INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Hotel Business has been tracking industry appointments. RoomIt, CrediVia, JLL Hotels & Hospitality, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Allegiant Travel Company, and NH Hotel Group have all made recent changes to their teams:
RoomIt by CWT Appoints James Colquhoun VP of Finance/CFO
RoomIt by CWT, the hotel distribution division of CWT, the B2B4E travel management platform, has appointed James Colquhoun VP of finance/CFO. Colquhoun will be based at RoomIt by CWT’s Chicago headquarters. He is a proven leader in the hospitality and travel industry, with senior roles in partnerships, business development, distribution, finance, operations and marketing, including more than ten years with Hyatt Hotels. His expertise lies in improving revenue and profitability for both large corporations and start-ups, developing and executing disruptive strategies in the digital and distribution space, negotiating partnerships, and managing change.
CrediVia Names Trusha Patel Chief Business Development Officer
CrediVia, a marketplace driving smarter decisions and real relationships in hospitality financing, has named Trusha Patel as chief business development officer. Patel brings more than 20 years of real estate expertise to her role, tasked with further growing the company’s key partnerships while also providing strategic guidance to evolving CrediVia’s commercial loan marketplace. Patel most recently was SVP of commercial brokerage for Ten-X, an auction site for commercial real estate transactions.
JLL Hotels & Hospitality Adds Michele Mahl as EVP
Michele Mahl has joined JLL Hotels & Hospitality as EVP, based in New York. Mahl will report to Americas Co-Head of Hotel Capital Markets Jeffrey Davis and focus on spearheading full-service and resort hotel investment sales. Mahl joins JLL most recently from Newmark Knight Frank’s lodging capital markets group and prior to that, was a tenured member of Eastdil Secured’s hotels team. Throughout the course of her career, Mahl has been involved with more than $65-billion in property sales, debt placements and M&A advisory. Key transactions include the marquee sales of the Waldorf Astoria New York, The London NYC, W Union Square New York and the Washington Hilton.
Four Seasons Appoints Bed Trodd to SVP, Sales & Hotel Marketing
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has appointed Ben Trodd to the role of SVP, sales and hotel marketing, consolidating the hotel marketing, hotel sales and worldwide sales office teams under a single leader. In his new role, Trodd will further improve the alignment and communication between Four Seasons hotel sales, marketing and worldwide sales office teams. Trodd will advance partnerships in the meetings, events and travel industry segments, and will also oversee all sales-related functions, such as sales technology, events and sales training. In addition to these sales functions, Trodd will oversee global hotel marketing programs, ensuring that sales and marketing efforts are aligned across the organization. Trodd, who began his Four Seasons career in 1995, has experience across the company gained through progressively senior roles in sales, marketing and operations. Recently, Trodd was regional VP and general manager of Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, A Four Seasons Hotel.
Allegiant Travel Company Names VP of Sales & Marketing for Sunseeker Resorts
Allegiant Travel Company has named Ryan O’Byrne VP of sales and marketing for Sunseeker Resorts. O’Byrne’s core responsibility will be establishing and driving all aspects of sales for the new Sunseeker Resorts Charlotte Harbor in Florida, as well as developing a marketing strategy for Sunseeker Resorts, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Allegiant Travel Company. A hospitality sales veteran with nearly 15 years in the industry, O’Byrne has worked in major destination cities such as New York, Chicago and Houston. He joins the company from Highgate in Dallas, where he served as VP of sales for the hospitality management company. O’Byrne brings a range of experience to Sunseeker, from building and opening hotels to remodeling and rebranding existing resorts. He previously served as corporate director of global sales for Omni Hotels & Resorts.
NH Hotel Group Makes Board Changes
The board of directors of NH Hotel Group, in response to a proposal from the Appointments, Remuneration and Corporate Governance Committee, has approved two new appointments to the governing body. Beatriz Puente, NH executive managing director of finance & administration and Kosin Chantikul, SVP of investment & acquisitions at Minor Hotels, were both co-opted as new members. The two new board members will occupy seats left vacant by the resignation of Maria Grecna, Paul Johnson and José María Sagardoy, as a result of which the board will consist of nine directors: four proprietary directors, three independents and two executives.