Jay Wetzel joins Virgin Hotels as VP, food & beverage

Virgin Hotels, the lifestyle hotel brand by Richard Branson, welcomes Jay Wetzel as the new vice president of food + beverage. Wetzel will oversee the overall direction of food and beverage for the company, working on the various restaurant and bar concepts within the hotels while strengthening culinary partnerships across the brand.

Wetzel brings more than 20 years of experience as a chef and culinary executive to the Virgin Hotels team. Most recently, he worked as the senior corporate director of food and beverage at Rosewood Hotel Group, overseeing both food-and-beverage operations and project-related developments for the brand. Wetzel has also served as an executive chef with Hyatt.

Virgin Hotels Chicago opened in 2015, and the brand recently announced plans to open additional properties in New Orleans, Silicon Valley, Nashville, and Palm Springs.  Hotels in Dallas and New York City are currently under construction, slated to open in 2018 and 2019, respectively.