A number of hotels—both open and upcoming—have announced new leadership in the past few weeks. Here are some names to know at both big and boutique hotels.
Hotel Revival Baltimore
The Hotel Revival Baltimore not only has a new management company in New Waterloo but also a new general manager. Ramond Sneed has followed Donte Johnson, now GM at the Thompson Buckhead in Atlanta, to the hotel’s top spot.
In Baltimore, Sneed held roles at the Royal Sonesta Harbor Court Hotel and the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel as director of operations and senior food and beverage manager, respectively. He oversaw the Sonesta Select Hotel in Arlington, Va., through the pandemic as GM.
C. Baldwin Hotel
In downtown Houston, Charley Morales is the new GM at the C. Baldwin Hotel. Morales will oversee operations at the 354-key property, with a focus on guest services, recruiting and budget management.
Morales joins the C. Baldwin Hotel team with over two decades of experience within the hospitality industry. A Texas native, he most recently was opening GM at The Laura Hotel in Houston. He additionally held general manager and operations roles at the Sheraton Music City in Nashville, The Westin Park Central in Dallas and The Westin Dallas Downtown. Morales is a board member of the Houston Hospitality Alliance.
Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua
In Hawaii, Melissa Lee is the new hotel manager at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua. Lee has more than 20 years of experience in the luxury hospitality and culinary industry and will oversee all hotel operations of the hotel in her new role.
Before joining the hotel team, Lee was director of hotel operations at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. She also held executive positions at The Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City, Va.; The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Fla.; and The Ritz-Carlton, Orlando, Grande Lakes.
Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis
Bosther Kusich is the new GM at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, overseeing all operations for the 299-room property.
In his present role as GM of The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Kusich oversaw multimillion-dollar renovation projects. Throughout his career, Kusich held numerous senior management positions, overseeing food and beverage and hotel operations at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, Fla.; The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Hawaii; The Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix; and The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, Fla. Kusich also held leadership roles domestically and internationally, starting at the Aruba Marriott & Stellaris Casino.
Amangani
The team at Aman appointed David Silva GM of Amangani in Jackson Hole, Wy. Silva joins the property with almost 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, having started his career in food and beverage.
Silva began his hospitality career in 2004 with Marriott, and went on to work in management roles at The Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas and the Fairmont San Francisco. Before joining Aman, Silva was a hotel manager at both the Pendry Park City and St. Regis Deer Valley in Utah, where he managed both hotel and residences operations.
Silva replaces outgoing GM Stuart Lang, who is retiring from his role after two decades with Aman, having first joined the brand in 2003 as national sales manager.
Hotel Renegade
Geronimo Hospitality Group named Jussi Santa the general manager of the upcoming Hotel Renegade, the 122-key boutique property slated to open in downtown Boise, Idaho, in spring 2024.
Santa is an Idaho native with more than two decades of hospitality experience. As the hotel’s GM, his responsibilities will include recruiting and onboarding staff, managing employees and guests and promoting the hotel’s profitability.
Before joining the Hotel Renegade team, Santa was the director of operations for the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Spa & Golf Club in Carlsbad, Calif. He also held senior leadership roles at Pendry San Diego, Hyatt Regency Indian Wells (Calif.) Resort & Spa and the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas.
Lodge at Marconi
General Manager Bryon Parsons and Hotel Manager Leah Vitali are set to lead the management and operations teams for the upcoming Lodge at Marconi, the reimagined 45-room hotel slated to open in Marshall, Calif., later this year. The Hotel is managed by Oliver Hospitality, a hotel and restaurant management company based in Nashville.
With more than 10 years of experience, Parsons will be responsible for managing all day-to-day operations for accommodations, food and beverage and events. Before joining the Lodge at Marconi, Parsons was the GM of Timber Cove in Jenner, Calif., and at the Harbor House Inn restaurant in Elk, Calif, as well as chief operating officer at Sequoia Resort in Badger, Calif.
A West Marin native with more than 10 years of luxury hotel experience between the Hotel Bel-air in Los Angeles and the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Calif., Vitali will oversee all components of the hotel’s operating and financial initiatives and will be responsible for building and maintaining long-term guest relationships. Most recently, Vitali was chief operating officer at Juniper Ridge in Oakland, Calif.
Outlook Inn
Columbia Hospitality, managers and operators of the Outlook Inn in Washington’s San Juan Islands, appointed Katie Sellers as GM of the coastal property.
Sellers has lived on Orcas Island for more than 13 years, previously working as food and beverage manager at Outlook Inn and its New Leaf Cafe, where she was responsible for planning and overseeing execution of the property’s culinary program. She is already familiar with Outlook Inn’s operations and standards and has a respected reputation among staff and the local community.
Outlook Inn has 32 rooms and suites, a restaurant overseen by Chef Andrew Martin and both indoor and outdoor event spaces.
Fairlane Hotel
In downtown Nashville, Michael Dunbar will take the lead on hotel operations and guest relations as GM of the 79-room Fairlane Hotel.
Dunbar will oversee employee performance and guest satisfaction within the property, while also monitoring and developing team member performance and encouraging professional development.
Before his role at the Fairlane Hotel, Dunbar opened and managed the AC & Element Hotels by Marriott in San Antonio Riverwalk. Dunbar also held general manager roles at Dream Midtown in New York City and 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati.
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines
Irby Morvant Jr. is set to lead the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa near Austin, Texas, as general manager.
Morvant has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality management industry. Most recently, Morvant was GM of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa in Hawaii, and before that at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport. Other positions include GM at Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa & Marina in San Diego and regional VP of sales and revenue for Hyatt Hotels Corp. overseeing multiple Hyatt resort properties. He held numerous hospitality roles at Hyatt Regency hotels in Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and New Orleans after graduating from University of New Orleans.
Among the resort updates that Morvant will oversee is the resort’s newest restaurant, Maude’s Bar and Terrace, debuting this summer, the reimagined Maverick’s Roadhouse and Heartwood House restaurants, and the redesigned Lost Pines Golf Course. Morvant will also be responsible for directing future resort developments.
Pueblo Bonito Vantage San Miguel de Allende
Luz “Lucy” Ruiz, a native of Mexico City, has been named the general manager of the new Pueblo Bonito Vantage San Miguel de Allende.
Most recently, Ruiz was GM of Grand Luxxe Nuevo Vallarta (part of Vidanta) in western Mexico. She was general manager of Hyatt Centric Las Condes in Santiago, Chile, and the Park Royal Cancun. She also was managing director of Grand Velas in Riviera Nayarit on Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta coast.
The Nov. 30 opening will mark the debut of the Pueblo Bonito Vantage brand