Hilton has announced a lineup of hospitality executives who will be joining the executive leadership team at Waldorf Astoria New York. The 375-room hotel is scheduled to reopen later this year, following multi-year renovations.
The new team will be led by Managing Director Luigi Romaniello, with Jasmin Howanietz set to return to the hotel in a new capacity of executive director of sales. Together, Romaniello and Howanietz bring decades of experience to their roles and an understanding of the luxury sector.
With a career spanning more than 30 years, Romaniello has held leadership roles at several hotels across the world, where he has assisted in openings, renovations, concept development and repositioning.
In his new position, he assumed an essential role in redefining the next chapter of Waldorf Astoria New York, helping to deliver on Conrad Hilton’s vision of the landmark hotel as the “greatest of them all.” Along with supporting plan for the hotel’s reopening, Romaniello will spearhead all aspects of operations for the hotel as well as the Waldorf Astoria Residences New York, the hotel’s recently launched residences.
Prior to his role at Waldorf Astoria New York, Romaniello was the managing director at The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel in New York City. Before this, he spent over two decades with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, where he was in charge of the openings of Rosewood Baha Mar and Rosewood Abu Dhabi Hotel as the managing director.
With 26 years of sales experience, Howanietz is returning to the iconic hotel after spending over 10 years in commercial leadership positions at the hotel, including director of sales and marketing, director of sales and director of diplomatic affairs.
She will be leading the commercial strategy to establish Waldorf Astoria New York as an example of luxury in the city and strengthening the Waldorf Astoria brand as a hallmark in luxury hospitality.
Howanietz oversees all sales opportunities for the luxury group, leisure and business travel sectors and New York City’s premier social events and collaborates with the sales and marketing team for Waldorf Astoria Residences New York.
Along with Howanietz, the executive team of the hotel includes:
- Maggie Mojica – Director of Group Sales
- Michael Gubbins – Director of Property Operations
- Harrison Rohr – Director of Catering
- Amanda Dempsey – Director of Marketing
- Steven Snyder – Director of Human Resources
An icon of Manhattan for more than a century, the hotel was sold by Hilton to Chinese company Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95 billion in 2014, with Hilton retaining the management contract. The acquisition set a record for the largest purchase of an American real estate asset by a Chinese buyer. The deal also heralded the arrival of China’s state-owned insurance companies into the U.S. market. The hotel is now owned by China-based Dajia Insurance Group, a financial group created after the Chinese government seized Anbang in February 2018 as part of a crackdown on companies spending massive amounts on foreign assets. Anbang’s CEO was arrested under corruption charges.
Located at 301 Park Avenue, the 47-story hotel closed in March 2017 for renovations with the owners announcing plans to transform some of the rooms into apartments.
The reopening will mark a new era for the hotel, with the property featuring some of Manhattan’s biggest rooms and suites. With more than 43,000 square feet of event space offering 17 spaces, Waldorf Astoria New York will also have one of the largest spas in NYC – spread across over 30,000 square feet.
The hotel will debut 375 private homes, ranging from studios to four-bedroom units, atop the hotel. Interiors of the residences were led by Jean-Louis Deniot, with exclusive amenities and an art collection curated by Simon de Pury.
The revitalized hotel features Art Deco opulence designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon, who was inspired by the hotel’s classic grandeur and brought together the old and the new, the European and the American.