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Association News
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People & Places Presented by Association News (July 2016)
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Los Angeles, CA – July 2016 / Newsmaker Alert / Each monthly issue of Association News contains information from state and regional associations, convention bureaus, hotels and hotel chains and other meeting facilities.
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People & Places Presented by Association News (July 2016)CVBs/DMOs

David Whitaker has been named president and CEO of Choose Chicago. He most recently served as chief marketing officer at Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States. He also formerly served as president and CEO of Tourism Toronto and as executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Mark Everton has been named president and CEO of Visit Oakland (California). Everton has more than 30 years of industry experience and most recently served as area managing director of Commune Hotels & Resorts’ Silicon Valley and San Francisco hotels and as general manager of the Waterfront Hotel in Oakland.

Bruce Gudenberg has been appointed executive director of the newly formed Visit National Harbor, a destination marketing organization for National Harbor, Maryland. Gudenberg also serves as the vice-president of marketing for National Harbor, which includes seven hotels offering more than 3,000 guest rooms and 470,000 square feet of event space. He previously served as vice-president of partnerships and alliances for Destination DC.

Emily Freeman has been appointed national accounts manager of Visit KC in Kansas City, Missouri. Freeman will be based in Chicago and will handle convention sales in the Midwest market, which includes Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. She most recently served as destination sales executive for the Overland Park Marriott in Overland Park, Kansas.

Steffan Brown has been named national account director at Visit Seattle, where he will work with East Coast and international clients to promote and sell Seattle as a convention and meeting destination for associations and corporations. Brown most recently served as sales manager at the Hyatt Regency/Bellevue, also in the Seattle area.

Kelly Boucher has been named director of convention services at the Saratoga (New York) Convention & Tourism Bureau. She most recently served as the education and events manager for the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association.

Linda Nuss has been hired as regional manager of North America at the German Convention Bureau, based in New York City. Nuss brings to the role a marketing background in the medical sector in both German and U.S. markets and also has experience executing large-scale trade shows.

Megan McHale has been named manager of meeting and incentive sales and marketing at the Monaco Government Tourist Office in New York City, a role in which she will be responsible for attracting and growing North American business tourism to the European country. McHale most recently served as a senior account executive for Development Counsellors International.

Visit Indy has announced several promotions and an addition to its sales team. Rachel Troutman and Lori Halterman have both been promoted to sales manager, and Elizabeth Huston has been promoted to senior sales manager. New to the bureau is Krysten Douglas, who was hired as a sales manager. Douglas previously served on Visit Indy’s sales team from 2010 to 2013.

Hospitality & Suppliers

The Resort at Paws Up in Greenough, Montana, has hired Kathleen Cochran as vice-president and managing director and Jon Martin as general manager of guest relations. Cochran most recently worked at the Bacara Resort & Spa in Goleta, California. Martin has formerly worked for the Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego and the Grand Bohemian Hotel Charleston in South Carolina.

Indu Brar has been named general manager of the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia. Brar, the hotel’s first female general manager since its opening in 1908, will oversee the hotel’s two-phase, $30 million-plus renovation that is scheduled for completion in June 2017. She most recently served as general manager of the Fairmont/Waterfront in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Shawn Jervis has been appointed general manager of the Miramonte Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California. He previously worked as general manager of the Embassy Row Hotel in Washington, D.C., spearheading a $15 million renovation. 

Christophe Thomas has hired as general manager of the SLS/Beverly Hills in California, the flagship property of the SLS Hotels brand. Most recently, Thomas was general manager of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, overseeing its multimillion-dollar renovation and repositioning.

Michael Dunbar has been appointed general manager of the 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati. With nearly 20 years of experience with both branded luxury and independent boutique properties, Dunbar previously served as general manager of the Dream/Midtown in New York City.

Joel Holland has been appointed general manager of the Kenwood Inn & Spa in Kenwood, California. Holland previously served as director of guest services at the Solage Calistoga Resort & Spa and as hotel manager of the Meadowood Napa Valley, both located in Northern California.

Robert Shelley has been named general manager of the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago. Shelley most recently served as area manager director for Commune Hotels & Resorts.

David Jurcak has been named managing director of the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. A veteran of the Omni brand for more than 20 years, Jurcak most recently served as managing director of the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia.

Peter Thoene has been named director of sales and marketing at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows on Kohala Coast of Hawaii’s Big Island. He most recently served as director of sales and marketing at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, also on the Kohala Coast.
 
Sharon Logan has been appointed director of sales and marketing at the Half Moon Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. She has been with the Half Moon Resort since 2004, most recently as its director of sales. 

Vincent de Croock has been named director of sales, marketing and events at the Hyatt/Times Square in New York City. De Croock has hospitality experience in four countries and most recently served as director of sales and marketing at De L’Europe in Amsterdam.

John Bradway has been named director of sales and marketing at the Cliff House Maine in Cape Neddick, Maine. The property is expected to open in August following the first phase of a $40 million renovation. Bradway most recently worked for the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa (formerly a Ritz-Carlton) in Manalapan, Florida, developing the property’s marketing and branding program.

Construction & Expansion

The LondonHouse Chicago recently opened within the landmark London Guarantee & Accident Building on the Chicago River. Features include 452 guest rooms, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a tri-level rooftop bar. For meetings, the property provides 25,000 square feet of space.
 
The InterContinental New York Barclay has reopened in New York City following a 20-month, $180 million renovation. The property, located in East Midtown Manhattan, features 704 guest rooms, the new Gin Parlour and 15,000 square feet of meeting space, which includes five meeting rooms, the 4,954-square-foot Grand Ballroom and the 3,500-square-foot Empire Ballroom.

This spring, the Embassy Suites by Hilton/Detroit–Livonia-Novi in Livonia, Michigan, completed a multimillion-dollar renovation, which included updates to the guest suites and public spaces as well as the debut of a new restaurant. The hotel offers 239 guest rooms and more than 7,000 square feet of newly remodeled meeting space.
 
The Embassy Suites by Hilton/Portland–Washington Square in Tigard, Oregon, recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation that features fresh amenities, a new atrium and community spaces, upgraded meeting space and a rebranded restaurant. The 356-room hotel provides 24,000 square feet of meeting space for groups of up to 800.
 
The Kimpton Hotel Palomar/Washington, D.C., has completed a multimillion-dollar redesign of its 335 guest rooms, public spaces and event spaces. Located near Dupont Circle, the hotel offers more than 10,000 square feet of gathering space.

And Finally...

The 185-acre Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center in Salem, Oregon, recently welcomed nearly 1,000 antique trucks and thousands of trucking enthusiasts for the American Truck Historical Society’s 2016 National Convention & Truck Show. To be considered an antique, a truck must be at least 25 years old. Trucks of all varieties were on display, from the high spoke-wheel trucks of the early 1900s to 18-wheeler rigs. The society is based in Kansas City, Missouri, and serves more than 20,000 members worldwide.

This current issue of Association News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking here.

About Schneider Publishing
Schneider Publishing is the parent company of Association News, America’s most-read magazine for association executives, and SportsTravel, the sports world’s event magazine. In addition to Meetings Quest, Schneider Publishing organizes the TEAMS Conference & Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers, TEAMS ’16 will be held September 26–29, 2016, in Atlantic City. The group travel markets served by Schneider Publishing generate 106 million hotel room nights annually.

For press information, please contact Ann Shepphird, or call 310-577-3700.

Association News, Meetings Quest, SportsTravel and TEAMS are registered trademarks of Schneider Publishing.

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Publishing Dates: 07/07/16 – 09/07/16
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