MERRILLVILLE, Ind., Jan. 27, 2015 — White Lodging is pleased to announce the following individuals have been named regional vice presidents and general managers last quarter across the company.
Chris O’Donnell was promoted to regional vice president, overseeing hotels in Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; and Bloomington, Ind.
O’Donnell has been with White Lodging since 2007 when he joined the company as the general manager of the Courtyard Hartford-Farmington. He also served as the dual general manager of the Courtyard and Fairfield Inn & Suites Phoenix-Chandler. He was a regional director of sales and marketing before his promotion to regional director of operations.
Prior to joining White Lodging he worked for Marriott International at numerous hotels in a variety of roles such as sales manager, regional sales specialist and general manager.
Brandon Frederick was promoted to regional vice president, overseeing properties in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
Frederick joined White Lodging in 2007 shortly after graduating from the University of Florida. He has been a general manager in Pontiac, Mich., director of sales in Plantation, Fla. and sales manager in Plantation, Fla. He also has served as the regional director of room operations and most recently was a regional director of operations.
Kris Carlson will join White Lodging as the opening general manger of the Westin Austin Downtown.
Carlson has an extensive F&B background, spending time as an assistant F&B director at a resort golf destination for three years, and as the F&B director at Norwegian Cruise Lines. He also has served as the director of F&B and engineering at the Hilton Charlotte Center City, and most recently was the general manager for both the Pittsburgh Marriott North and the DFW Airport Marriott South.
As a general manager at his previous hotels, he achieved Top 20 rankings in both guest and event satisfaction, including Top 10 rankings in sales, planning and events. He was also chosen as “General Manager of the Year” for the Hospitality Association of Tarrant County.
Jeff Emmett was named as the new general manager of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Tampa/Brandon.
Emmett started his hospitality career in 2002 as a Front Desk Associate at the Miami Airport Marriott before transitioning to Rooms Controller at the Marriott Grande Vista Resort in Orlando in 2004. Emmett then worked as a Guest Relations Executive at the Marriott Vacation Club in Orlando where he worked in sales and marketing before joining White Lodging in 2007 as an Operations Manager for Fairfield Inn Key West.
Mathew Hoffman has been promoted to the general manager of Courtyard Tampa/Brandon.
Hoffman began his White Lodging career at the Courtyard Goshen, and was most recently the Assistant General Manager of the Courtyard in Ft. Wayne, IN. Prior to joining White Lodging, he was a Front Desk Agent at the El Monte Sagrado Resort and Spa in Taos, New Mexico and a Front Desk Manager at the Best Western Kachina Lodge in Taos, New Mexico.
Amy Sowin has been promoted to general manager of the Residence Inn Austin South.
Sowin started her career with White Lodging after graduating from Texas State University at the Courtyard Austin Airport. The following year she became the front desk supervisor at the Residence Inn Round Rock, followed by the cluster sales manager at the Courtyard Austin University. In 2011, she was named the senior sales manager at the SpringHill Suites Austin North and last year was promoted to the assistant general manager at the Courtyard Austin North.
Chris Hammons on his promotion to general manager Fairfield Inn Austin North.
Hammons joined White Lodging in August of 2011 as operations manager at the Courtyard University. Most recently, Chris was the general manager at the Residence Inn Austin North. Prior joining White Lodging, Chris worked several different hotel management jobs including a stint as a Residence Inn general manager at Sandestin, FL.
Jason Bargar has been promoted to general manager of the SpringHill Suites Salt Lake City Airport.
Bargar began his hospitality career in 2009 as the general manager of the Hampton Inn Grand Junction, Colo. where he was recognized as the Spirit of Hampton Award winner. In 2011, he was named the general manager of the SpringHill Suites Grand Junction. Most recently, he was the general manager of the Homewood Suites Tampa/Brandon.
John Fields has joined White Lodging as the dual general manager of the SpringHill Suites and Fairfield Inn Louisville Downtown.
Fields has more than 25 years experience in the hospitality industry, working in a variety of roles such as director of sales and general manager for independent properties as well as working with brands such as Ramada, Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn. Most recently he was the general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Shelton, Conn. while also serving as an Area Director for New Castle Hotels & Resorts and overseeing four hotels.
In his previous positions he has served as President of the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce, sat on the Board of Directors for Riverhead rotary Club, and served as the Club Secretary and President Elect. He said he has always been very involved in his communities and expects to do the same in Louisville.
Chad Cuddy has been named as opening dual general manager position for the new Hyatt Place Denver/Downtown & Hyatt House Denver/ Downtown.
Cuddy is a 23-year veteran in the hospitality industry with an extensive background in both sales and operations. He has spent 12 years with White Lodging, most recently as general manager of the Boulder Marriott, where he has been since 2007. During his tenure at the Boulder Marriott, Cuddy and his team earned several recognitions as White Lodging Property of the Year in 2007 and 2010, White Lodging Guest Satisfaction Champions in 2009 and were also the recipients of the Marriott International Service Excellence Leadership Award in 2009. Cuddy was also awarded the White Lodging Rookie General Manager of the Year in 2007 and White Lodging Full Service General Manager of the Year in 2008.
Esther White has been named as the opening general manager of the SpringHill Suites Houston Downtown.
White brings nearly 10 years of hospitality experience to the position. After graduating from Purdue University, she worked as the operations manager at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Merrillville, Ind. Over the next few years, she was promoted to front office manager and assistant general manager at three other hotels in Northwest Indiana before being named the general manager of the Courtyard Chicago Southeast/Hammond. Most recently, White was the dual assistant general manager of the Courtyard and SpringHill Suites Indianapolis Downtown.
