MICHAEL INNOCENTIN’S JOINS OMNI
Omni Hotels & Resorts has welcomed Michael Innocentin as its chief marketing officer. He will report directly to Omni’s Chief Commercial Officer Jeff Doane.
Innocentin will oversee the planning, development and execution of brand marketing initiatives, including public relations, advertising, social media, company website and digital campaigns. He will also lead Omni’s customer engagement and Select Guest Loyalty programs.
Before his role at Omni, Innocentin served as the senior vice president, commercial projects at Fairmont Hotels. With a career spanning more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, he has held several leadership roles at Accor, including senior vice president of marketing, North America and vice president, e-commerce & digital, North America.
“I have had the opportunity of working with Michael in the past and am always impressed by his creativity and passion for innovation,” said Doane. “With his extensive background in hospitality sales and marketing, he brings a wealth of experience and amazing ideas that I know will help us elevate our marketing to a new level. I’m particularly excited about his enthusiasm for creating unique, data driven campaigns that will reflect our brand’s personality and drive revenue growth.”
MINOR’S NEW MIDDLE EAST DEVELOPMENT HEAD
Minor Hotels has appointed Lokesh Kumar as vice president of development for the Middle East. Kumar brings 23 years of business leadership experience and a track record in managing owner and key government relationships while executing private-public partnerships.
Prior to his new position at Minor, Kumar held a management consulting role, where he assisted in developing tourism offerings along the 1,600-km-long Coral Highway from Jezan to NEOM in Saudi Arabia and creating futuristic hotel concepts for the country’s tourism authority. He also provided advisory services for operator selection and joint venture assessment for a sovereign fund entity in Saudi Arabia which sought to develop 4,000 hotel rooms in key cities. He has held key responsibilities of development, asset management and commercial with hospitality companies such as Movenpick, Unison Hotels and The Oberoi Group.
In his new role, Kumar will be in charge of development strategies and management of assets across Minor’s portfolio of hotels, which include Anantara, Avani, NH Hotels, NH Collection, Tivoli and Oaks brands.
PATRICK MILLER JOINS RIO HOTEL & CASINO
The Rio Hotel & Casino Las Vegas has named Patrick Miller as president and CEO. Miller’s career spans 28 years in the gaming and hospitality industry and a track record in leading several resorts in Las Vegas. Miller will play an integral role in his new position, as the hotel is undergoing a multi-phase, $340 million renovation to revitalize the property.
Miller has held key positions within MGM Resorts International, including senior vice president overseeing the hospitality divisions at MGM Grand, New York-New York, Excalibur, Signature and the Shadow Creek golf course. He also served as the president and COO at Park MGM and NoMad Hotel, where he led the transformative half-billion-dollar renovation of Monte Carlo to Park MGM.Â
“Patrick’s extensive experience in the Las Vegas hospitality industry, including his many leadership roles at MGM Resorts, stands as a testament to his expertise,” said Chairman of Dreamscape, Eric Birnbaum. “Having overseen the transition of Monte Carlo to Park MGM, Patrick is the perfect person to lead the total revitalization of Rio Hotel & Casino and its dedicated team members into the next chapter of this iconic property’s history.”
NEW GMs
The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco has named Nicholas McDermott as its general manager. Most recently, McDermott served as general manager for four years at The St. Regis Houston.
With a culinary background, McDermott started his career at The Fairmont Château Lake Louise Hotel in Canada and went on to assume leadership roles at properties, such as The Westin Calgary and The Westin Boston Waterfront. He has held positions, including director of food & beverage at the Westin Book Cadillac and director of operations at The Westin Houston Memorial City. As the director of hotel operations at the JW Marriott Houston by the Galleria, McDermott led the renovation of the hotel.
Dale MacPhee has been appointed as general manager at Conrad Washington, D.C. Â She will lead in all aspects of hotel operations, from marketing and hotel administration to luxury hospitality.
With more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality sector and with Hilton, MacPhee joins from Cairo where she led the opening of Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis. MacPhee has worked across eight countries and three continents. She has held several leadership positions across Hilton’s portfolio, including general manager of Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian and general manager of the former Waldorf Astoria Collection London Syon Park. Her tenure as general manager includes additional roles at Hilton and London Hilton on Park Lane.
Hilton has appointed Manuela Fahringer as general manager of Zemi Miches All-Inclusive Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton. She will spearhead operations of the new-build resort, which marks the Curio Collection by Hilton’s first all-inclusive property in the Dominican Republic.
With more than 15 years of experience in hospitality, Fahringer earlier served as the general manager of The Excellence Punta Cana. She has served in several other hospitality brands, including Hotel Riu Bambu Punta Cana, Bahia Principe Bavaro Punta Cana, Luxury Bouganville La Romana and Luxury Bahia Principe Samana.
The Knoll Hotel Napa Valley, Tapestry Collection by Hilton has appointed Ken Murakami as general manager. He will oversee day-to-day operations and programming for the 90-key hotel and its F&B offerings. Murakami will also lead all aspects of the hotel operations and employee management.
Murakami has 20 years of hospitality experience at Aimbridge Hospitality, where he served as general manager and assistant general manager at several Hilton and Marriott-branded hotels. He joins The Knoll Hotel Napa Valley from Aimbridge, where he most recently served as the opening general manager at Home2 Suites Petaluma.