At McKibbon Hospitality, Darren Tallent, Erin Cerrato and Michael Herr have been promoted and long-time leader Michael Hickerson has returned in a new role.
Tallent and Hickerson have been appointed regional VPs of operations, each supporting their own respective portfolio of hotels with leadership development and recruitment of general managers, operational strategy, budget planning, sales initiatives and guest satisfaction. Appointed into the newly created positions of regional directors of revenue management, Cerrato and Herr are responsible for guiding comprehensive revenue-generation strategies and overseeing McKibbon’s team of regional revenue managers.
Tallent joined McKibbon Hospitality in 2011 as a dual operations manager shortly after graduating from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He was promoted to assistant general manager, general manager and most recently was the dual general manager of the Courtyard & Residence Inn Knoxville Cedar Bluff where he also served as lead sales general manager for six McKibbon-managed Knoxville hotels.
Hickerson joined McKibbon in 2001 as the general manager for SpringHill Suites Sarasota Airport. Hickerson later went on to open McKibbon’s Courtyard Little Rock Downtown as GM, receiving Marriott's opening general manager of the year award. He helped open several downtown Little Rock hotels in the years to follow and became the dual GM of the Courtyard and Residence Inn, which received Marriott's Opening Hotel of the Year Award. He successfully opened the AC Hotel Asheville Downtown in 2017 and the AC Hotel Nashville Brentwood in 2021. Most recently, he served as VP of operations for Yedla Hotel Management, responsible for the overall performance of 21 hotels.
Cerrato started her career in 2004 in Orlando while completing her degree in hospitality management at the University of Central Florida. Before joining McKibbon in 2013 as a regional revenue manager, Cerrato held a variety of positions at full-service properties, including Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, The Breakers Palm Beach, Cranes Beach House in Delray Beach and Tampa Marriott Water Street. Cerrato stepped into a senior revenue manager role during the pandemic before her recent promotion to regional director of revenue management. Cerrato has years of experience with Marriott, Hilton, Choice, IHG and Hyatt revenue systems.
Herr joined McKibbon in April 2021 as a regional revenue manager, bringing nearly 15 years of revenue management leadership experience to the role. Before joining McKibbon, Herr held various revenue management roles with HEI Hotels and Resorts, White Lodging, Midas Hospitality and Marcus Hotels & Resorts. He also worked as an independent revenue management consultant and contractor.