MIAMI—SH Hotels & Resorts, a sustainable hotel brand management company that operates 1 Hotels, Treehouse Hotels & Baccarat Hotels & Resorts, announced the hiring of Toni Stoeckl as Chief Marketing Officer. In the CMO role, he will be responsible for each brand’s larger marketing strategy with a focus on the consumer brand experience and creating a 360° marketing approach as the company enters a period of robust international growth. Stoeckl will also play an important role as the organization enhances its commitment to and execution of its mission to provide a preference-driven, forward-thinking, and memorable customer journey that starts at the moment of...

PALM DESERT, CALIF.—JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa announces the newest member of its team, Chef Eric Theiss, who recently came on board as Executive Chef of the iconic resort. Set on 450 acres, Palm Desert’s largest resort recently unveiled a multi-million-dollar renovation, inspiring a new level of luxury with updated guestrooms and suites, public areas, and event spaces. Eric will oversee all culinary operations at the numerous restaurant and bar offerings onsite as well as extensive banquet operations, leading the resort’s food and beverage teams in delivering an unparalleled level of excellence in both dining and service. Theiss will...

NORTHBROOK, ILL.—UMF Corp. recently announced that Mabel Castro, guestroom attendant (GRA) at the Chicago Marriott Downtown, has earned the company’s third annual Guest Room Attendant Excellence Award. UMF established the GRA Excellence Award in 2020 to acknowledge the crucial role GRAs play in ensuring hotel guest safety, satisfaction, and loyalty in the COVID-19 era. “In the more than 15 years that Mabel has worked for Marriott, she has been recognized countless times by our guests for going above and beyond,” said Chicago Marriott Downtown Director of Services Victoria DeSantis. “She consistently exceeds our guests’ expectations, exuding positive energy, remembering our return...

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, MEXICO—Palmaïa—The House of AïA, a holistic wellness retreat in Rivera Maya, Mexico, known for its transformative Progressive Wellness concept, is excited to share the appointment of Chef Carlos Carrion Garcia, a, pioneer in plant-based food. Better known as “Chef Charly,” he is known for his deep layers of flavor with textures most people would think are impossible to achieve with plants. The addition of Chef Charly to the team will push Palmaïa’s culinary team past the boundaries of healthy food beyond the conventional way of thinking. Chef Charly founded Charly’s Vegan Tacos, in Tulum and Wynwood, Miami. “Charly’s”...

KHANH HOA PROVINCE, VIETNAM—Vu Ngoc Linh, a hospitality professional with over a decade of experience in food and beverage departments, has left the career ladder of the typical restaurant professional to pursue a whole new kind of fulfillment. Earlier this spring, the 580-room Alma Resort on Vietnam’s south-central coast appointed Linh as its first Sustainability Officer. It will be Linh’s job to track the property’s energy consumption, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste disposal, transportation, education efforts, and building design. The role also involves creating sustainability programs, budgets, and schedules, evaluating the success of sustainability initiatives, and managing three staff committees...

DALTON, GA.—The Manufacturing Institute—the workforce development and education partner of the National Association of Manufacturers—recently recognized Laura Smith, Director of SIOP (Sales, Inventory and Operations Planning) at Shaw, as a STEP Ahead Award Honoree at its annual awards ceremony. STEP works to foster a 21st-century manufacturing workforce by empowering and inspiring women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research, and leadership, as well as by motivating alumni to pay it forward by mentoring the next generation. The STEP Ahead Awards honor exceptional women in manufacturing and motivate them to mentor the next generation through an annual awards gala and...

Name: Linda Baynham Title: Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Convention Center: New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Years in Current Position: 2 years, 8 months Primary Responsibility: “Right now, it is LEED certification. That is what I have been tasked with this year. It brings together everything we are doing. We are trying to be the green convention center in the region.” Organization’s most significant accomplishment in global corporate responsibility: “I am proud of the energy upgrade we just did.” Organization’s most significant challenge moving forward in global corporate responsibility: “I think getting LEED certification is going to be big. We...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Hotel & Lodging Foundation (AHLA Foundation) announced that anti-human trafficking professional Eliza McCoy will join the organization as Vice President of Awareness and Prevention Programs. In this newly created position, McCoy will build on the momentum of the organization’s No Room For Trafficking campaign to ensure every hotel employee is trained to spot and stop trafficking. “I’m thrilled to have Eliza join us at this critical time in our industry as travel begins to resume and anti-trafficking training of our employees is more important than ever,” said Rosanna Maietta, President and CEO of the AHLA Foundation. “Eliza’s depth...

ROCKVILLE, MD.—Choice Hotels International, Inc., one of the world’s largest lodging franchisors, has appointed Megan Brumagim to the newly created role of Vice President of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). In this new role, Brumagim will lead Choice’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives, championing the pillars of environmental sustainability, human rights, diversity and inclusion, philanthropic and community engagement, and corporate governance. In addition to furthering the company’s existing mission-driven initiatives—from its key partnerships such as with Operation Homefront to support service members and their families to its industry-leading efforts to enhance opportunities for minority-owned businesses and more—Brumagim will continue...

Names: Sophia Lykke Title: Public Relations & CSR Manager Company: Club Med North America & Caribbean Years in Current Position: 7 months Years with Club Med: Almost 7 years Primary Responsibility: “For me, every week is different, depending on the project. Last week I was in the Dominican Republic looking at possible partnerships. On days working in Miami, I am fortunate to work with all our teams. There is not a typical day, but I am never working alone. I coordinate the collaborations between our teams internally.” Organization’s most significant accomplishment in global corporate responsibility: “There are many things we can cite but our company...