Proper Hospitality named new general managers this week for three high-end properties it will open over the next few months.
Karin Kopano will serve as area general manager at the 271-room Santa Monica Proper Hotel, opening this May in Santa Monica, Calif. She comes from a background of opening hotels, most recently with Hotel 50 Bowery in New York City. While leading the preopening there, she oversaw budget, project management, design, branding, culture development and owner relations. Over her career she has worked with Morgan’s Hotel Group, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Two Roads Hospitality, Baron’s Cove and Gansevoort Hotels.
Proper Hospitality has picked Cristiano Buono to lead operations as general manager for the Austin Proper Hotel & Residences, opening in June in Austin, Texas. His past positions include a range of leadership roles at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach; The Ritz-Carlton Club, Aspen Highlands in Aspen, Colo.; The Ritz-Carlton, Abama in Tenerife, Spain; The Waikiki (Hawaii) Edition and The New York Edition.
Stephane Lacroix will serve as GM of the Downtown LA Proper Hotel, also opening this June. At his most recent position, executive assistant manager for the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills (Calif.), he oversaw all food-and-beverage operations. Before that, he worked at Baccarat Hotel in New York City; The Beverly Hills Hotel; Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles; The New York Palace; The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco; the Bellagio in Las Vegas; the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, Monaco; the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.; and the Ritz in Paris.