U.S. hotels name new general managers

Hotels across the country have named new general managers in recent weeks. Here are a few recent appointments.

San Antonio

La Cantera Resort & Spa has named Camila Frederico as the property’s first woman general manager.

Before joining La Cantera Resort & Spa, Frederico worked at Civana Wellness Resort & Spa in Carefree, Ariz.; in San Francisco at The W Hotel and The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square; and both The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay and Phoenix.

Sedona, Ariz.

Tobby Rau has been named general manager of Poco Diablo Resort & Spa, an Aimbridge Hospitality property in Sedona, Ariz. Rau brings some 30 years of hotel management experience to Poco Diablo. Currently, he is overseeing a $22 million renovation of the property’s 137 guestrooms, public spaces and grounds.

Before joining Aimbridge, Rau was director of operations at L’Auberge de Sedona after working in the same capacity at Benchmark Resorts & Hotels. He also spent more than 20 years as a food-and-beverage professional, serving as F&B director at Florida’s Streamsong Resort; the Royal Sonesta in New Orleans; Destination Hotels & Resorts in Tampa and San Diego; Don Cesar Beach Resort in St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.; and Wyndham Worldwide properties in both the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Chicago

Rike Erdbrink is the new general manager of the 198-room Park Hyatt Chicago. A German national, Erdbrink is responsible for directing all aspects of hotel operations, as well as overseeing the hotel’s 140 workers.

Most recently, Erdbrink was hotel manager at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. Before this, Erdbrink was the preopening hotel manager at Hyatt Regency Beijing and director of rooms at Grand Hyatt Sanya Haitang Bay Resort & Spa where she led two openings. During her 10 years in the Asia Pacific region, she supported several hotels and resorts including Grand Hyatt Dubai, Park Hyatt Sanya Sunny Bay Resort, Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Hyatt House Niseko, Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and Hyatt Regency Cologne.

Boston

In downtown Boston, the Hyatt Regency Boston has named Chryssaldo Thomas as the new general manager. Thomas will be responsible for directing and overseeing operations at the 502-room property hotel. 

Thomas joins the Hyatt Regency Boston from Oahu, Hawaii, where he was area general manager for Ohana Waikiki East & Waikiki Malia by Outrigger. He began his career as a corporate management trainee at the Hyatt Regency Miami, where he worked in the rooms division. Throughout his Hyatt career, he worked in rooms, serving as director of rooms at many Hyatt hotels and resorts throughout the country, including the 601-room Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa in 2014. In his most recent role as area general manager, Thomas oversaw the daily operations of the Ohana Waikiki East and Waikiki Malia by Outrigger.

Boston

Marianna Accomando has been appointed VP and general manager of the Seaport Hotel in Boston’s Seaport District. Accomando has been with the hotel for more than 20 years, having joined as director of catering when the hotel opened in 1998. She has held other key management roles at the company, including VP of sales, and most recently as assistant general manager since 2010.

Accomando is the third female GM in the Seaport Hotel’s 23-year history. In her new role, she is responsible for leading the executive management team for all policy, operational and cultural issues, managing all sales efforts at the property, setting service standards and creating partnership opportunities in the community. She earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of New Hampshire.

Napa Valley, Calif.

Ed Gannon will be the debut general manager of the Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection, a new 700-acre resort and residential property opening in Napa, Calif., early next year.

Gannon joins Auberge after years with Four Seasons Resorts, serving as general manager at both Four Season Resort and Residences Jackson Hole and Four Season Resort Nevis. Before his time with Four Seasons, Gannon held leadership positions at Rosewood Hotels and Resorts’ Jumby Bay in Antigua; Caneel Bay in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands; Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; and Rosewood’s Sand Hill property in Menlo Park, Calif.

Gannon has held roles from the kitchen to the executive office. Before becoming a GM, he was executive chef at a variety of luxury properties, including Four Seasons Hotel Boston and The White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine.  

Omaha, Neb.

Marcus Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corp., has appointed Carlo Vermeeren as general manager of the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District in Omaha, Neb. In his new role, Vermeeren will oversee operations of the 333-room hotel.

Most recently, Vermeeren was hotel manager of The Roosevelt hotel in New Orleans, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where he managed the hotel’s multimillion-dollar renovations. Vermeeren has also held other roles at luxury brands, including global director of guest experiences luxury and lifestyle brands at Hilton, where he was responsible for the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts and Canopy brands. Earlier in his career, Vermeeren served as executive rooms director and interim general manager of the Hilton Milwaukee City Center in Milwaukee.