CVBs

Gretchen Hall has been named president and CEO of the Little Rock (Arkansas) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Hall, who served as co-interim CEO since October 2010, first joined the bureau in 2001. She has worked as the CVB’s director of destination meetings and convention services and as director of merchandising and communications.

Jim Bradbury has been named executive director of the Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau. Bradbury, who has more than 30 years of experience in hospitality management, most recently ran his own consulting firm, Santa Fe Hospitality Group.

Casandra Matej has been named executive director of the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau. Matej spent the past three years as senior vice-president of sales and services at the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Visit Jacksonville (Florida) has appointed Dennis Tracy as senior vice-president of destination sales and marketing. Tracy was previously director of sales and marketing at the Little Rock CVB. He also formerly served as acting director of sales at the Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau; director of sales for the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal; and director of sales at the Westin/Cincinnati.

The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau has named Michael Tarr vice-president of convention sales. Tarr was most recently senior manager of regional sales for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, where he worked for the past 11 years.

The Tacoma (Washington) Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau has named Len Ganduglia as sales manager. Ganduglia previously worked in membership sales at the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce.

In honor of the U.S. Travel Association’s National Travel & Tourism Week, which was May 7-15, members of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau and the city’s hospitality community marched down Canal and Bourbon streets in a Mardi Gras-style parade to emphasize the importance of tourism on the city’s economy. According to the bureau, tourism generates an estimated $5 billion annually for the city and employs more than 70,000 people. Participants also talked up the fact that 8.3 million tourists visited the city in 2010, a record high since Hurricane Katrina.

HOSPITALITY & SUPPLIERS

The newly created Corporation for Travel Promotion, a result of the Travel Promotion Act aiming to attract international travelers to the United States, has appointed Jim Evans as its first CEO. Evans is a longtime executive leader in the hospitality industry. His background includes positions as president and CEO of Best Western International and senior vice-president of marketing for Hyatt Hotels.

 The Westward Look Resort in Tucson, Arizona, has named Craig Waterman [PHOTO] general manager. Waterman has 25 years of hospitality experience and was most recently general manager of the Tivoli Lodge in Vail, Colorado. He also formerly served as general manager of the WaterColor Inn & Resort in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Liam Doyle has been named general manager of the Ritz-Carlton/Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona. Previously, Doyle was general manager of the Shelbourne, a Renaissance Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. He has also formerly served as executive assistant manager for the Ritz-Carlton/Buckhead in Atlanta and as opening hotel manager for the Ritz-Carlton/South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.

The Siam Hotel, scheduled to open this fall in Bangkok, has appointed Jason Friedman as general manager. Friedman was most recently director of rooms at the Four Seasons Resort/Chiang Mai in Thailand.

 On the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, the Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa has appointed Jahangir Hadjmohammadreza as general manager. Hadjmohammadreza has more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry and has been general manager for several properties, including the Casino Aztar Hotel in Evansville, Indiana, and the Wyndham/Chicago.

 Lauren Teranishi has been appointed general manager of the Kona Reef Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. Teranishi was most recently a branch rental manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

 The Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, has promoted Calvin Belknap to resort manager. Belknap has been the property’s executive director of food and beverage for the past five years.

Donna Kelley has been appointed director of sales and marketing for the Hilton Orlando Resort Lake Buena Vista, located within Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort. Kelley has 30 years of sales experience and was most recently opening director of sales for the Hilton/Orlando. Prior to that, she was director of sales at the Peabody/Orlando, where she worked for 15 years.

 Stephanie Snapkoski has been named director sales and marketing for the Hilton/McLean-Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia. Snapkoski was most recently director of sales and marketing at the Hilton/Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia.

Shirley Dunn Hanks has been appointed director of sales and marketing at Capella Pedregal, a resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. She was previously director of sales and marketing at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas.

Rori Coombs has been appointed director of national sales for the Southeast and Northeast regions at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Coombs was most recently a meeting planner for the Northeast Association of Equine Practitioners. Prior to that, Coombs was a sales executive for several resorts including the Atlantis/Paradise Island in the Bahamas; the Ritz-Carlton/Palm Beach in Manalapan, Florida; and the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida.

The Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu has promoted Charles Keegan from manager of catering and conference services to director of catering and conference services. Prior to joining the property in 2006, Keegan was a catering assistant at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel, also located in Honolulu.

 In Tampa, Florida, the InterContinental Hotel has named Matt Kido executive meeting manager.  Most recently, Kido worked as a convention service manager at the Crowne Plaza/Tampa East.

CONSTRUCTION & EXPANSION

The Hyatt Regency/Chicago has completed a $90 million renovation project that included a complete remodel of the hotel’s 2,019 guest rooms and suites. The rooms feature new Hyatt Grand Beds, wall coverings, carpeting, window treatments, chairs, artwork and lighting. Each room also features a completely overhauled bathroom and a new, warm color scheme. The property offers 228,000 square feet of event space.

The Holiday Inn/Pewaukee-Milwaukee West (formerly the Radisson/Pewaukee) has opened in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, following several upgrades. Each of the 118 guest rooms now features a 37-inch HD flat-screen TV, new linens and new décor. Other enhancements include new fitness equipment, a remodeled café, and new furnishings in the lobby and 2,400-square-foot ballroom. Over the next year, the hotel plans to upgrade guest-room carpeting and its business center.

The Gideon Putnam Spa Resort, which first opened in 1935 in Saratoga Springs, New York, has completed a renovation of its 120 guest rooms. Rooms now feature free WiFi; a HD flat-screen TV; a renovated bathroom; and new furnishings, including beds with pillow-top mattresses and new linens. The property offers 12,000 square feet of event space.

The 396-room Tysons Corner Marriott in Vienna, Virginia, has completed the final phase of a multimillion-dollar redesign. The project updated guest rooms with new beds and furniture, carpets and bathrooms; the lobby; and the 4,680-square-foot Grand Ballroom, which received modern décor and high-tech amenities. The hotel has 9,731 square feet of total meeting space.

The Hilton/Miami Airport is undergoing a complete makeover, set to redesign its 500 guest rooms and add a new fitness center. The new guest-room design features sustainable products to support energy efficiency; contemporary décor and earth-tone colors; and dark wood furnishings. Guest bathrooms will also be fully renovated. The project is slated for completion this fall; meanwhile, the property remains open and offers groups 30,000 square feet of meeting space.

AND FINALLY…

Planning to meet in New Orleans next year? The Hyatt Regency/New Orleans, currently closed for a major redesign and expansion, is offering a pre-opening special in advance of its scheduled October reopening. Planners who book a meeting by August 31 for any group function between January and March of 2012 will receive a 3 percent discount off the master bill, a 15 percent discount on all audiovisual charges, and Hyatt Gold Passport bonus points. The downtown hotel, which is within walking distance of the Louisiana Superdome, plans to feature 1,193 guest rooms (including five dedicated meeting-planner suites) and 200,000 square feet of meeting space. To book a meeting, call (504) 561-1234 and mention the offer code TRIPLE.

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