News

PEOPLE Update as of Nov. 13, 2018

Read about: Ian Sharp, Marc St-Gelais, Juan Duran, Rob Alldred, Eric Normand, Cyril Russell, Michael Durante, Jeannie Lin, Terri Ryan, Gordon Johnson, John Slaughter, Ken Hall, Robert Mercure, Scott Hart and Dr. Sonya Graci.

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It’s a busy season for the team at Choice Hotels
Canada
, with a number of staffing changes including retirements, role
transitions and exciting new hires. All of the action is taking place within
the franchise development and franchise services teams, starting with the
upcoming retirement of hospitality industry veterans, Marc St-Gelais and Ian
Sharp
.

Juan Duran.

Juan Duran.

Both St-Gelais and Sharp have been with Choice Canada for many years, 21 and 10 respectively, helping to shape the company and drive its success.With their upcoming departures, the roles will be filled
internally, with Juan Duran moving into Sharp’s role as director, franchise development
for Western Canada. Currently, Duran is director of membership development for
Ascend Hotel Collection.

Rob Alldred and Eric Normand.

Rob Alldred and Eric Normand.

Rob Alldred and Eric Normand will transition from
their roles as franchise performance consultants to director, franchise development roles. Rob will focus on growing Ascend Hotel Collection membership
and Eric will step into St-Gelais’s role in Eastern Canada, supporting
development efforts Quebec and New Brunswick.

Cyril Russell.

Cyril Russell.

In addition, two new franchise performance consultants
will join the franchise services team. Cyril Russell will take over Normand’s portfolio
in Atlantic Canada. Based in Halifax with close to two decades in the hotel
industry, Russell has a wealth of experience in property management and hotel
operations. He most recently served as the area general manager for a group of
SilverBirch properties.

Michael Durante.

Michael Durante.

Assuming Alldred’s portfolio of hotels in Ontario is Michael
Durante
of Niagara Falls. Most recently, he was the director of operations/rooms at the Omni King Edward Hotel in Toronto. Durante has an
extensive hospitality background and previously worked at a number of Choice
properties. With more than 20 years in the industry, he earlier served as a general manager and operations manager for the Silver Hotel Group.

_____________________________________________________________

Jeannie Lin.

Jeannie Lin.

Choice
Hotels International has announced Jeannie Lin will lead the company’s newly formed sales
strategy and operations department in the new role of vice president of sales strategy and operations.
Lin has been an integral
member of Choice’s marketing and distribution team since 2009, most recently
serving as vice president of marketing and distribution strategy and
operations. Prior to joining Choice, Lin held leadership positions related to
marketing and business development at various technology companies, including
VMware, a subsidiary of Dell Technologies, IBM and Verizon.

Terri Ryan.

Terri Ryan.

Choice
Hotels International also announced Terri Ryan has joined the company as vice president of
brand operations for Cambria Hotels.

Ryan
joins Choice Hotels with more than 20 years of industry experience. Most
recently, she served as the senior vice president of hotel operations for
Crestline Hotels & Resorts where she oversaw Crestline's national
operations as well as organizational planning, strategic growth, brand
relationships, and owner relations. Earlier in her career, she held a number of
leadership roles at the property level. _____________________________________________________________

Gordon Johnson.

Gordon Johnson.

Atlific Hotels is
delighted to name Gordon Johnson as its new vice-president operations. Johnson
who officially joined the team in his new role on September 10, 2018 will
oversee all operational aspects of Atlific managed hotels across British
Columbia and Alberta. Johnson has more than 30 years of
management experience within the hospitality industry. While serving as
regional vice-president for Delta Vancouver Airport, he worked to earn his
Bachelor in Hospitality Management from Vancouver Community College in 2009. Following completion of his degree, he became regional vice-president and general manager at Delta Burnaby Hotel & Conference Centre
where he was responsible for eight managed Delta Hotels in B.C.
Most recently, Johnson held the position of vice-president operations for
Revera Retirement, where he oversaw a portfolio of 47 residences _____________________________________________________________

John Slaughter.

John Slaughter.

John Slaughter is now senior vice-president CBRE Hotels, working out of Denver and the western U.S.
With
over 20 years of hospitality management and sales experience, Slaughter now offers his services as a licensed real estate broker to mid-scale and select service hotel
owners across the Western U.S. in a brokerage and advisory capacity. Slaughter comes to his new position from Choice Hotels International, where he was director of franchise development responsible for the western U.S. and Canada.

_____________________________________________________________

Ken Hall and Robert Mercure.

Ken Hall and Robert Mercure.

Ken Hall has been appointed as general manager of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac starting October 28. Originally
from Montreal, Hall has more than 25 years of experience in hospitality
including 11 years as Hotel Manager. In recent years, he has served as General
Manager of the Fairmont Jasper Lodge, where he successfully piloted an
extensive renovation project. His modern vision of the hospitality industry, his
expertise in promoting winter tourism and his ability to reach new heights in
terms of guest satisfaction make him an ideal candidate to succeed Robert
Mercure
, recently appointed to the Palais des congrès de Montréal. Hall began his career at Fairmont Hotels &
Resorts in 1992 at Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and has since worked at Fairmont Hotels in Toronto, Quebec City, Bermuda, Mont Tremblant, Montreal and Chicago.

_____________________________________________________________

Scott Hart.

Scott Hart.

Drake Hotel Properties is thrilled to announce the appointment of Scott Hart as general manager of the Drake Devonshire Inn, which was recently selected as #15 for Conde Nast Traveler’s Reader’s Choice for Best Hotels in Canada. Following many years of leading successful award-winning teams in the British Virgin Islands, the Bracebridge Ont. native brings a wealth of experience to the hotel, including a sincere dedication to community, expertise in developing and expanding world-class hotel, food and beverage programs, and deep roots in Ontario small towns. Hart was most recently the general manager of Peter Island Resort and Spa in the BVI. He originally moved to the BVI from Toronto in 2001, where he met his wife. The pair opened the Dove Restaurant in 2003, a fine dining restaurant and wine bar in Road Town. After that, Hart opened Frenchmans in 2008, a top-rated boutique hotel located on the western tip of Tortola.

_____________________________________________________________

Dr. Sonya Graci and Dr. Rachel Dodds.

Dr. Sonya Graci and Dr. Rachel Dodds.

Congratulations to HTM
Ryerson professor Dr. Sonya Graci on being appointed as the new
director of the Institute
! Dr. Graci has a passion for sustainable
tourism and working with Indigenous communities in tourism development. She succeeds Dr. Rachel Dodds who made an amazing contribution as the previous
director. Graci is a specialist in
sustainable tourism, environmental management, community based tourism,
Aboriginal ecotourism, environmental impact assessment, waste management, adult
education and training, partnership development and greening of meetings and
events, with over 17 years experience in these fields. She is the author of
“Can Hotels Accommodate Green” and “Sustainable Tourism in
Island Destinations”,
as well as several journal publications and trade
reports.

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