Human Resources

🏠 Katharine Ames appointed as Chief Marketing Officer at The Indigo Road Hospitality Group in Charleston, South Carolina. Ames joined the company in 2021 and reports to founder Steve Palmer. Prior to IRHG, she spent eight years at a boutique agency, eventually becoming vice president. IRHG, founded in 2009, has expanded to 35 restaurants in 14 markets and six hotels with four more in development. Ames's role includes overseeing marketing, internal communications, public relations, programming, branding, partnerships, and social media.

🏨 Michael Coscetta appointed President of Mews, a hospitality cloud company in New York on 23 July. He oversees marketing, commercial, and customer success teams amid the company's growth. Coscetta's background includes roles at Paxos, Compass, and Square, with achievements such as preparing for Compass's 2021 IPO and scaling revenues to $2B. Mews, after a $110m funding round in March, employs 1,100 staff across 20 countries and has acquired HS3 Hotelsoftware.

🏨 Sandpiper Hospitality named manager of ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham Spartanburg in South Carolina, the first in its brand, opened earlier this month. The hotel offers 124 suites with kitchenettes, near Westgate Mall, Carolina Panthers Training Camp, and downtown Spartanburg. Amenities include a gym, laundry, and EV charging. Sandpiper manages over 10 brands and added 15 properties in the past year, including locations in Colorado, Nevada, Georgia, San Francisco, Anaheim, and Washington D.C.

🍴 Chef-owner Ryan Blackburn will not renew Kysty's lease, with its final service on July 26. He plans to open two new ventures in Ambleside: 'The Schelly,' a casual dining restaurant with 24+6 seats, and 'Workshop at The Old Stamp House,' a private dining space seating eight. Both are set to open mid-late August and will retain the Kysty team.

📢 Lost Boys Chicken, founded in 2015, closed its standalone restaurant on York Place due to post-Covid market shifts favoring home dining, economic pressures, and other challenges. Owner Tomas Samandi announced the closure as the hardest decision of his career and has relaunched the business at The Joker, its original pop-up location. Encouraging local support, Samandi suggests customers pick up orders instead of using delivery services to better benefit local businesses.

🏨 Vibe, a travel technology provider, appoints Danny Girling as the new business development & head of partnerships for EMEA, signaling a new phase of expansion in EMEA and APAC. Girling, with 14+ years of experience from Travel Counsellors and Inspiretec, joins other 2023 hires like CEO Steve Barrass and non-executive Director Stephane Durand. Vibe has recently invested in customer service, software development, marketing, and design to set the stage for growth.

🏠 John Davies named CEO of Open Destinations, effective immediately. Founder Kevin O’Sullivan transitions to executive chair. Davies, with previous roles at TUI, the AA, and 3M, rejoined Open Destinations as CTO in 2023 after a stint from 2013-2016. Focuses include releasing a new reservation platform version and developing an app with AI integration for tour managers. Open Destinations experiences high demand for products amid a positive outlook in the travel industry.

🏢 Matthias Rotter, previously managing director of DER Touristik, has been appointed as senior consultant to key accounts at ISO Travel Solutions, a German-based travel technology provider. Rotter is tasked with analyzing IT project requirements, evaluating customer needs, and conceptualizing individual IT solutions. ISO-Gruppe and Rotter have a history of collaboration, with Markus Kretschmer, managing director of ISO Travel Solutions, highlighting the move as an intensification of their long-standing partnership. Rotter's role includes contributing expertise in IT change management and supporting ISO customers in other business areas.

🏠 Nezasa names Lisa Katsouraki to its Board of Directors, enhancing strategic vision for the future. Katsouraki, senior vice-president of corporate development at Etraveli Group, brings expertise from her roles since 2011, including advisory board member at Ennea Capital Partners. Nezasa CEO Manuel Hilty regards her tourism industry understanding as invaluable for the company's innovative travel industry solutions and growth objectives.

🏨 Torsten Gros appointed as Managing Director of Pax2pay UAB by Pay2pay, coinciding with new office opening in Vilnius, Lithuania. Pax2pay, known for Virtual Card, Bank Transfer, Account Creation, and Invoice Payments technology, supports major OTAs like Loveholidays, TUI, and Tryp. Gros, with nearly 30 years of experience, has previously worked with eNett, Travelport, and Apiso. The Vilnius-based office will be a strategic hub for Pax2pay's expansion in the European Economic Area (EEA). CEO Paivo Eerola highlights Gros' experience as key to the company's growth in the EEA.