CVBs
The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association has appointed Leonard Hoops as its new president and CEO. Hoops was formerly executive vice-president and chief customer officer at the San Francisco Travel Association, a position he had held since 2006. Prior to that, he was senior vice-president and chief marketing officer for the Sacramento (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau. He succeeds Don Welsh, who joined the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau in January.
The Woodfield Chicago Northwest Convention Bureau, the destination marketing organization for 13 Northwest Chicago suburbs, has appointed Dave Parulo as president and CEO. Parulo, interim president for the past six months, first joined the bureau in 2007 as director of membership and community development. Prior to that, Parulo spent 18 years in the hotel sector.
The Telluride (Colorado) Tourism Board has appointed Michael Martelon as president and CEO. Martelon has more than 20 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry and most recently worked as a strategy and branding consultant.
The Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau has made several appointments and promotions. Warren Wilkinson has been named senior vice-president of marketing and communications. Wilkinson was previously senior vice-president of marketing and communications at the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association. Mark Tunney has been promoted from managing director of convention sales to senior vice-president of sales and services. Rose Horcher has been promoted from managing director of client services to vice-president of client services.
Christine Locke has been named vice-president of marketing at the Anaheim/Orange County (California) Visitor & Convention Bureau. Locke most recently worked in global marketing for a music-industry company in Orange County.
Christopher Anderson has been appointed director of sales at the Huntington Beach (California) Marketing & Visitors Bureau. Most recently, Anderson worked at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa in Hawaii.
L.A. Inc., the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau, has appointed Kathy Smits as senior director of travel-industry marketing. Smits was most recently executive director of the Beverly Hills (California) Conference & Visitors Bureau. Prior to that she was marketing manager for the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association has hired two new sales executives. Lisa Fry has been named director of sales. Fry was most recently regional director of sales for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company’s Chicago office. Bill Lemmon has been named director of trade show sales. Lemmon was most recently a senior sales executive for Hargrove, an event production company now based in Maryland. He was also previously director of trade show sales for the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau.
The Austin (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Kristen Parker director of Eastern regional sales. Parker was most recently senior account manager for the St. Louis Union Station Marriott Hotel.
Visit Baltimore has named Elizabeth Yienger regional director of sales for the Northeastern United States. Yienger most recently was director of national accounts for the Sheraton/Atlanta.
Two new sales directors have been appointed for the Puerto Rico Convention Center. Ishmael Kolthoff will handle the Northeast market (including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) and Ann Garvey will cover the Southeast and Southwest markets as well as Maryland and Washington, D.C. Kolthoff previously worked as regional director of sales for the Aruba Convention Bureau, and Garvey was the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau’s regional sales manager and director of sales for its New York office.
The Tacoma (Washington) Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau has appointed two sales managers. Joe Salonga, who has sales and hospitality experience with several theme parks, will work with government, education and religious groups. Kyla Cavanagh, who has a background in sales, marketing, and advertising, will work primarily with association groups.
HOSPITALITY & SUPPLIERS
Caesars Entertainment Corporation (formerly Harrah’s Entertainment) has named Jason Gastwirth vice-president and executive associate to the chairman, president and CEO. Gastwirth was previously chief marketing officer at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Robert Rechtermann has been named general manager of the new Conrad/New York, scheduled to open later this year in Manhattan’s Financial District. Rechtermann was most recently general manager of the Peninsula/New York City and, prior to that, resident manager of the Peninsula/Chicago.
The Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona, has named Myra deGersdorff general manager. DeGersdorff was previously area general manager for Ritz-Carlton’s three hotels in New Orleans. During her tenure with Ritz-Carlton, which began in 1989, she also helped open new properties in Arlington and McLean, Virginia; Philadelphia; San Francisco; and Cancun, Mexico.
Marla Dunn has been named sales and services director at the Aulani Disney Resort & Spa, scheduled to open in August on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Dunn was previously director of catering and conference services for the Westin Maui Resort & Spa near Lahaina, Hawaii.
Michelle Zwirek has been named director of sales at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Arizona. Zwirek, who first began with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in 1999, was previously director of group sales at the Fairmont/Dallas.
Terri Woodin has been named director of sales for the Western United States at Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI). Woodin was previously director of West Coast national sales for Hinton + Grusich, which was acquired by ALHI in January.
The Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa, located in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico, has appointed two new sales managers, Toshi Goto and Tiffany Tang. Goto, who was previously sales manager for the Hyatt Summerfield Suites Los Angeles-El Segundo, will handle group bookings from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Tang, who was previously assistant revenue manager for the Grand Hyatt/Seattle and the Hyatt at Olive 8 in Seattle, will handle group bookings from Texas and New Mexico.
