A Roundup of US Hires, Promotions

In the Spotlight

Vai Cahoon, VP of acquisitions and development, Montage International
20 December 2017
New hire
Cahoon’s most recent position was as director of acquisitions and development at Viceroy Hotel Group.

Jay Rocha, VP of operations, Benchmark
21 December 2017
New hire
Rocha previously worked as GM of Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Ariel Freeman Sanett, VP of development, Dream Hotel Group
20 December 2017
New hire
Sanett previously worked as VP of business development at Crescent Hotels & Resorts.

Drew Salapka, SVP of revenue generation, Hotel Equities
14 December 2017
Promotion
Salapka has worked as Hotel Equities’ VP of sales and revenue generation since 2014.

Kellyn Smith Kenny, SVP and chief marketing officer, Hilton
14 December 2017
New hire
Kenny has held executive marketing positions at Microsoft, Capital One and Uber before joining Hilton.

Ernie Arias, SVP of sales and business development, The Watergate Hotel; Washington, D.C.
12 December 2017
New hire
Arias previously worked in sales and marketing for the Park Hyatt brand in three different cities—New York, Chicago and Washington.

Bruce Gorelick, GM of Loews Regency San Francisco; San Francisco
29 December 2017
New hire
Gorelick previously worked as GM of the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, and also has held GM positions at the JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square and Renaissance Hollywood.

Michael Stocker, GM of the DoubleTree by Hilton Little Rock; Little Rock, Arkansas
22 December 2017
New hire
Stocker most recently worked as director of operations at the Marriott Little Rock and State House Convention Center.

Tom Cupo, area GM of The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center; Blacksburg, Virginia
19 December 2017
Promotion
Cupo previously worked as regional managing director for Benchmark and led operations at The Chattanoogan, The Inn at Virginia Tech, Stonewall Resort, The Tennessean Hotel and Holiday Inn World’s Fair Park.

Dustin Kovats, GM of Marriott Hartford Downtown; Hartford, Connecticut
18 December 2017
New hire
Kovats has held prior GM positions with Marriott properties in Milwaukee and Boulder, Colorado.

Vijay Singh, managing director of Hotel Bennett; Charleston, South Carolina
14 December 2017
New hire
Singh previously worked as GM of The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, and before that, worked for Ritz-Carlton for 13 years.

Colm O’Callaghan, managing director of Montage Beverly Hills; Beverly Hills, California
14 December 2017
New hire
O’Callaghan previously worked as regional VP of Trump Hotels and managed properties in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Bob Megazzini, area GM of JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek and the Courtyard Marriott Denver Downtown; Denver
14 December 2017
Promotion
Megazzini was promoted from his most recent position as GM of The Westin Cleveland Downtown.

Arvin Berano, director of sales, Courtyard by Marriott Shelton; Shelton, Connecticut
3 January 2018
New hire
Berano previously worked as group sales manager at the Heritage Hotel Resort, Spa and Conference Center in Southbury, Connecticut.

Kelly Wilson, director of sales and marketing, Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center; Denver
21 December 2017
New hire
Wilson’s most recent position was as director of sales for the Hilton Garden Inn Denver Downtown.

Heidi Nowak, director of sales and marketing, Hotel Bennett; Charleston, South Carolina
14 December 2017
New hire
Nowak’s most recent position was as director of sales and marketing at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman.

Lindsay Forseth, director of catering and conference services, Hotel Bennett; Charleston, South Carolina
14 December 2017
New hire
Forseth spent the last three years as director of catering at Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Virginia.

Lindsey Sears, director of sales, Gild Hall, a Thompson Hotel; New York City
14 December 2017
New hire
Sears previously worked as director of sales at Hotel 50 Bowery.

Nikol Smith, director of catering sales, Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center; National Harbor, Maryland
14 December 2017
New hire
Smith’s most recent position was as director of meetings and special events at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas.

Lorena Chappell, director of sales and marketing, Hotel Contessa; San Antonio, Texas
12 December 2017
New hire
Chappell most recently worked as director of sales and marketing for the Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel & Conference Center in Georgetown, Texas.

Brian Atkins, director of sales and marketing, Hamilton Hotel Washington D.C.; Washington, D.C.
6 December 2017
New hire
Atkins has worked in sales and marketing and F&B for HEI Hotels and Resorts, Kimpton and Autograph Collection.