NATIONAL REPORT—Shannon Knapp has been named the new president/CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World Ltd, while the PM Hotel Group and Real Hospitality Group have made new appointments. Here’s a look:
Shannon Knapp Named President/CEO at LHW
The Leading Hotels of the World Ltd (LHW) has named Shannon Knapp as its president/CEO.
Knapp, who assumed leadership responsibilities of the company in April as interim CEO, previously served as LHW’s SVP/chief marketing officer for more than five years.
Since assuming leadership responsibilities as interim CEO, she steered the company through a successful leadership transition and began to accelerate the momentum of the company in nearly all critical areas of the business. During this time, she also crystalized LHW’s strategic vision and business strategy for the new future of the company.
In her previous role, Knapp led breakthrough brand and data-driven marketing strategies, transformed the customer experience and accelerated brand loyalty for the company. She oversaw the various marketing divisions of LHW and was responsible for the redesign and 2018 relaunch of Leading Hotels’ loyalty ecosystem, Leaders Club.
Additionally, she built the marketing analytics and customer insights organization to drive a paradigm shift in the use of data to inform marketing strategy, resulting in an increase of marketing efficiency and millions of dollars in incremental revenue.
Knapp also has luxury travel experience from her 15 years at American Express, where she had the opportunity to work in both the corporate and leisure travel divisions, managing luxury travel programs, partners and benefits for Platinum and Centurion Card members and travel consortia business.
PM Hotel Group Adds Gamauf
PM Hotel Group has appointed Jamie Gamauf to the newly created position of VP of capital projects.
He has more than 20 years of experience in hotel and restaurant design, construction and project management leadership.
Most recently, Gamauf was with Salis Holdings, leading construction for its restaurant portfolio, including the Ted’s Bulletin and Federalist Pig projects. He previously worked with HMS Host as senior director of design and construction and Marriott International as director of design and project management.
Real Hospitality Group Promotes Bedi and Loman
Real Hospitality Group (RHG) has promoted Sanjay Bedi and Ron Loman to the level of SVP, operations.
Bedi will continue to manage key owner relations across the RHG portfolio as well as some of the most high-profile assets in New York City. His market experience has included New York, Kentucky, Virginia, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He also leads the company’s Marriott portfolio best practice sharing program to enhance guest experience.
In his new role, Bedi leads the regional operations team in the New York office and will drive operational excellence through evaluation, assessment and action.
Loman rejoins the RHG family after serving as VP of a national asset management company and as the CEO of a southern & midwestern U.S hotel owner-operator firm.
He will improve the alignment and communication of the growing regional operations team in its Ocean City and Florida offices, including general managers and regional operations directors. He is also responsible for implementing proven strategies and best practices to elevate the guest experience, improve operational efficiency and increase profitability across the portfolio.