On the Move: Cayuga Hospitality Consultants, Concord Hospitality, More…

NATIONAL REPORT—Cayuga Hospitality Consultants, Concord Hospitality, Playa Hotels & Resorts and Obie Hospitality have made some personnel changes. Here’s a look at some of the newly created roles and promotions across the industry:
Cayuga Hospitality Consultants Welcomes New Partner
Cayuga Hospitality Consultants has welcomed Stephanie Sparks Smith to the board as a partner. Sparks Smith has been an active consulting member of Cayuga Hospitality Consultants since the fall of 2018. Her expertise will round out the existing partners by focusing on promoting the hospitality consulting organization via digital marketing. Sparks Smith joins as the sixth partner of Cayuga Hospitality Consultants, along with approximately 50 other individual consultants with specialties within hospitality.

Concord Hospitality Names VP of Transitions

Concord Hospitality Enterprises has promoted Donna Italia to VP of transitions. In this newly created role, Italia will focus on managing the process of properties transitioning into and out of the hospitality company’s management portfolio, as well as providing support for new hotel openings. The position will play an integral role in Concord’s effort to add more properties and expand its scope across North America. With more than 30 years of experience, Italia is a veteran of the hospitality industry, spending much of her career with Marriott International. Italia joined Concord Hospitality in 2010 as the general manager of the Clinton Inn Hotel in Tenafly, NJ.

Playa Hotels & Resorts Appoints SVP of Human Resources

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V., an owner and operator of all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean, has promoted Dayna Blank to SVP of human resources. Blank, responsible for shaping a high-performance culture, oversees human resource strategies company wide, and has held the leading role in the department since joining the company in 2014. Since that time, Blank has established corporate values and guiding principles that support a culture-driven company through the on-boarding and rebranding of resorts throughout Mexico and the Caribbean.

Obie Hospitality Appoints Director of Revenue 

David Parker has been named director of revenue for Obie Hospitality, a new role for the growing Eugene, OR-based company. As director of revenue, Parker is responsible for pricing and inventory management decisions to maximize revenue and market share for multiple properties across Obie Hospitality’s platforms, including preparing for the opening of The Gordon Hotel in late 2020. Prior to joining Obie Hospitality, Parker spent 18 years as director of revenue at the Sheraton Grand Seattle. He has more than 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry.