Marc Taft has been named vice president, F&B operations for Davidson Hotels & Resorts and its Davidson Restaurant Group division. Taft will support food and beverage strategies and work with operations teams across the company. Taft was most recently the executive chef for multiple Atlanta-area restaurants.
Here’s a look at other notable comings and goings that took place this week.
Steve Belmonte—shareholder, senior advisor, and Executive Board of Directors member of Advantage Hotels, Inc.—is taking on a larger role and focusing on the company’s brand expansion.
Valerie Iwasaki is senior leisure account director for Terranea Resort in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif. During her career, Iwasaki was with The Ritz-Carlton brand for 16 years, working for The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, and The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey. Before Terranea Resort, she was account director leisure for The St. Regis Princeville Resort in Kauai, Hawaii.
Jim Crawford is general manager of Hotel Deco in Omaha, Neb., where he will lead operations and contribute to growth strategies. Crawford was most recently general manager of the Embassy Suites Downtown Omaha. He has 30 years of hotel and restaurant experience.
Radisson RED Portland Downtown has named Josh Tart sales manager, where we will work with and find potential clients, manage sales and marketing initiatives, and oversee large accounts. Before Radisson, Tart was director of catering and conference services for the RiverPlace Hotel and King Tide Fish & Shell, both Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants outlets.
Heidi Smith is director of rooms for the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa in Cedar Creek, Texas. Smith has worked for the Hyatt Corporation for 16 years. Some of the properties she has worked at include the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch and the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa, and Marina.
The Renaissance New York Chelsea Hotel is welcoming Chris Rynkar general manager and Yelithza Gonzales director of sales and marketing. Rynkar is focusing on operations, customer service, and employee management, and Gonzales is developing new account and leading all sales efforts for the hotel.
Viceroy Hotels & Resorts has hired Scott Boyle as vice president of design and creativity. Boyle joins Viceroy Hotels & Resorts with more than 20 years’ experience in hospitality, mixed-use, and luxury residential design, construction, and development.
Concord Hospitality Enterprises has announced that Jared Garner has joined the hotel management and development company as its general counsel and chief compliance officer. In this role, he will lead Concord Hospitality’s legal and compliance functions, as well as support the company’s strategic initiatives.
Virgin Hotels Dallas, which is set to open this December in the Dallas Design District, is welcoming three hospitality professionals to its leadership team: Mark Yanke as General Manager, Michael Scheel as Director of Food and Beverage, and Edward Hahn III as Director of Sales.
