CVBs

Shelley Maccini has been appointed executive director of the Kissimmee (Florida) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Maccini has been with the bureau for 13 years and was previously interim executive director. Before that, she was marketing director.

Paul Catoe plans to retire as president and CEO of Tampa Bay & Company (in Florida) on October 31. Catoe has been with the organization for more than 12 years and has served as its leader since 1999. He will remain involved with Tampa Bay & Company following his retirement, continuing to work on the 2015 Super Bowl bid and other projects.

The Clay County (Iowa) Convention & Visitors Bureau, a brand-new organization, has appointed Brittany Getting as its first tourism director. Getting was previously marketing director for North American Truck & Trailer, Inc., based in Sioux Falls, Iowa.

The Dahlonega-Lumpkin County (Georgia) Chamber of Commerce & Convention & Visitors Bureau has appointed Jay Markwalter as tourism director. Markwalter was previously executive director of the Lawrenceville (Georgia) Tourism & Trade Association.

Alan Sims has been named vice-president of sales and services at the Little Rock (Arkansas) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Sims was previously director of sales for the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Greater Mankato (Minnesota) Convention & Visitors Bureau has promoted Larissa Mrozek to senior sales director. Mrozek has worked for the bureau for five years, most recently as its tournament sales director.

The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission has named Jani Torrence national convention sales manager. Torrence was previously corporate sales manager for the Greater St. Charles (Missouri) Convention & Visitors Bureau. Prior to that, she was trade association and government sales manager for John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts.

The Richmond (Virginia) Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau has made two appointments to its sales and services team. Mary Brown has been named national sales manager and will focus on citywide association and religious markets, and Danielle Fields has been named sales manager and will focus on the association, fraternal and religious markets. Brown was previously an event-planning manager for the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. Fields was formerly the destination sales executive for conventions at the Bryan-College Station (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association has made two new appointments. Wendy Petersen has been named national sales manager and Amanda Brothers has been appointed destination sales specialist. Petersen was previously director of sales at Seattle’s Convention & Visitors Bureau. She has also formerly been director of sales for the Austin (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau and a convention planner for the association management company SmithBucklin. Brothers was previously part of the pre-opening sales team for the JW Marriott/Indianapolis.

HOSPITALITY & SUPPLIERS

Robert Gaymer-Jones has been appointed CEO of Sofitel Worldwide. Gaymer-Jones was previously the company’s chief operating officer, a position he has held since joining Sofitel in 2007. His background also includes top positions at Marriott International.

Destination Hotels & Resorts has made two promotions: Steve Sackman and Chris Kenney have both been promoted to regional vice-president of sales and marketing. Sackman, who will focus on the Eastern region of the U.S., has worked as the company’s regional director of sales and marketing since 2006. He also held the former position of director of national sales for Aramark Harrison Lodging. And Kenney, who will focus on the Western region, was previously regional director of sales and marketing. Before that, he was director of sales and marketing for Tempe Mission Palms.

Craig Anderson has been named general manager of the Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort & Spa in Honolulu. Anderson was previously general manager of the Westin Maui Resort & Spa on Kaanapali Beach. Prior to that, he was general manager of the Princeville Hotel on Kauai.     

Eric Sather has been named general manager of the Resort at Squaw Creek in Squaw Valley, California, near Lake Tahoe. Sather has more than 25 years of experience in hotel management and was previously general manager of the WaterColor Inn & Resort in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

David Chase has been appointed general manager of the New York Palace, a historic hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Chase was most recently the pre-opening general manager for the Trump SoHo Hotel in New York City. Prior to that, he was hotel manager at the Ritz-Carlton/Battery Park, also in Manhattan.

Julian Alden has been named director of sales at The Pierre, a Taj Hotel on New York’s Central Park. Alden was most recently associate director of sales at the St. Regis/New York, where he worked for 10 years.

Virgil Napier has been named director of sales and marketing at the W Retreat & Spa, Vieques Island, located off the coast of Puerto Rico. Napier was previously director of sales and marketing at the Viceroy/Anguilla in the Caribbean. Prior to joining Viceroy, he was director of sales at the Ritz-Carlton in Coconut Grove, Florida.

Scott Robbins has been named director of sales at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air. Robbins’ background includes positions as national and corporate sales manager for Renaissance, Westin and Biltmore properties.

The Sorrento Hotel in Seattle has appointed Rebekah Dahl Alicea as group sales manager. Dahl Alicea was most recently associate director of meetings and special events at the Ritz-Carlton/St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to that, she was senior meeting and special events manager at the Ritz-Carlton/Jamaica.

CONSTRUCTION & EXPANSION

The Hotel Hanford has opened in Costa Mesa, California. The boutique hotel features 225 guest rooms and six guest suites, a restaurant and wine-tasting salon, and a fitness center and pool. Groups of up to 300 can take advantage of 6,000 square feet of indoor event space as well as 3,000 square feet of outdoor space and a business center. The property offers shuttle transportation to Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, which is just two miles away.

