Plan Your Meetings

Names and Notes: November 2006

Names

Joe Gelchion was named senior vice president of owner relations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Joe Leonard, AirTran Airway’s chairman and CEO, received the 2006 Tony Jannus Award from the Tony Jannus Aviation Society for his contribution to the growth and improvement of the commercial aviation industry.

The Westin Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Puerto Rico announced several new hires. Nereida Amador is revenue manager; Annette Cereceda is associate director of catering; Alejandra Petkoff Rivas is group sales manager; and Colette Wilson is site inspection manager.

The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa in Carefree, Ariz., was named “North America’s Leading Spa Resort” and “Arizona’s Leading Spa Resort” at the 13th Annual World Travel Awards, voted on by 167,000 international travel professionals.

The Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Ariz., received the AAA Four Diamond Award.

Danielle Gutierrez was promoted to vice president of engineering and facilities management at Rosen Hotels & Resorts, which manages seven hotels in Orlando, Fla.

John Molnar was named director of convention services and catering for Orlando’s Rosen Centre; Phil Caronia was promoted to general manager; Christina Thomas was named resident manager. At sister property Rosen Shingle Creek, Jonathan Misiewicz was named conference center sales manager.

Bill Davis will become Universal Orlando Resort’s new president on December 5. Current President and CEO Bob Gault will assist the transition before officially retiring on Dec. 31, 2006.

Janet Rodgers, president of the Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau, was elected president of the Atlanta Metro Travel Association (AMTA), a collection of hotels, major attractions, service providers, destination marketing organizations, restaurants and shopping centers working to advance Metro Atlanta as a tourist destination.

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans announced several new hires. Mannie Iglesias and Luke Carlton were named exhibit services coordinators; Erik Gonzalez was named facility services manager; David Mason was named facility operations manager; and Robert Calogero was promoted to event operations manager. Also, Gina Ellis became a sales manager servicing the social, military, educational, religious and fraternal markets; and Jaime Richard was promoted to the position of national accounts manager, serving the Chicago market.

Glenn Duhy was named sales manager for New Orleans Fine Hotels, a collection of nine locally owned hotels, for the Midwest and West Coast markets. Nalander “Skip” Melton was named local corporate sales manager; Shelley Cambre was named director of group sales.

Notes

National

Delta began new nonstop service between New Orleans and Los Angeles.

United Airlines began new nonstop flights from Chicago O’Hare and San Francisco to Aspen/Pitken County [Colo.] Airport, and expanded service to Aspen from Los Angeles and Denver.

This month, AirTran Airways is scheduled to increase service from Indianapolis to and from Miami, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers; service to Sarasota/Bradenton and Fort Lauderdale from Indianapolis is scheduled to resume this month as well. Three new daily nonstop flights from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Tampa are scheduled to begin December 21. New nonstop service is scheduled to begin between Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., and Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa on Jan. 11, 2007. Also on that date, new air service is scheduled to begin to Daytona Beach International Airport from Baltimore and Atlanta.

Virgin America established a home base at San Francisco International Airport; the carrier is expected to launch domestic service early next year (pending government approval).

Arizona

Grossman Company Properties purchased the AAA Four-Diamond Pointe South Mountain Resort. The property, which will be managed by Classic Hotels and Resorts, is expected to undergo a $50 million renovation of its 640 suites; renovations will be spaced out over several years so as not to disrupt hotel business.

The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa in Carefree opened a 5,280-sq. ft. organic garden with a mesquite-burning fireplace and two outdoor dining areas.

Construction is underway on the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix Hotel, owned by the City of Phoenix. Upon completion, scheduled for September 2008, the property will have 80,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 30,000-sq. ft. ballroom, a junior ballroom and 16 meeting rooms.

Wright’s at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix re-opened. The historic restaurant features items produced from American boutique farms, dairies and ranches. Other features include an herb garden and private dining nooks. An adjoining lounge, The Wright Bar, has spillover event space on the Square Peak Lawn. The historic Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa is a member of the Waldorf-Astoria collection.

The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa plans to open a third restaurant next month: Red’s Steakhouse, a contemporary steakhouse with an 130-seat main dining room, two private dining areas, a wine cellar, a bar and lounge, and an outdoor patio.

An 144,000-sq. ft. Nordstrom’s is expected to open in fall 2009 in northeast Phoenix.

Colorado

The Denver Museum of Art opened its 146,000-sq. ft. Frederic C. Hamilton Building. Designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, the building increases the museum’s exhibition space by 40 percent, showcasing modern and contemporary Western American, African and Oceanic art from the museum’s permanent collection.

Florida

The Ocean Center Convention Complex in Daytona is open for business during its $63 million expansion, scheduled for completion in 2008. The expansion will add 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and 30,000 square feet of new meting space, nearly tripling its existing size. Other development projects scheduled to open concurrently with the expanded convention center include a new beachfront resort and an entertainment, dining and shopping district, which will replace the existing boardwalk.

The 1,100-room Sheraton World Orlando Resort was sold to UrbanAmerica, which plans to convert the property into the International Plaza Resort & Spa, a luxury condo-hotel. The hotel will remain open during the $30 million renovation and re-branding; dates have yet to be announced.

A $12.5 million renovation of the Orlando Airport Marriott is underway. Scheduled for completion by January 2007, improvements include upgraded guest rooms, concierge rooms and lounge, as well as meeting space.

The PGA Golf Club at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie completed renovations of two of its courses: the Ryder Course (formerly the North Course) and the Wanamaker Course (formerly the South Course). The club’s third course, the Dye Course, is scheduled for renovations in 2007.

The CityPlace complex in West Palm Beach is expected to open several shops and restaurants next month, including Ruth’s Chris’ Steak House and Lucky Brand Jeans; the complex is located across the street from the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

Plaka Restaurant will be tearing down its current facility and replacing it with an expanded two-story restaurant at Fort Myers Beach’s Times Square. Other restaurant and resort projects for the Times Square development are in the planning stages.

The Sanibel Sea School opened on Sanibel Island with a day-camp program for children and a fish-camp program for adults and teens.

Georgia

The Alpharetta CVB published a Sports Event Planning Guide. Call 678-297-2811 for hard copies; downloads will be available from awesomealpharetta.com.

The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta broke ground on a $13 million expansion project to increase its meeting space by 30,000 square feet. Improvements include expansion of the ballroom’s pre-function space, meeting rooms and green room areas.

Louisiana

The 290-room Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center (formerly the Heidelberg/Capitol House Hotel) completed a $60 million renovation.

Nevada

The Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas opened The Playboy Club, a $55 million retro-style lounge and casino staffed by Playboy “bunnies.”

Harrah’s Entertainment acquired the Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino from the Boyd Gaming Corp.

South Carolina

The Hilton Garden Inn-Harbison opened with 141 rooms, two suites and 3,500 square feet of meeting space.

Texas

Shanti, the Houston Zoo’s Asian elephant, gave birth to a 384-lb. male calf. The elephant exhibit currently is closed to the public, but will reopen once mother and calf have bonded.