Two upcoming hotels have named opening leadership teams.
Palm Springs, Calif.
Margaritaville and Davidson Hotels & Resorts have appointed Matt Huss as general manager and Jeff Ouradnik as director of sales and marketing at Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs in Palm Springs, Calif.
The resort is slated to open this fall following the renovation and conversion of the former Riviera Palm Springs and will have 398 rooms, multiple Margaritaville-inspired dining concepts, a signature St. Somewhere Spa, the city's largest resort spa, all-new family-oriented programming and more than 40,000 square feet of combined wedding, meeting and event space. The property will be managed by Davidson Hotels & Resorts.
Matt Huss brings more than two decades of experience in hotel management to his new role. Before joining the resort, Huss spent nearly three years as general manager at the Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center. Previously, Huss also served as general manager at the Sheraton Memphis (Tenn.) Downtown Hotel and the Sheraton Agoura Hills Hotel and Renaissance Hotel in Agoura Hills, Calif. He has been named “General Manager of the Year” three times, receiving the accolade from Davidson Hotels & Resorts and twice from the Metropolitan Memphis Hotel and Lodging Association. In his new role as general manager, Huss will manage day-to-day operations, including integrating brand standards and service culture.
Jeff Ouradnik joins Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs with more than 15 years of hospitality, sales and marketing experience. Most recently, he served as the director of sales and marketing for the Hyatt Regency Austin (Texas) and fulfilled similar roles at several other Hyatt-branded properties, including Hyatt Regency Mission Bay in San Diego and Hyatt Regency Lake Washington in Seattle. Ouradnik will oversee all sales efforts and strategic positioning for the resort.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
The upcoming Residence Inn by Marriott Grand Rapids in Michigan has an opening general manager and opening director of sales.
Tharaldson Hospitality Management has hired Andrew White to be the property’s first GM and Cassaundra McDougall to oversee sales. The two will be at the helm of the 147-room property when it opens this winter.
White is a graduate from Grand Valley State University’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program and has eight years Residence Inn brand experience along with more than 14 years of experience in the hospitality industry overall. He also served in various roles at Hyatt and IHG products in the greater Grand Rapids market.
Tharaldson, based in Fargo, N.D., owns and operates nearly 70 hotels across the United States. The company has partnered with Hinman Co., a Michigan-based development and leasing company out of Portage, Mich., for this project.