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People & Places Presented by Association News (August 2012)
People & Places Presented by Association News (August 2012)

CVBs/DMOs

Alison Best has been named CEO of Visit Oakland. Best had been with the Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau since 2006, most recently working as senior vice-president of business development. Best serves as a trustee of the Destination & Travel Foundation.

Jim Luttjohann has been named director of the Santa Fe (New Mexico) Convention Center & Visitors Bureau. Previously, Luttjohann served as the executive director of the Ventura (California) Visitors & Convention Bureau.

Go Wichita (Kansas) has appointed Susan Santo as its CEO. Santo succeeds John Rolfe, who left the organization to become chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Previously, she served as the director of industry sales for Universal Studios in Hollywood, California. 

In Florida, Tampa Bay & Company has appointed Doug McClain as vice-president of marketing and communications and Steve Hayes as vice-president of industry relations and research. Most recently, McClain worked at the Kansas City (Missouri) Convention & Visitors Association, while Hayes has been with Tampa for 25 years. 

The Providence/Warwick (Rhode Island) Convention & Visitors Bureau has promoted Bryan Lavin to director of national accounts and Nicholas Millard to creative service coordinator. Since 2007, Lavin had served as the organization’s national sales manager. Millard previously worked with the bureau as its electronic media assistant.

The Decatur-Morgan County Convention & Visitors Bureau in Alabama has named Leonard Morris as its director of special events and sports marketing. Most recently, Morris worked in the sales and marketing department for Chick-fil-A in several Alabama cities. 

The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has named Carolyn Muller Brown national director of hotel sales for Northern California. She most recently served as the national sales director for the Long Beach (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau, where she managed the Northern California and Pacific Northwest markets. 

Lisa Lopez has been appointed regional director of sales for NYC & Company. Lopez has been with the organization since 2008, most recently as regional director of national accounts for the West and Southwest.

Hospitality & Suppliers

Michael Dominguez has been named senior vice-president of sales for MGM Resorts International. Previously, Dominguez served as the vice-president of global sales for Loews Hotels, where he oversaw sales efforts for 18 luxury hotels in the United States and Canada.

Alain Negueloua has been named general manager of the Mandarin Oriental/Boston. Negueloua has more than 25 years of industry experience, most recently as general manager of the Meadowood Napa Valley Resort in St. Helena, California. 

David Kirken has been named general manager of the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix. Kirken brings 15 years of industry experience to the position. Most recently, he served as resort manager of La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California. 

Lloyd Williams has been named general manager of the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia. This is not the first time Williams has stepped in to this position; he most recently served as the managing director of the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. 

Destination Hotels & Resorts has named Frank Leone general manager of the newly-branded MileNorth Hotel in downtown Chicago. Leone has nearly 20 years of industry experience and most recently served as general manager of the Silversmith Hotel & Suites, also in Chicago.

Peter Rice has been named general manager of the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa in Arizona. Rice has been with Hyatt for 26 years and was most recently general manager of the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara, California. 

In British Columbia, the Shangri-La/Vancouver has appointed Vito Romeo as general manager. Romeo brings nearly 25 years of industry experience to the position, most recently having served as resident manager of the Shangri-La/Beijing. 

Matt Humphreys has been named general manager of the Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. He has been with Hyatt since 1993, when he was hired as a bellman. Most recently, Humphreys was with the Grand Hyatt/San Francisco, where he served as the hotel’s senior executive assistant manager.

The Knob Hill Inn, which is located in Ketchum, Idaho, has promoted Shannon Allen to general manager. She joined the hotel 2011 as a sales manager. Prior to that, Allen served as account manager for Mountain Reservations/VacationRoost in Salt Lake City.

Lee Collins has been named president of the Waikiki Ocean Club, a 10,000-square-foot water activity platform in Honolulu, Hawaii. Previously, Collins worked as vice-president of sales and marketing for Polynesian Adventure Tours–Gray Line Hawaii. 

Also in Honolulu, Brad Logsdon has been named the director of sales and marketing of the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. Logsdon has 30 years of industry experience and was most recently the director of sales and marketing at the Hilton/Anaheim in Southern California.

Juan Garcia has been named area director of sales and marketing for the Hiltons of Washington, D.C. Garcia has more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry; most recently, he lead the opening of the Hilton/Orlando in Florida.

The Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows and Hotel Bel-Air, both located in Los Angeles, have appointed Janice Snowden as area director of sales and marketing. Most recently, Snowden spent four years as the director of marketing and sales for the Biltmore Santa Barbara, California, a Four Seasons Resort.

Construction & Expansion

In Southern California, the Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort & Spa has opened with 215 guest rooms and 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including a 5,900-square-foot ballroom with ocean views. Other features include a spa, a pool and a restaurant that uses locally sourced food. 

The Hyatt Regency/Dallas, which is located near Union Station and features 160,000 square feet of meeting space, has launched a $50 million renovation project. Updates are planned for all 1,120 guest rooms, which are to receive new high-definition, flat-screen televisions, modern furniture and renovated bathrooms. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012. 

In Seattle, the Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue has completed the first phase of a $22 million renovation project, which has updated its 15,000-square-foot conference and event-center space. Another four phases of renovation remain including the remodel of all 297 guest rooms, the fitness center and the fifth-floor restaurant deck. The entire project is scheduled for completion by 2014.

The Embassy Suites/Washington, D.C., Convention Center has completed a $7.5 million renovation of its 384 guest rooms, the lobby and reception area. Guest rooms have been redesigned with energy-efficient lighting, new bedding, carpeting and wall coverings, and flat-screen LCD televisions. The hotel features 8,000 square feet of meeting space as well as a business center. 

The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, plans to undergo a $325 million expansion beginning in late 2013. Under the plan, the center will increase its contiguous exhibit space to more than 500,000 square feet and will add a new 50,000-square-foot ballroom, to be the largest in the state.

And Finally…

The $60 million LeMay–America’s Car Museum, in Tacoma, Washington, recently celebrated its grand opening. The 165,000-square-foot museum is home to more than 350 vehicles, ranging from a 1916 Pierce Arrow (one of the earliest American luxury cars) to a classic 1956 Chevrolet hardtop. Opening-night visitors included “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno and former Seattle Mariners All-Star Edgar Martinez. The museum welcomes private group events with a banquet hall for up to 224 people, more than a dozen spaces that can be configured to host as many as 2,500 guests and a 3.5-acre show field.

This current issue of Association News can be viewed in digital format online by clicking here.
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Timothy Schneider is the 2011-12 Immediate Past-Chair of the Destination & Travel Foundation and the publisher of Association News and SportsTravel magazines, which serve group travel planners responsible for generating 106 million hotel room nights annually. Schneider Publishing also organizes the TEAMS Conference & Expo, the world’s largest gathering of sports-event organizers, to be held October 1-4 in Detroit. For further information on advertising or sponsorship opportunities, please call toll-free 877-577-3700 or 310-577-3700 if calling from outside the United States.
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Media Contact:
Timothy Schneider
310-577-3700
Schneider Publishing Company, Inc.
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