ATLANTA, Oct. 10, 2018 — Davidson Hotels & Resorts, one of the nation's premier hospitality management companies and its lifestyle and luxury division, Pivot Hotels & Resorts, announce the appointments of Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage, Greg Griffie; Senior Vice President of Design & Construction, Kevin Filer; Vice President of Sales, Vanessa Claspill; and Director of Restaurant & Bar Development, Garron Gore.
With the acquisition of several lifestyle and culinary-focused properties in city center and resort destinations over the past year—including Hotel Zachary at Gallagher Way in Chicago, Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort and The Camby, Autograph Collection in Phoenix—Davidson Hotels & Resorts currently manages a portfolio of properties spanning 21 states.
"The success of Davidson and Pivot starts with our team members, and to add these four standout hospitality veterans to our leadership team further inspires our expansion as we accelerate innovation in our lifestyle division and food & beverage team," said Thom Geshay, chief operating officer, Davidson Hotels & Resorts. "Each individual brings a distinct skillset, extensive industry experience, and a passion for hospitality and culinary at an exciting time for the company. Their operational excellence, combined with entrepreneurial mindsets, will help chart a course for a successful future for Davidson and Pivot."
Greg Griffie, Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage, Davidson Hotels & Resorts
Griffie is responsible for creating strategies and overseeing the development and implementation of food & beverage concepts for properties across Davidson Hotels & Resorts' portfolio. With 20+ years of international and domestic food & beverage experience, Griffie brings expertise in hotel conversions, branding & strategic positioning and creation of hotel food & beverage platforms. Griffie's prior roles include senior vice president, food & beverage for Crescent Hotels & Resorts, vice president of operations/partner at Slapfish Restaurant Group as well as director of global culinary development for Marriott International.
Kevin Filer, Senior Vice President, Design & Construction, Davidson Hotels & Resorts
As senior vice president, design & construction, Filer oversees capital projects, renovations and brand conversions. He most recently served as vice president of design & construction with Sage Hospitality, spearheading development projects for independent hotels as well as restaurant refreshes. Starting his career with Marriott where he held several design and construction roles, Filer then went on to launch Sodexo's design, construction and technical service department, completing over a billion dollars in construction projects, and later to Wyndham Worldwide where he led the brand's foray into Brazilahead of the Summer 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Vanessa Claspill, Vice President of Sales, Pivot Hotels & Resorts
Claspill joins the company from Sydell Group where she served as corporate director of sales, overseeing the sales and catering functions for the 13 boutique hotels within its collection, including several NoMad, LINE and Freehand hotels. Prior to that, she spent time with Starwood Hotels & Resorts in director of sales positions at W hotels in Austin, New Orleans and Dallas. In her new role, Claspill is responsible for creating and implementing revenue-generating strategies for the luxury and lifestyle properties under Pivot Hotels & Resorts.
Garron Gore, Director of Restaurant & Bar Development, Davidson Hotels & Resorts
Gore comes to Davidson Hotels & Resorts from the Atlanta-based Hospitality Ventures Management Group where he specialized in kitchen and bar design layout as director of food & beverage innovation. A visionary with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry, Gore's accomplishments include concept creation, design and management of food & beverage outlets with lifestyle brands such as Andaz and Autograph Collection as well as independent restaurants in Las Vegas and throughout Georgia. Gore is tasked with concepting menus and food & beverage programs at the company.
