People for October 2009

Accor North America, one of the largest hotel chain owner and operators in North America, announces the promotion of Xavier Icardo to the newly-created position of vice president of operations, Motel 6 and Studio 6 Canada.  In his new position, Icardo will be responsible for all Motel 6 and Studio 6 operations in Canada, as well as providing Motel 6 and Studio 6 support with Realstar Hospitality, the brands’ master franchise partner in Canada. Icardo has extensive international experience in the limited service lodging industry and joins Accor Canada after 11 years with Motel 6 operations.

Anne Arsenault, long-time member of the Travel Industry Association of Prince Edward Island Board of Directors, is now Private Sector Director of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC). Arsenault is general manager and CEO of Tignish Initiatives Corporation, a not-for-profit community development corporation that develops beautification and property-enhancement projects in the Tignish area, as well as strategies and studies. She has also been the owner-operator of Driftwood Country Cottages since 1999.

Avendra procurement services company has promoted Don Hecht to vice president of procurement, food and beverage. Hecht succeeds Walt Sheffler who was recently promoted to senior vice president of strategic contracting.
Hecht has been with Avendra since its inception and has held various roles with steadily increasing responsibilities. Most recently, he held the position of senior director with responsibility for oversight of all food distribution and regional contracting programs. In his new role, Hecht will oversee all aspects of the supply chain for food and beverage, Avendra’s largest spend category.

Gil Blutrich, president & CEO of Skyline Boutique Hotels & Resort, owners of The Pantages Hotel & Spa and the Cosmopolitan Toronto Hotel & Spa has appointed David Smith as general manager over both luxury chic boutique hotels located in the heartbeat of Toronto’s downtown core. Smith brings with him over 30 years in the hotels, travel, academia, marketing and the advertising industry. Smith has worked with such companies as Hyatt, Westin, Loews, Meridien, Rank Hotels NA and Wyndham in varying capacities as regional director, marketing, and sales director – Canada.

go2, BC’s tourism industry human resource association, has appointed Michele Priddy to the position of administrative assistant.
Priddy will play a key role in supporting go2’s Occupational Health & Safety division in the delivery of health and safety information and the new Certificate of Recognition (COR) program. She will also provide general administrative support to go2’s CEO and management team.
go2 has also appointed Terry Bertram to the position of COR Coordinator. Bertram’s role will be to coordinate and develop the Certificate of Recognition (COR) program as part of go2’s new division to promote workplace safety in the industry.  Terry comes to go2 with four years of experience in occupational health and safety, including safety training and orientations. Prior to go2 he worked most recently with Fraser Surrey Docks developing and implementing their corporate safety management system, overseeing an internal COR audit, and facilitating the joint site safety committee.

Bruce Flyer, has been appointed as general manager, Hyatt Regency Toronto On King. Celso Thompson is now the new director of sales and marketing at the hotel.

Interval International, a leading global provider of vacation services, has promoted Nicole Kosmas to director of event marketing. Kosmas joined Interval in 2005 as assistant manager of business development and, most recently, held the position of manager of business development marketing.

Interval has also names Raul Estrada as senior vice president of global member services. He reports to Jeanette Marbert, chief operating officer. In his new role, Estrada will apply his extensive call center expertise to enhance Interval’s worldwide member service capabilities and to take advantage of the synergies that exist among our service centers worldwide. Additionally, he is responsible for resort reservation services and operations research support.

Christopher Vachon is the new general manager of Hôtel Le Germain Calgary, a 143-room boutique hotel,  with 40 luxury condominium units and an office tower. The hotel will open in December 2009, with condominium owners and office tenants following in March 2010. Vachon has more than 20 years experience in the hospitality and service industry, having successfully launched seven hotels across Canada and the U.S. to date in his career. In addition to his responsibilities at Hôtel Le Germain Calgary, Vachon is involved with SKAL (the International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals), on the advisory board of SAIT Polytechnic’s hospitality and tourism program and is currently completing his executive MBA at the Haskayne School of Business.

Rekha Khote brings more than 22 years of senior leadership experience within Starwood Hotels to her new position of general manager at the 977-room Westin Harbour Castle hotel. Khote joined Starwood in 1994, as general manager of the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto International Airport where she was named “General Manager of the Year” by Sheraton in 1995. She moved on to the role of director of franchise operations, overseeing 33 franchise properties in Canada flying Westin, Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton banners. She also served as Regional Director of Sales & Marketing for Starwood in Canada. In 2002, she was appointed general manager for the 1,377-room Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, where she executed a three year comprehensive renovation of all guest rooms, public spaces, ballrooms and meeting space. The hotel was the Global Pilot for Sheraton’s new brand direction, operation and design.

Sealy Global Hospitality, a leading bedding manufacturer for the retail and hospitality markets, has added Linda Bordner to their team as north regional sales manager. In her new position, Bordner will be responsible for the growth of all business in Canada and in the northern tier of the United States. Bordner joins Sealy Global Hospitality with more than 10 years of hospitality experience. Before joining Sealy, she was the national accounts manager for MTS Seating. Bordner’s demonstrated ability to preserve and attain goals was recognized with an six promotions during her tenure with MTS Seating.

Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) announces the appointment of Jonathan Slater as the new chairman of its board of directors. Slater, currently the managing director of The Chester Grosvenor & Spa in the UK, returns to the post after his successor, Patrick Burke completed a three year tenure. Affiliated with the brand since 1990 when The Chester Grosvenor & Spa joined SLH, Slater has watched Small Luxury Hotels of the World grow from 70 hotels in 12 countries to almost 500 hotels in over 70 countries. In his role, Slater will oversee the board of directors, who are elected to represent the collective interests of all SLH hotels.

Travel Alberta’s board of directors has appointed Bruce Okabe as chief executive officer, effective July 20. Okabe comes to Travel Alberta from InterVISTAS, a leading Vancouver-based global transportation and tourism consulting firm where he was senior vice president, business strategy group. He was deputy minister of the Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts for BC between 2006 and 2008. In that capacity, he sat on the board of directors of Tourism British Columbia and the Canadian Tourism Commission. Prior to joining the B.C. government, Okabe was vice president, strategic solutions at Telus, and held a variety of other executive level positions in areas of marketing, business, consumer, strategy, retail distribution, outbound call centres and web development.

Wyndham Hotel Group, which has approximately 7,000 hotels and 11 brands, has appointed Flo Lugli as executive vice president of marketing. Most recently senior vice president of commercial in the global distribution services division at Travelport, Lugli was responsible for leading the company’s global distribution systems business in the Americas as well as overseeing the company’s Global Operations.

Zoltan Szabo, one of Canada’s top sommeliers, is adding a little spice to the already impressive Eight Wine Bar & Restaurant team at Pantages Hotel & Spa in downtown Toronto. Szabo is working as a consultant at Eight, helping select wine and food pairings, while working alongside executive chef Derek Kennedy. Szabo’s track record includes overseeing several award-winning wine programs for some of the finest restaurants in Toronto and abroad.