known Southern California-based company, initially working at the Front Desk at Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort. In 2004, Patrick won the American Resort Development Association (ARDA) “ARDY” award for outstanding achievement as top Resort Manager of the Year.

GBG & Associates
Carlsbad, California, United States
Appointment

Jay Heidenreich has been appointed as Director of Sales & Marketing at The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay

Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Heidenreich was a Sales Manager on the opening team of the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in New Mexico. In 2002 he joined Princeville Resort, a luxury Kauai hotel on Hanalei Beach as Senior Sales Manager. After two years with the property, Heidenreich was promoted to Director of Sales & Marketing, where he served for three years. During his tenure at Princeville Resort, he was part of 2004’s Sales Team of the Year and the top producer for the Western United States in 2005 within Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Originally from San Mateo, Calif., Heidenreich earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. During his studies, he held various operational positions in housekeeping and stewarding, as well as assistant restaurant manager and front desk agent, for several San Francisco Bay area properties.

Ritz-Carlton
California, United States
Appointment

Karl Kruger has been named Vice-President, Managing Director at Riviera Resort & Spa

According to Jake Donoghue, chief executive officer of Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Kruger will oversee day to day activities at the newly revived Palm Springs hot spot, which re-opened late last year following an extensive two-year modernization project. With more than thirty years of high level management experience in the hospitality industry, Kruger was most recently senior vice president of operations for Seattle-based Cruise West, a boutique exploration cruise line with nine ships, each accommodating from 73 to 120 guests. He has a proven track record with the Noble House team, and was previously managing director for the company, overseeing The Edgewater and Hotel Deca in Seattle.

Noble House
Palm Springs, California, United States
Appointment

Pat McTigue has been appointed as Director of Sales and Marketing at the Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

As Director of Sales and Marketing, Pat McTigue – Jones’ clean up hitter and right-hand man – will lead the sales team. A longtime San Diego resident with more than eight years hospitality experience, McTigue is responsible for training the sales staff to exceed the property’s goals in customer satisfaction and leading the hotel’s marketing efforts. Prior to joining Hotel Indigo, McTigue held positions in sales and marketing at three IHG/Staybridge Suites properties in San Diego. Currently under construction, Hotel Indigo San Diego is located at 509 9th Ave., just one block from PETCO Park, home of the San Diego Padres, and less than a mile from the San Diego Convention Center,

the Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
San Diego, California, United States
Appointment

Chris Jones has been named General Manager at the Hotel Indigo San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

A seasoned player in the hospitality industry, Jones’ top priority will be ensuring guests and employees feel welcome and comfortable. Jones, who joined the IHG family in 2004, served as general manager at three Staybridge Suites properties in San Diego and most recently was the general manager of Holiday Inn Santa Monica Beach. Jones began his 11 year hospitality career in Colorado, where he held titles including general manager and director of sales and marketing with hotel companies such as Mill Creek Management and Durango Mountain Resort. A former resident of San Diego, Jones is delighted to be back in San Diego and at the helm of Hotel Indigo’s new flagship property. “As the neighborhood hotel, we’re excited about joining the community and really showcasing the neighborhood and region to our guests,“ said Jones. “One way we plan to do this is through the artwork in the hotel. We are working with local artists to infuse visual elements reflective of the region into the overall design, including a beautiful exterior wall mural of indigo glass panels to mimic the waves and ripples of the Pacific Ocean.”

IHG
San Diego, California, United States
Appointment

Simeon Miranda has been named General Manager at Marriott Anaheim Suites

Prior to joining the Marriott Anaheim Suites, Miranda was resident manager of the 1,241-room Hilton Waikoloa Village, a 62-acre world-class destination resort. He has served as general manager of five different properties, including the 400-room Embassy Suites Resort, Lake Tahoe, Calif., and the 224-room Embassy Suites/Crown Sterling Suites, Anaheim, Calif. Miranda received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Seattle University. He is a former member of the board of directors for the Kohala Coast Resort Association and is a member of the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association. Located at 12015 Harbor Blvd, in Garden Grove, Calif., the Marriott Anaheim Suites is centrally positioned in Orange County, just one mile from Disneyland(R), the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim Stadium, Crystal Cathedral and other world-famous tourist attractions.

Dow
Anaheim, California, United States
Appointment

Awilda Rivera has been appointed as at Costa d’Este Beach Resort

A hospitality veteran with extensive operational and human resources experience, Awilda Rivera was previously the general manager of Villas Caletón, Cap Cana of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. She held the same position for the Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel Island off the southwest coast of Florida. Ms. Rivera has also served in the role of vice president of human resources & training development for Coral Hospitality of Naples, Florida. She started with the company as corporate manager. Earlier in her career, Ms. Rivera gained important food and beverage experience as owner and operator of Amador's Italian Restaurant, an award- winning, four-star fine dining experience located in Naples, Florida. Awilda Rivera attended Hodges University of Naples, Florida. She has relocated to Vero Beach.

Pyramid Global Hospitality
Vero Beach, California, United States
Appointment

Matthew La Vine has been named General Manager at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara

Most recently, La Vine was General Manager at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Naples, Florida, where he led a multi-million dollar renovation of this luxury 125-suite resort while remaining open for business. Previously, he was Hotel Manager at the 200-suite Bel Age Hotel in West Hollywood, California for two years; and prior to that, Rooms Manager at the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles for three years. La Vine also has extensive management experience with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts including the Four Seasons Los Angeles, Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Four Seasons Aviara Resort Carlsbad, Four Seasons Toronto and Four Seasons Resort & Club Dallas. La Vine has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hotel Management from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where he has returned as a guest lecturer. Born in Los Angeles, La Vine remarked, “I’m pleased return to Southern California with my wife and reside in Summerland now. It’s exciting to manage Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort and work with a fantastic team of individuals all focused on providing exceptional guest service.”

Hilton
Santa Barbara, California, United States