Plan Your Meetings

Names and Notes: July 2006

Names

Peter Goldreich was named vice president of marketing/communications for Carlson Hotels; Laurie Bauer was named senior director of public relations/communications.

Doug Geoga resigned as president of Global Hyatt Corporation. Mark Hoplamazian, of the Pritzker Organization, was named interim president.

Christine Born was named interim publisher of Atlanta Metropolitan Publishing Inc., publisher of Plan Your Meetings magazine.

Bradford Thompson was named “Best Chef in the Southwest” by the James Beard Foundation. He serves as Chef de Cuisine of Mary Elaine’s at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Doug Small was named senior vice president of the Denver Metro CVB.

Michael Robinson was named president of the Vail Valley [Colo.] Chamber & Tourism Bureau.

Dan Cupertino was named senior vice president of sales of the Universal Orlando [Fla.] Resort.

Bill Peeper announced he will retire as president of the Orlando/Orange County CVB on Dec. 31, after holding the position for 22 years; a search for a replacement is underway. Tammi Runzler was named vice president of convention sales and services.

Dan Giordano was named general manager for Orlando’s Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, which is scheduled to open Sept. 9.

Mark Schwantner was named general manager of The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla.

Augusto Negrete was named director of operations of the Embassy Suites Hotel Tampa [Fla.]-Downtown Convention Center, scheduled to open this summer.

The Classic Center in Athens, Ga., announced several new hires. Lauren Williams was named corporate sales manager for Beaverdam Farms and the center, Amy Williamson was named an account executive, and Philip Verrastro was named assistant director.

In Atlanta, Darryl Arancio, market sales senior account executive for Marriott International, central region, was awarded the 2006 Sam Gilmer Supplier of the Year Award at the annual Society of Government Meeting Professionals convention. The award is the highest honor the association bestows; it recognizes planners and suppliers whose service over a period of time has significantly contributed to the society’s growth and development.

Bill McKay was named vice president of sales and marketing for the Savannah [Ga.] CVB.

Bob Cotillo was promoted to director of sales for the Las Vegas office of destination management company USA Hosts.

Pam Swanner was named vice president of the Greenville [S.C.] CVB.

Troy Thom was named assistant director of sales, marketing and events for the Dallas Convention Center.

Nillie Johns was named business travel sales manager for the historic Sheraton Gunter Hotel in San Antonio.

Notes

Caribbean
Mexico’s Grupo Posadas SA hotel group launched a chain of five-star hotels for business travelers last month, named Lat:-)19º to reflect not only the latitude of Mexico, but also the chain’s high-tech amenities. The group operates Mexicana Airlines and more than 90 hotels, and plans to build 20 hotels under the new concept within the next 10 years.

The Aruba Resort Spa & Casino is scheduled to reopen as the Westin Aruba Resort & Spa in winter 2006 after completing renovations to enhance the property’s AAA Four-Diamond rating. Amenities include a 12,000-sq. ft. casino, a 3,500-sq. ft. day spa, 478 guest rooms, retail shops, private beachfront and the country’s No. 1-ranked steakhouse.

Renovations to the 358-room Radisson Resort Aruba are scheduled for completion this fall, when the property will open a $5.2 million spa. A new, $60 million, flagship Radisson St. Martin Resort and Spa is scheduled to open summer 2007 in St. Martin.

A St. Regis Resort and Residences is scheduled to open in 2008 at Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico, with 150 luxury suites, an oceanfront Robert Trent Jones Jr. golf course (scheduled to open in early 2007), a full-service spa and fitness center, oceanfront swimming pools and fine dining restaurants.

National
RLJ Development purchased 63 hotels from White Lodging Services Corp.’s national portfolio last month. A purchase of an additional 24 hotels is scheduled to close this month. The properties are expected to keep brand affiliations.

US Airways is scheduled to begin nonstop, year-round service between Sarasota-Bradenton [Fla.] and Washington, D.C. by Aug. 15.

Miami-based Landry & Kling Meetings at Sea completed its national certification as a “Women’s Business Enterprise” by the Women’s Business Development Center-Florida, a partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

Arizona
In Scottsdale, Trader Vic’s opened at the historic Hotel Valley Ho with a main dining room for up to 150 people and a semi-private dining room for up to 36 people. The Polynesian restaurant and tiki bar is open nightly for dinner and is available for private luncheons.

California
Marriott International Inc. signed on to manage two hotels scheduled to open in 2010 near the Los Angeles Convention Center and the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The 876-room Los Angeles Marriott Marquis and the 124-room Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles, will be part of the $2.5 billion LA Live complex, a sports and entertainment district currently in development.

Florida
US Airways is scheduled to begin daily round-trip flights between Orlando and Key West on Sept. 6.

The Hilton Key West Resort & Marina is scheduled to reopen as the Westin Key West Resort & Marina on Aug. 1 with 178 guest rooms, 37 residential-style cottages, a 36-slip marina and more than 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.

The Florida Keys and Key West Monroe County Tourist Development Council released an online brochure, “Prepared in Paradise,” for people traveling the Keys during the hurricane season. The brochure details how the region’s tourism industry communicates with emergency management officials in the unlikely event a tropical storm or hurricane threatens the islands, and has phone numbers of law enforcement, medical facilities and multilingual visitor assistance lines. To download the brochure, visit fla-keys.com.

The Holiday Inn Select at the Bell Tower Shops in Fort Myers is undergoing the final phase of a two-year, $5 million renovation and is scheduled to reopen as a Crowne Plaza hotel in November.

The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel launched a new Web site at FortMyersSanibel.com with planning tools and real-time customer service.

