Canandaigua, NY (March 2, 2020) – Hotel Canandaigua, Tapestry Collection by Hilton opening on the lakefront of Canandaigua, New York in the Finger Lakes region has named Todd Plouffe and Katie Patnode as General Manager and Director of Sales & Marketing, respectively. With more than 40 years of combined hospitality experience, the pair will work directly with boutique hotel management company Hay Creek Hotels to open the much-anticipated waterfront property.
Established members of the upstate New York hospitality industry, Plouffe and Patnode have previously led the growth and development for several of the largest tourism spaces in Rochester and Syracuse. As locals of the Finger Lakes region, a burgeoning tourism destination, both appointees have launched the region’s most notable new hotels and reenergizing existing hospitality destinations. This year, they will apply their expertise to the anticipated Hotel Canandaigua.
A thirty-year hospitality veteran, Todd Plouffe joined Hay Creek Hotels in September 2019 to become General Manager of Hotel Canandaigua. One of the hotel’s first team members, Plouffe is involved in all crucial development aspects of the property, from forming the hotel’s mission and design, to setting revenue goals. He will oversee the property’s progress from concept to opening, and guide the property in fulfilling its role as a culinary and cultural extension of the Finger Lakes experience.
“This is a passion project for Katie and me. We consider ourselves lucky to be part of Canandaigua’s lakefront renaissance,” said Todd Plouffe, General Manager of Hotel Canandaigua. “Historically it has been difficult to get access to one of the area’s most beloved features: our lakes. Hotel Canandaigua will make the Finger Lakes waterfront even more accessible to visitors, while giving locals a place to congregate and celebrate together.”
Katie Patnode joined Hay Creek Hotels to serve as Director of Sales & Marketing at Hotel Canandaigua, where she has already begun developing group sales strategies that will put Canandaigua, and specifically Hotel Canandaigua, on the map for group meetings and events. Upon opening, she will oversee the events team for the hotel, managing operations and catering protocol for the property’s expansive event space, including the largest ballroom in the region. Patnode also leads the development of creative programming and regional partnerships to better integrate the local community into on-site experiences.
“There has been a demand for authentic and immersive experiences, and we are aiming to meet that request right in the heart of the Finger Lakes region,” said Katie Patnode, Director of Sales and Marketing. “Hotel Canandaigua is more than a hotel. It is an introduction to all that the Finger Lakes has to offer. Guests will get a true sense of the lake through our boating and on-the-shoreline wellness programming, a taste of the region’s renowned wines with direct access to the Canandaigua Lake Wine Trial and short distances to our main attractions such as the City Pier and Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park.”
Prior to his current role, Plouffe was the general manager of Marriott Syracuse Downtown and manager of hotels under the DoubleTree, Hyatt and Renaissance brands. Plouffe’s list of accolades include highest guest-rated hotel within a brand, named General Manager of the Year in North America four times by Renaissance Hotels and was named one of Rochester Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in hotel, restaurant and institutional management.
Patnode has spent more than a decade in the hospitality industry. She was previously with Rochester’s Del Monte Hotel Group as director of sales and events where she worked on both Marriott and Hilton branded properties. Patnode is a Niagara University graduate and holds a Bachelor of Science in hotel and restaurant management.
Plouffe and Patnode will work together with Hay Creek Hotels management company to introduce Hotel Canandaigua later this fall. The property will feature 109 guest rooms and suites alongside a new lakeside restaurant, outdoor tiki bar, hotel pool and marina dock. For groups, Hotel Canandaigua will offer 15,000-square-feet of lakefront event and wedding space including a seasonal outdoor tent and the Finger Lakes region’s largest ballroom. Reservations are anticipated to be available later this month.
