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People & Places Presented by Association News (December 2015)
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CVBs/DMOs
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Tania Armenta has been appointed president and CEO of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Convention & Visitors Bureau, effective January 6, 2016, following a unanimous vote by the CVB’s board of directors. Armenta has been with the bureau for more than 17 years and currently serves as its chief operating and marketing officer. She succeeds Dale Lockett, whose contract will end on January 5, 2016.

Tom Mullen has been named senior vice-president and chief operating officer for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. In this newly created position, Mullen will be responsible for finance and corporate services, contract compliance, business development and travel-industry partnerships. Mullen most recently served as chief administrative officer at the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.

Jennifer Cunningham has been named interim managing director of the Reno-Sparks (Nevada) Convention & Visitors Authority following the recent departure of former president and CEO Christopher Baum. Cunningham previously worked at the organization from 1987 to 1996 as director of tourism sales and then went on to serve as director of tour and travel sales for the Silver Legacy Resort Casino, also in Reno.

Rita Lowery has been named director of sales at the Athens (Georgia) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Lowery has held sales positions at major hotels in Atlanta and Macon, Georgia, formerly headed the Cobb (Georgia) Sports Council and worked for Cobb Travel & Tourism.

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau has added four new members to its sales and convention services teams. Vince Almoina and Amanda Dyson Dana have been hired as sales managers, and Courtney Curry and Katie Kling have been appointed convention services managers. Almoina previously served as the Sheraton/ Atlanta’s national account manager of group sales, and Dyson Dana has returned to the bureau’s sales department, where she formerly worked for seven years. Curry most recently held the position of rooms operations manager at the JW Marriott/Atlanta- Buckhead, and Kling previously was senior event manager at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

The San Francisco Travel Association has announced several changes to its convention sales team. Brenda Holland has been named director of citywide accounts in the Midwest. She most recently was a global account executive with the Marriott global sales team. Tanjeet Bains has been hired as senior manager of convention sales for Northern California and the East Bay. Most recently, Bains was director of sales for the Four Points by Sheraton/San Francisco Bay Bridge. Winnie Wong has joined the organization as senior manager of convention sales for the Silicon Valley and Peninsula Region. She previously was an account director with the Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square. Chris Deschenes has been promoted from associate of convention sales to manager of business development, based in the Washington, D.C., office. And taking Deschenes’ place is Rebekah Troutman, also working in the Washington, D.C., office. Troutman is a recent graduate of George Washington University and was lead assistant for the university’s Summer & Conference Housing program.

Hospitality & Suppliers

John Schafer has been named area vice-president and general manager of the Grand Hyatt/ New York, located in Midtown Manhattan. Schafer most recently was the vice-president managing director of the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. Prior to that, he spent 19 years in Colorado where he was opening general manager of the Hyatt Regency/Denver and the Grand Hyatt/Denver.

Noel Daniel has been appointed general manager of the Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Daniel most recently served as multi-property general manager for the Madeline Hotel & Residences (formerly a Capella property) in Telluride, Colorado, and for the Inn at Lost Creek in Mountain Village, Colorado.

AJ Jabbour has been hired as general manager of the Bay Harbor Hotel in Tampa, Florida. Jabbour has managed hotels that include the Riverside Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Hilton/Tampa Downtown and the Omni Parker House in Boston.

Cathy Hart has been appointed general manager of the Ithaca Marriott, scheduled to open in July in Ithaca, New York, with 159 guest rooms and 2,600 square feet of meeting space. Hart was previously general manager of the Residence Inn in West Orange, New Jersey.

Trese Moser has been named general manager of the convention center at the Town & Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego’s Mission Valley. Moser previously served as director of catering and conference services for L’Auberge Del Mar. The Town & Country is scheduled to undergo an $80 million renovation in 2016.

Michael Hoffman has been appointed managing director of the Waldorf Astoria/ New York and the Towers of the Waldorf Astoria, both in Midtown Manhattan. Hoffman most recently served as vice-president of brand-performance support for both Waldorf Astoria and Conrad Hotels & Resorts.

David Chase has been named managing director of the Omni Berkshire Place in New York City. He most recently was general manager of the Lotte New York Palace, where he oversaw a $146 million renovation of the property.

Allison Lesser has been named director of sales and marketing at Hotel Irvine in Irvine, California, which recently emerged from a major reinvestment. Lesser previously was vice-president of business development at BTS Hospitality, a consulting firm. She also formerly served as vice-president of event sales for the Patina Restaurant Group and vice-president of sales for the Long Beach (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Pamela Feick has been appointed director of sales and marketing at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in New York City as it embarks on a renovation scheduled for completion in October 2016. Feick most recently was director of sales and marketing for The Chatwal, also in New York City.

Ed Curry has been appointed director of sales and marketing at the Loews/ Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, California. He most recently served as vice-president of marketing and direct sales at the St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery in Rutherford, California.

Catherine Hutchison has been named director of sales and marketing at the Montage/Kapalua Bay on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Hutchison most recently served as director of travel industry sales at the Montage/ Deer Valley in Park City, Utah.

Angela Vaughn has been appointed director of marketing at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Resort in Miramar Beach, Florida. Vaughn most recently served as community and public relations coordinator for Visit South Walton (Florida).

Construction & Expansion

The JW Marriott Los Cabos Beach Resort & Spa has opened in Mexico’s Puerto Los Cabos community. The property’s features include 299 guest rooms, six pools, the 21,000-square-foot Jasha Spa and seven restaurants. For meetings, the resort offers more than 37,000 square feet of space.

The 12,900-square-foot Sanctuary Convention Center has opened at the Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta on Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit. The new venue can accommodate up to 1,500 guests and can be divided into four sections. With the addition, the 348-room hotel now offers some 20,000 square feet of meeting space.

The Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal / Orlando, in Orlando, Florida, has expanded its meeting space from 85,000 to 132,000 square feet and can now accommodate group events of up to 20,000 people. And this summer, Universal / Orlando plans to debut the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, its fifth on-site hotel. Together, the two resorts will offer 247,000 square feet of combined meeting space and 2,000 guest rooms.

The New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge has unveiled the second phase of its $45 million transformation, which includes updates to its more than 44,000 square feet of meeting space as well as its 18,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom. The third and final phase of the project, which is expected to be complete in 2016, will include a renovation of the hotel’s 667 guest rooms.

And Finally...

In advance of the New Year, the American Association for Nude Recreation is encouraging people to make some “Nude Year’s Resolutions,” including donating blood during National Blood Donor Month, which is January. The association’s home office in Kissimmee, Florida, will be setting up a mobile blood-drive unit on January 29; AANR member clubs, resorts and campgrounds across the United States and Canada will also be conducting blood drives—open to non-nudists as well.

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