SONESTA HIRES INDUSTRY VET PHIL HUGH TO LEAD LUXURY & LIFESTYLE DEV DIVISION
Sonesta International has created a Luxury & Lifestyle Lodging Development Team that will be headed by SVP Phil Hugh, former CDO of Radisson Hotel Group Americas and, prior to that position, CDO of Red Roof. The team will lead Sonesta’s growth of its upper-upscale brands, which include The James and The Royal Sonesta franchises in the Americas.
Hugh is joined by RVPs William (Bill) Hall, Tom Williams and Mike Higgins.
“We are empowering this team, dedicated to the upper end of the market, to continue expanding Sonesta’s footprint of our upper upscale brands,” said Brian Quinn, Sonesta’s chief development officer. “We anticipate accelerated portfolio growth with The James and The Royal Sonesta brands.”
“The luxury and lifestyle markets are a compelling opportunity for Sonesta,” said Hugh. “Sonesta has continued to expand its development capabilities and we, as a team, are committed to working with owners, management companies and the development community to grow this segment.”
NEW LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS AT PREFERRED TRAVEL GROUP
Preferred Travel Group has announced three strategic appointments to its global and regional leadership teams as part of its portfolio growth and loyalty marketing development strategy. Stephanie Dowling has been appointed senior vice president of corporate communications and public relations; Gladys Camphuijsen has become vice president of sales and new business development for Europe, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa; Jennifer Munro has been named vice president of loyalty; and Simone Mariote has been promoted to executive vice president for South America from Vice President of Global Sales for Latin America. The appointments come on the heels of Preferred Travel Group’s rebrand from Preferred Hotel Group “to strengthen its identity as a travel and hospitality company and intended to accelerate the growth of its family of brands.”
TPG’s NEW MAN AT THE TOP
TPG Hotels & Resorts has appointed Ben Perelmuter president and chief operating officer. Perelmuter will oversee the operational performance of TPG’s entire hospitality portfolio.
Perelmuter joins TPG Hotels & Resorts with nearly 30 years of hospitality leadership experience, most recently as Division President at Aimbridge Hospitality. He oversaw the operational performance of hundreds of properties across all major brands in the United States during his 15-year tenure with the company. Before that, he spent eleven years in hotel operations of large convention hotels and resorts, including the Grand Hyatt New York, Hyatt Regency New Orleans at the Superdome, Marriott Suites Clearwater Beach and Embassy Suites in Tampa as general manager and other director-level roles within operations.
MORE MOVES
Accor has appointed David Young as chief sustainability officer and director of ESG for Accor Pacific, following the company’s strategic partnership with Ecotourism Australia to certify all Accor hotels, apartments and resorts across Australia and the Pacific as Sustainable Tourism certified businesses. Young has extensive ESG, commercial and operational experience; before joining Accor, he worked with the oneworld alliance as global program director of sustainability and was previously the executive manager of sustainability and ESG at the Qantas Group.
Hotel Du Pont has appointed Jeremy Costa as managing director. As the newest addition to the dynamic leadership team, Costa will oversee capital improvements while furthering the recognition, preservation and celebration of the hotel and its 110-year history.
NoMad London has announced the promotion of Christopher Perone, previously food and beverage director, as general manager of the West End hotspot. A native New Yorker, who helped to launch the original NoMad NYC in 2012, Perone brings over 20 years of operational experience to his new role. Since the start of construction on the London flagship, Perone has played an important role as food and beverage director, developing the culinary offerings of the brand.