Hotels across the country—and beyond—have appointed new general managers in recent weeks. Here are some names to know.
Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles Pasadena/Old Town
The Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles Pasadena (Calif.)/Old Town appointed Nathaniel Johns general manager, effective immediately. Johns will be the strategic business leader for the property and will oversee business development, financial performance, community engagement and both guest and employee satisfaction.
Johns has more than 16 years of experience leading full-service hotel teams within Marriott, Hilton and other major brands. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from McNeese State University.
Drift Santa Barbara
Drift Santa Barbara (Calif.) appointed Jacqueline Westbrook general manager. In her role, Westbrook will oversee the 45-key boutique property and two first-floor restaurants, Dawn and Dusk, while leading the property team, streamlining day-to-day operations and implementing strategic initiatives to drive revenue.
Westbrook most recently was the director of food and beverage at The Pink Cabana in Indian Wells, Calif., and leading the opening of One White Street in New York City as general manager. Westbrook has held positions throughout the United States at the Ace Hotel and The Beatrice Inn in New York City and The Monroe Bar + Lounge in Phoenix.
Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole
Jane Kim is the new general manager at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Kim is a first-time GM. Her most recent role was resort manager at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas, where she navigated the transition of the property from Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas. Before the transition, Kim was resort manager at Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas from 2021 to 2022. Other key appointments during her time with Four Seasons included opening the brand’s Napa Valley, Calif., property as resort manager, as well as leadership roles at Four Seasons properties in Boston and Washington, D.C. Her career with the brand began in California, with appointments at both Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, and Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, when she joined the organization in 2007.
Gale Miami Hotel & Residences
The Gale Miami Hotel & Residences appointed Rick Berendsen the new general manager.
Berendsen’s 20-year career includes senior leadership positions at Marriott, Starwood, IHG, Radisson, Shangri-La and Four Seasons hotels. He has managed properties ranging from 200 to 1,000 rooms across competitive markets in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa. Most recently, Berendsen was complex general manager for Sonesta Hotels in Atlanta, overseeing two properties with more than 550 rooms and 31,000 square feet of conference space.
Hotel La Compañía
In Panama, the Hotel La Compañía, part of the Unbound Collection by Hyatt, has promoted Bruno Belletti to general manager.
Since 2005, Belletti has held key positions at several Hyatt properties across Brazil, Singapore, Cambodia, Uruguay and Mexico. He led the openings of the Hyatt Regency Guadalajara and Andaz Mayakoba and worked at the the Grand Hyatt Singapore, Park Hyatt Siem Reap, Hyatt Centric Montevideo, Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro and Grand Hyatt São Paulo. Most recently, Belletti was the director of operations at Hotel La Compañía.
The Lodge at Torrey Pines
Evans Hotels, the San Diego-based hospitality company comprised of The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., as well as the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa and the Bahia Resort Hotel—both in Mission Bay, Calif.—has appointed Jakub Skyvara as the new general manager of The Lodge at Torrey Pines. He replaces Bill Gross, who has retired.
Before joining Evans Hotels, Skyvara was executive assistant manager at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Orange County, Calif. He held leadership roles as food and beverage director at Sunset Marquis Hotel & Villas in West Hollywood and at Viceroy Hotels and Resorts in Santa Monica, Calif. Skyvara also was general manager of restaurants at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong and held various senior food and beverage management positions at Four Seasons properties in Santa Fe, N.M.; Los Angeles; Lanai, Hawaii; Philadelphia; and Prague.
Skyvara earned degrees from Palestra - Charles University in Prague and the Hotel and Gastronomy School in Zlin, both in his native Czechia. He also completed Cornell University’s General Manager Program and Florida Atlantic University’s Hospitality & Tourism Program.
Lüm Hotel
The Lüm Hotel in Inglewood, Calif., appointed Stephen Chavez general manager.
A California native, Chavez was the director of sales at Level Hotels & Furnishings in Los Angeles where he managed a portfolio of five hotel properties. He also held roles as general manager and vice president of sales at Sportsman’s Lodge Hotel in Studio City.
Additionally, Chavez was regional director of sales and catering for Joie de Vivre Hotels where he optimized business efficiency by managing all sales and catering revenues within the Southwest regional hotels. He also was senior corporate sales manager at The Standard and group sales manager at Wyndham Checkers Hotel, both in downtown Los Angeles.
Marquis Los Cabos
Marquis Los Cabos—an adults-only, all-inclusive resort on the tip of Mexico’s Baja California Sur—appointed Mauricio Quezada Reyes general manager.
Quezada has worked in eight countries at properties like the Club Cascadas de Baja in Cabo San Lucas, and an all-inclusive resort component for The Villa Group.
Nekajui
Ana Gorjão Henriques has been named general manager of Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica, the brand’s first property in Central and South America and eighth in the Ritz-Carlton Reserve portfolio, set to open in early 2025. Nekajui (NEK-ah-wee), meaning “lush garden” in the Chorotega dialect, will be located in a 1,400-acre tropical forest along the northwestern province of Guanacaste.
Henriques, a 13-year veteran of The Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand, previously led Phulay Bay in Thailand and Mandapa in Bali. Prior to joining Nekajui, she was general manager of Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, in Puerto Rico.
Henriques began her hospitality career in Portugal in 1991 and joined The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in 2005.
Nittany Lion Inn
The Nittany Lion Inn, a historic property on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in State College, Penn., appointed Kurt Wiksten general manager.
Wiksten joins the Nittany Lion Inn with over 35 years of hospitality management experience, having spent the past five years as the managing director of Frenchman’s Reef Resort and Spa in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he oversaw a $440 million renovation. Wiksten has held several high-level management roles in the luxury market including properties under the Four Seasons, St. Regis and Viceroy flags. He was the vice president hotel operations and transitions at AJ Capital Partners - Graduate Hotels and director of resort operations at Sheraton Bay Point Resort in Panama City, Fla.
The Nittany Lion Inn, which opened in 1931, reopened on Sept. 3 following an extensive renovation.
Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel
Bricton Group appointed John Howard general manager at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel.
Howard joins the hotel with over 25 years of experience in hotel operations. He was general manager at three full-service hotels and director of food & beverage at five properties. Howard has been part of the opening teams of five hotels and has participated in “task force” projects for an additional five properties.
St. Regis Aruba Resort
The St. Regis Aruba Resort, set to open in the coming months, appointed Oliver Reschreiter general manager.
Reschreiter has held leadership roles at several Marriott International properties. Most recently, he was resort manager at JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Phoenix. His career has taken him from his home in Austria to key roles in the U.S. and China.