The Holiday Inn/Amarillo West-Medical Center has opened in Texas less than a mile from Amarillo’s Harrington Regional Medical Center. The 151-room property features a contemporary western design, a Mexican restaurant and more than 8,500 square feet of event space, including a ballroom, breakout rooms, pre-function space and patio areas.

The new Drury Inn & Suites/Independence has opened in Blue Springs, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. The 180-room hotel offers several amenities, including free breakfast, free food and beverages from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., an indoor-outdoor pool and whirlpool, and a fitness center. The hotel features 3,000 square feet of event space for groups of up to 150.

The Hilton Garden Inn/Eugene-Springfield has opened in Springfield, Oregon, just north the University of Oregon. The 149-room hotel features Internet access in guest rooms and public spaces, a business center, fitness center, pool, restaurant and five meeting rooms with a total of 3,000 square feet of space.

The CopperWynd Resort & Club in Fountain Hills, Arizona, is scheduled to reopen this month following a renovation project that included upgrades to all 30 guest rooms and the property’s tennis courts. The boutique hotel offers indoor event space for up to 50 people as well as an outdoor event lawn for up to 200.

Core construction of the brand-new Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah, has been completed. The convention center is scheduled to open in March 2012 with more than 83,578 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space and LEED certification.

The Grand Hyatt/San Francisco, located in the city’s Union Square, has completed renovations to its 659 guest rooms and suites and its meeting facilities. As part of a $70 million, multi-phase transformation, guest rooms have been upgraded with new beds, workstations, bathrooms and technology. Meeting space has also been upgraded and includes the new, 5,700-square-foot Grand Foyer. Further renovations—to the front drive, lobby and restaurant—are expected to begin in early 2012 and finish by that fall.

In Northern California, the Crowne Plaza/San Jose Downtown is undergoing a complete renovation and rebranding, and is scheduled to reopen in January 2012 as the Hyatt Place/San Jose Downtown. The hotel, located near Mineta San Jose International Airport, plans to offer 239 guest rooms and nearly 7,000 square feet of meeting space.

AND FINALLY …

The Peabody/Memphis, a historic four-star hotel in this western Tennessee city, is looking to the future with a new opportunity for meeting planners to go green. The hotel, which offers 80,000 square feet of event space, has installed four new electric-vehicle charging stations in its garage, making it only the second hotel in the state to house such stations. When the hotel first opened in 1869, it didn’t have even have electricity, said General Manager Douglas Browne. “We’ve come a long way,” he said in a statement. The stations are available free of charge.

BOXED ITEM: NEW YORK UPDATE

On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the downtown area of New York City can boast revitalization on many fronts, notably with an increased number of hotels and meeting facilities.

The new Dream Downtown recently opened following a $270 million renovation in a 1960s building located between the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. The hotel offers 316 guest rooms and suites, a penthouse lounge, two dining options—with a third scheduled to open this fall—a pool deck and fitness center, spa services, and a 4,500-square-foot event space located on the ground floor.

Last year saw the opening of several new hotels. The W/New York-Downtown opened in the Financial District with 217 guest rooms and four meeting spaces that feature floor-to-ceiling windows affording views of Manhattan. The largest is 1,320 square feet and can accommodate up to 144 people reception-style.

The new 46-story Trump SoHo Hotel on Spring Street offers 391 guest rooms and more than 14,000 square feet of event space, including an outdoor, 6,000-square-foot pool deck and a ballroom for up to 500. Other amenities include a spa and fitness center, a bar with private cabanas and an Italian restaurant.

Last year also saw the revamping of the Andaz/Wall Street. The property renovated its interior spaces, focusing on its 253 guest rooms, which now feature high ceilings, local artwork and residential-style space. Meetings and events can be held in the Andaz Studio, a collection of conference rooms that surround a kitchen and lounge area. The property offers some 6,000 square feet of dedicated event space.

The Millennium Hilton New York, located across from Ground Zero—and, in fact, part of the World Trade Center rebuild—underwent a complete renovation after 9/11 and reopened in 2003. It features 569 guest rooms and 3,550 square feet of event space for up to 225 guests. There are five conference rooms on the hotel’s fourth floor, and a Presidential Suite on the 55^th floor with 1,000 square feet of function space and views of the Hudson River.

A new Hilton property, the Conrad/New York, is scheduled to open in November in Battery Park City. Plans include 463 guest rooms, three restaurants, a green roof and outdoor rooftop terrace for up to 75 people. It also is expected to offer 17,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 6,000-square-foot grand ballroom for up to 700 people.pho

To promote this ongoing revitalization, as well as entertainment and cultural events in Lower Manhattan, NYC & Company, the city’s destination marketing organization, recently launched an initiative with Mayor Michael Bloomberg called “Get More NYC: Lower Manhattan.” For more information, visit nycgo.com/getmorenyc/lowermanhattan.