The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida, has named Francine Rattenbury national sales manager. Rattenbury was previously senior sales manager for Windstream Communications, a telecommunications company. Prior to that, she was sales manager for the Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Emily Koch has been appointed executive meetings manager at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California. She will work with groups from the East Coast and parts of California. Koch previously worked for the rooms division and sales team at Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.
CONSTRUCTION & EXPANSION
Hotel Gansevoort/Park Avenue has opened in Manhattan with 249 guest rooms and suites and event space that includes a 3,800-square-foot ballroom with a connecting terrace. The property also features a three-story lobby, salon and spa, a rooftop pool and an Italian restaurant.
The Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa has opened in the town of Napa, California, following a two-year, $7-million renovation project. All 275 guest rooms were remodeled, a new restaurant and bar were added, its three ballrooms were renovated—the property offers more than 19,000 square feet of total event space—and the spa was updated. Also, in the new lobby area, guests can utilize LCD touch screens that provide information such as how to find local wineries and attractions (it will print out maps and directions) and services like the weather and news.
Following a $200 million renovation, the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina has been renamed the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina. It is now one of only four Marriott Marquis properties in the nation, distinguished by its offerings—including 75,000 square feet of event space, with plans to add two 40,000-square-foot ballrooms and a spa by 2014—and its location—adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center in the downtown Gaslamp Quarter. Thanks to the renovation, the 1,360-room property now features completely remodeled guest rooms, an updated lobby and a new fitness center and pool area.
In Costa Mesa, California, the Wyndham/Orange County is undergoing a $14-million renovation. Plans include a redesign of all 238 guest rooms and suites and renovations of its 7,200 square feet of event space, which includes a Grand Ballroom for up to 375 people. The property is also expected to add a business center, a fitness center and outdoor pool and expand its restaurant. The project is slated for completion in early 2012.
The new Embassy Suites/Fayetteville-Fort Bragg has broken ground in North Carolina. It is expected to open in May 2012 with 165 guest suites and 9,000 square feet of event space. The hotel also plans to offer guests complimentary breakfast, a fitness center and indoor swimming pool, business center and restaurant.
The Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio, has broken ground on a $22-million expansion that is slated to more than double the size of its convention center—to 215,000 square feet. Plans include a new 38,000-square-foot grand ballroom and expo center; a 12,000-square-foot junior ballroom and 14 meeting rooms; a 4,000-square-foot outdoor plaza connected to an indoor ballroom; and 30,000 square feet of pre-function space. Work is scheduled to wrap up in December. The resort currently offers 884 guest rooms and is home to the country’s largest indoor water park.
AND FINALLY …
Meeting planners heading to the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, will have something unique to offer their attendees: camel rides through the deserts of southern Baja. The “Outback & Camel Safari” is being offered by the beachfront hotel in conjunction with Cabo Adventures and, through December 15, hotel guests will receive a 30-percent discount on this half-day excursion. The trip consists of a ride into the desert in a Mercedes Benz Unimog (a four-wheel vehicle), a guided nature walk and then a camel ride, followed by a tequila tasting and Mexican meal on the beach. Associations that meet at this 375-room resort can utilize its more than 11,000 square feet of meeting space—which includes two ballrooms—and, of course, outdoor space on the beach.
Venue Expansion
The Philadelphia Convention Center now boasts 1 million square feet of event space, thanks to a $787-million, 400,000-square-foot expansion that more than doubled the facility’s initial size. The center, in Philadelphia’s Center City area, now features 679,000 square feet of exhibit space (528,000 of which is contiguous); an 87,400-square-foot ballroom—the largest on the East Coast—and 79 total meeting rooms; and a new floor-to-ceiling glass entrance. In addition, it is adjacent to the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, which offers its own 100,000 square feet of event space.
While the convention center also received technology upgrades, the project aimed to preserve the building’s historic character. The Reading Terminal Market was incorporated into the project’s design and the center’s Grand Hall and Ballroom are located in the market’s train shed.
The convention center can now host two conventions simultaneously, something that was not possible prior to the expansion. This took place for the first time on March 9, when the center hosted both the Philadelphia International Flower Show and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ 2011 Conference. According to the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, the expanded center is expected to create an estimated 2,000 hospitality jobs, generate $10 million in tax revenue for Pennsylvania and contribute $150 million annually to the regional economy.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony in March marked the official opening of the expanded space, and a national grand opening is slated for June. For more information, visit philadelphiaUSA.travel/complete.
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