The Naples Bay Resort is scheduled to open in Sept. 2007 with 85 hotel rooms, 65 condo suites, 108 resort cottages, a gourmet restaurant and bar, 5,000 square feet of meeting and event space and a 97-slip marina. it will be managed by Benchmark Hospitality International.

In Miami, the 12,000-sq. ft. Biltmore Spa opened on the seventh floor of the historic Biltmore Hotel.

The Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club live music venue opened in the Deauville Beach Resort Hotel on Miami Beach.

The Miami Beach Botanical Garden opened the African-American Slave Garden, a project focused on landscape design and traditional plants grown in African-American gardens since the time of slavery.

The Event Firm opened its new corporate headquarters in West Coral Gables. The boutique agency has full in-house production capabilities including carpenters, seamstresses, caterers, event producers and set designers to customize events at its warehouse facility or offsite. Other services include destination management, and film and video editing.

The 230-acre Rosen Shingle Creek Resort is scheduled to open Sept. 9 in Orlando with 1,500 guest rooms and suites, 445,000 square feet of dedicated, state-of-the-art meeting space (including a 95,000-sq. ft. column-fee ballroom), a full-service spa, a health club, an 18-hole championship golf course, three outdoor swimming pools, two lighted tennis courts and more. IT is located one mile from the Orange County Convention Center.

Hilton Hotels Corp. plans to break ground this year on a 500-room Waldorf=Astoria Orlando and a neighboring 1,000-room Hilton, both located in Bonnet Creek, adjacent to the Walt Disney World Resort. Both properties are scheduled to open summer 2009; amenities include a Rees Jones-designed golf course, a spa, a fitness center, multiple food and beverage facilities, and 145,000 square feet of meeting space (including an 115,000-sq. ft. conference facility).

New park attractions at Universal Orlando include a Dr. Seuss-inspired train ride and Universal 360, a movie-inspired, high-tech, evening lagoon show. The Red Coconut Club, a two-story upscale cocktail lounge, is scheduled to open this month in CityWalk; the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is expected to open next month. CityWalk Party Pass tickets are available for $10. Passes give visitors access to all clubs, waiving individual cover charges.

In St. Pete Beach, the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort was awarded the Green Lodging Certification from the Department of Environmental Protection in recognition of its conservation efforts to reduce pollution and minimize waste. The resort and its sister property, the Sandpiper Hotel & Suites, recently made all guest rooms non-smoking.

Georgia
Athens’ Lyndon House Arts Center was awarded the prestigious Kaleidoscope Award for its Georgia Folks Project, a two-month art project featuring 135 works by 47 Georgia folk artists. The award singles out outstanding arts organizations and programming with far-reaching benefits to the state of Georgia.

Atlanta-based Active Production and Design, a full-service audio/visual company, was named the Georgia Chapter MPI Association’s “2006 Sponsor of the Year,” for its unusual production elements, such as its 7-ft.-tall water wall.

The Atlanta-based branch of teambuilding/entertainment company The Drum Café has moved. Its new address is 313 N. Clarendon Ave., Scottsdale, Ga., 30079. Its new phone number is 404-296-3722; its fax number is 404-296-3703.

Louisiana
Aramark Corp. reopened food-service operations at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans in its two on-site restaurants, food court and kitchen after restoring roughly 80 percent of the dining facilities.

Mississippi
Aramark of Philadelphia expects to reopen most food-service operations at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center in Biloxi by the end of this year.

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. and Diamondhead Casino Corp. are in preliminary talks about developing a 404-acre destination casino resort in Diamondhead. No groundbreaking dates have been announced.

South Carolina
The Ripken Baseball Experience opened in Myrtle Beach. The $24 million, 50-acre complex has four regulation baseball fields and eight junior fields, plus batting cages, pitching mounds, youth camps, tournaments and lodging.

Tennessee
Memphis restaurant Stella opened a 1930s-themed private function room for up to 100 people in the basement of the Brodnax Building, adjacent to its main dining room. Amenities include a full bar, a partial kitchen and restrooms in addition to historic architectural accents such as a mosaic tile floor and the building’s original bank vault, which may be used as a wine cellar.

Texas
The 492-room Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa opened near Austin. Amenities include an 18-hole signature golf course, a full-service spa, eight restaurants and bars, a water park, 16 miles of hiking and equestrian trails, 60,000 square feet of indoor function space and 230,000 square feet of outdoor event space.

The W Dallas – Victory opened last month with 252 guest rooms, eight function rooms for groups of up to 430, pre-function space and a social lounge. Other amenities include 24-hour in-room massages, video conferencing services, pet-friendly lodging, childcare services, on-site dining and a dedicated DJ spinning at the property’s Ghost Bar.

The Continental Presidents Club at Terminal E, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, won the Priority Pass “Lounge of the Year” award for the second year in a row. The award recognizes outstanding service and facilities in the area of business travel.

In San Antonio, the Spectrum Athletic Club opened a facility next to the Sheraton Gunter Hotel. Guests of the hotel have full access to the 17,000-sq. ft. fitness center, which has fitness classes and certified personal trainers, for $10 per person per visit.

The Hawthorne Suites Riverwalk San Antonio was named Hawthorne Suites’ “Hotel of the Year.” Amenities include 149 studio suites, complimentary hot breaks, an outdoor pool and sundeck overlooking the Riverwalk and complimentary high-speed Internet; it is near both the city’s convention center and the Alamo.

San Antonio’s Tower of the Americas reopened after an $11 million redevelopment of the attraction. The tallest observation tower in Texas now has a 250-seat fine dining restaurant, a 50-seat multi-sensory theater and an open-air observation deck with views of the city.