Leland M. Lewis named GM of the Chautauqua Hotel Company

Leland M. Lewis was named GM of Chautauqua Hotel Company, which includes the historic Athenaeum Hotel in Chautauqua, N.Y., and all of the institution’s dining and lodging services. A senior executive in the hospitality industry, Lewis has served as interim GM of the organization since August.

As GM, Lewis is responsible for all aspects of the Chautauqua Hotel Company’s operations. In partnership with Chautauqua Institution leadership and in support of and service to the Chautauqua mission, he serves as the company's primary strategic business leader. In the interim role, Lewis had already made a number of operational and strategic changes at the Athenaeum Hotel, including experimenting with regular fall hours at the hotel’s new lobby lounge and enhancing the building’s physical aesthetic and amenities. He also was charged with leading searches to hire for several key leadership positions within the hotel’s staff. 

Lewis has served in leadership roles in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years, most recently as GM of the historic Down Town Association in New York City. Previously, he was GM at New York's historic 1,015-room Roosevelt Hotel. Before that was executive director of patient support services for Cleveland Clinic, where he was recruited by the CEO to translate expertise of hospitality and guest services to enterprisewide clinic operations. 

Before his most recent appointments, Lewis worked in a variety of capacities for InterContinental Hotels, beginning in 1983 as director of sales and marketing for The Barclay in New York City, where he later returned as GM from 2005 to 2009. In the interim, Lewis held positions at various properties including GM at the InterContinental New Orleans, on the opening team for InterContinental Montreal, executive assistant manager for InterContinental Toronto and GM for three properties owned by the Cleveland Clinic, including InterContinental Suites, Cleveland Clinic Guest House and InterContinental Hotel and Conference Center, where he was the opening GM. His early-career experience includes positions at The Ritz Carlton Four Seasons at Watertower Place in Chicago, the Four Seasons Clift in San Francisco and Four Seasons in New York at The Pierre.  

“I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity—I love the environment that Chautauqua provides, and I love being involved with a hotel that’s on its way to reaching its full potential,” Lewis said in a statement. “I look forward to working with this talented team as we continue to restore the Athenaeum, physically and in terms of guest service, as a hotel worthy of its remarkable history.”