CVBs

The Sacramento (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau has made three new appointments. Mike Testa has been promoted from vice-president of communications and public affairs to senior vice-president of convention sales and business development. Sarah Atilano, previously senior convention sales manager, has been promoted to director of sales. Jeff Dougherty has been hired as convention sales manager. Dougherty worked most recently in sales at the Holiday Inn/Capitol Plaza in Sacramento.

Visit Newport Beach (California) has appointed Lori Hoy as national sales manager for the San Diego, Arizona, Texas and Southeastern markets. In the past, Hoy has worked at the Metropolitan Tucson (Arizona) Convention & Visitors Bureau, Carlsbad (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau and Ontario (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Visit Baltimore has added four members to its sales team. Sheila Provenzano, previously group sales manager for Hilton Hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has been named national sales manager for the Midwest; Jennifer Lutz, previously senior sales manager for the Hotel Monaco/Baltimore, has been named national sales manager for the Mid-Atlantic region; Jennifer Quinn, previously sales and marketing manager for the Cordish Company’s Entertainment Concepts Investors in Baltimore, has been named convention marketing manager; and Jenna Crye, previously marketing and public relations director for Combined Technology Solutions, has been named sales development coordinator.

Heather Larson has been appointed sales manager at the Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau, the marketing organization for Chicago’s northwestern suburbs. Larson previously held sales positions at Chicago’s Whitehall Hotel, Drake Hotel and Fairmont.

The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Vicki Lemasters an account executive. Lemasters most recently was senior sales manager for three San Antonio hotels—the St. Anthony Hotel and two Holiday Inns.

HOSPITALITY & SUPPLIERS

John Carns has been named general manager of the Waldorf Astoria/Orlando. Carns was previously general manager of the Boca Beach Club at Florida’s Boca Raton Resort & Club. He was also formerly director of operations at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida, and general manager of the Georgetown Inn and the Latham Hotel, both in Washington, D.C.

Brent Truax has been appointed general manager of the Westin Monache Resort, Mammoth, in Mammoth Lakes, California. Truax was most recently general manager of the Peaks Resort & Spa in Telluride, Colorado. Prior to that, he was general manager of the Mirbeau Inn & Spa at Skaneateles, New York.

Millennium Hotels & Resorts has named Daniel Dolce vice-president of sales for the United States. Dolce formerly worked for Dolce Hotels & Resorts in several positions, including national director of sales for North America, director of acquisitions and development, and vice-president of global sales.

Heidi Miersemann has been named director of sales and marketing at the Westin Verasa Napa in Napa, California. Miersemann was most recently director of sales and marketing at the Hilton/Sonoma Wine Country in Santa Rosa, California.

Dave Patrone has been promoted from senior sales manager to director of sales for the Kentucky State Fair Board, which operates the Kentucky Exposition Center and the Kentucky International Convention Center, both in Louisville.

The Minneapolis Convention Center has promoted Katie Smith to director of sales and marketing and has named Mark Zirbel director of event services. Smith has been a sales manager at the center since August 2008 and Zirbel was previously director of event management for Minnesota Sports & Entertainment.

Claude Molinari has been named assistant general manager of the Cobo Conference & Exhibition Center in Detroit. Molinari was most recently assistant general manager of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Rudy Fao has been named assistant general manager of the Ohana Honolulu Airport Hotel and Best Western The Plaza Hotel, both in Honolulu, Hawaii. Fao was most recently catering manager at the Keauhou Beach Resort on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Sheryl Tsugawa has been named sales and marketing manager at the Holiday Inn Waikiki Beachcomber Resort in Honolulu. Tsugawa previously worked for the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), where she was most recently operations manager for IHG Army Hotels, lodging units located at Tripler Medical Center and Fort Shafter in Honolulu.

The Resort at The Mountain, located on Mount Hood in the town of Welches, Oregon, has appointed Alison Sadowski and Natalie Coury as sales managers. Sadowski was previously a front-desk agent with Hotel Fifty in Portland, Oregon. Coury formerly worked for the Paramount Hotel and for Wyatt Condominiums, also both in Portland.

The Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island, Michigan, has appointed Deborah Denyer as sales manager. Denyer most recently worked for Destination Michigan as senior sales manager.

CONSTRUCTION & EXPANSION

The Sebastian Vail, formerly the Vail Plaza Hotel & Club, has opened in Colorado’s Vail Village. The boutique resort has 100 guest rooms and seven guest suites. All rooms feature flat-screen HDTVs and iHome docking stations. The property also offers a fine-dining restaurant, bar and café; a spa with steam rooms and saunas; and 8,000 square feet of event space, including two ballrooms, a boardroom, 10 breakout rooms and outdoor areas such as the pool terrace.

Ravella at Lake Las Vegas (formerly the Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas) opened in February in Henderson, Nevada. The property, run by Dolce Hotels & Resorts, is on the shores of a private 320-acre lake and features 349 guest rooms, a pool, spa and wellness center, several dining options and 39,000 square feet of meeting space for functions of up to 1,000.

The Courtyard/Amarillo Downtown has opened in the historic Fisk Building in the northern Texas city. The new property is part of a recent development push in downtown Amarillo that has added new restaurants and clubs. The Courtyard offers 107 guest rooms, a business center, restaurant and bar, digital concierge and 2,000 square feet of event space.

The new Montego Bay Convention Centre has opened on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. The center features more than 50,000 square feet of exhibit space, 20,000 square feet of banquet space and 11,000 square feet of meeting space near five major hotels in the tourist area of Rose Hall.

The Hyatt Regency/Düsseldorf has opened in Düsseldorf, Germany. The 303-room hotel has two restaurants, including one with views of the Rhine River; a bar; spa and fitness center; and 9,000 square feet of meeting space.

The 400-room Hilton/San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, California, has completed renovations to its 11,500 square feet of meeting space. Upgrades include new technology with retractable screens and ceiling-mounted LCD projectors, and a new interior design with new lighting systems, carpeting and décor.

On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, near the town of Kapaa, the Courtyard by Marriott Kauai at Coconut Beach (formerly the Aston Kauai Beach at Makaiwa Hotel) is undergoing a renovation. Plans call for an enhanced exterior, new landscaping and a new pool area, as well as upgrades to its restaurant, lounge and meeting spaces. The property offers 311 guest rooms and 8,300 square feet of event space.

The Roosevelt Hotel/New York City in midtown Manhattan has begun an upgrade project that will refurbish the property’s 1,015 guest rooms with new carpeting, furniture, fixtures and décor. The hotel will remain open during the redesign, which is expected to wrap up next February. It currently offers 30,000 square feet of meeting space.

Birmingham, Alabama, has broken ground on a new $70 million hotel and entertainment district near the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Plans include a 300-room Westin Hotel as well as new shops, nightclubs and restaurants. Construction is expected to be complete in about two years. City officials said they hope the new development will better position Birmingham as a convention destination. 

The Westin/Phoenix Downtown is scheduled to open March 10 one block from the downtown Phoenix Convention Center. The hotel will occupy nine floors of the 26-story Freeport McMoRan Center and offer 242 guest rooms and 11,000 square feet of event space, including a 3,000-square-foot meeting room.

The Kalahari Waterpark Resort in Sandusky, Ohio, is scheduled to break ground this month on a $22 million expansion that is slated to add 120,000 square feet of space to its 95,000-square-foot convention center. Plans include a 38,000-square-foot grand ballroom and expo center, a 12,000-square-foot junior ballroom, an additional ballroom with a 4,000-square-foot outdoor plaza, 14 meeting rooms and 30,000 square feet of pre-function space. When completed in December, the expansion will increase the resort’s meeting capacity from 2,200 attendees to 5,200. 

AND FINALLY…

Traveling in the next couple months? Dreading airline baggage fees? You might have those reimbursed if you stay with a property run by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG). The hospitality company has extended its “Check It Free” promotion to guests of its numerous hotel brands, which include Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza. Guests who spend a minimum of two weekend nights at any of IHG’s 4,500 hotels worldwide before April 30 and pay using a Visa credit card are eligible for a rebate of up to $100 in checked-baggage fees. For more information, visit ihg.com/freebag.

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