Marriott International appointed longtime W Hotels veteran Joanna McCreary to GM of the W Austin. McCreary returns to her Austin roots where she served on the opening team as W Austin’s director of rooms.
Throughout her tenure with the brand—which spans 16 years across five W hotels in various management roles—McCreary reopened W New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, opened W Atlanta Midtown in early 2008 and W Austin in late 2010. Her most recent role was hotel manager at the W Bellevue (Wash.), which received “Hotel Opening of the Year” in 2017 under her leadership. She also assisted with the openings of W Atlanta Buckhead, W Atlanta Downtown and W Fort Lauderdale along the way. During her six-and-a-half years as director of rooms, McCreary thrived in establishing top-tier service and achieving strong financial results for W Austin.
Reflective of her leadership dedication and passion for hospitality, McCreary was selected for the former Starwood’s Leadership programs, Grow Global & the Executive Committee Development Program and is now part of Marriott’s Emerging Leader Program. She earned a variety of property-level and city hospitality leadership awards including the CVB Big Apple Stars Award and was an Austin Hotel Association Finalist in 2014, and was a 2014 Nominee for Austin’s 40 under 40.
“I’m excited to be back at home in Austin after 16 months, I truly couldn’t stay away,” McCreary said in a statement . “This city has a unique spirit and as one of the top business and leisure travel destinations in the country, I can’t wait to lead the team at W Austin into what’s next for the hotel.”
McCreary’s love and interest in the hospitality industry has its roots in her international upbringing. Having grown up multiple countries overseas and since lived in a number of US cities, she was a natural fit to pursue a career in an industry all about travel, different people and cultures.
W Austin opened its doors in December 2010. Situated downtown in Austin’s 2nd Street District, the hotel and its attached restaurant, Trace and the AwaySpa are adjacent to ACL-LIVE at the Moody Theatre. It is also a part of Austin’s Block 21, a mixed-used city block made up of shops, restaurants and the hotel, making it the largest Silver LEED Certified building of its kind.