Author: innfreehotels

The ‘Best Backyard on Pensacola Beach’ is under new leadership.

Ben Thorpe, the Director of Food & Beverage at Red Fish Blue Fish, comes to us from the interior of Oregon.

“I grew up in the Pacific Northwest just south of Portland,” he says. “More recently, I was working with Facebook, where I assisted in the rollout of food service at their data center in Prineville, Oregon.”

But to get Ben’s full food & beverage story, we have to go back to his formative years.

“I grew up in a food-focused family,” he says. “My parents were early adopters of a sustainable food mentality, and we spent much of our time gardening and cooking when I was younger.”

Those activities would later influence Ben’s professional trajectory.

“I got my start working for Brinker International at a Macaroni Grill,” he says. “Since then, I have owned my own farm-to-table restaurant in Idaho, opened and operated restaurants in Montana, Washington D.C. and Ohio.”

It was Facebook where Ben found harmony between his passion for food and family.

“It was one of my best experiences working for someone else,” he says. “As a chef, it was the first time where I felt like I had a healthy balance of personal time away from work. Mark Zuckerberg really believes and demonstrates their company value ‘Ship Love,’ which means to execute every interaction or task with passion and dedication towards creating the best experience possible.”

The search for warmer climes opened the door for Ben’s eventual position at Red Fish Blue Fish, where he has been impressed with the operation and Innisfree Hotels.

“As a company, I am impressed by their vision for growth,” he says. “I have a great deal of respect for Julian and the broad family he has created. The commitment to grow in greater sustainability, both towards the environment as well as in our company culture, is refreshing.”

Innisfree’s turn toward more sustainable operations and Ben’s future plans are in perfect sync.

“I hope to influence and grow our store’s further commitment as a sustainable conscience operation,” he says. “I also hope to improve the consistency and quality of our offerings and further build a team that loves to set the table of hospitality for our guests.”

Ben has fit in seamlessly at the restaurant, but he admits there has been some Southern culture shock.

“Let me just say that I have learned to order my iced tea unsweetened,” says Ben.

Away from the kitchen, Ben’s hobbies are surprisingly similar to his daily work interests.

“I am an avid forager and gardener,” he says. “I love exploring the outdoors with my family. As a chef, I have enjoyed using and incorporating regional flora and fauna into my cooking. Being in a new region of the US opens up a whole new palette of flavors and experiences for me to explore.”

To learn more about Red Fish Blue Fish, visit the website at https://redfishbluefishpensacolabeach.com/.

At the beginning of April 2018, McCamly Plaza Hotel welcomed its new executive chef, John Stovall. Chef Stovall was previously the executive sous chef at McCamly Plaza from 2002-2003, so this is somewhat of a homecoming for him. However, the property is now currently under a new management team, Innisfree Hotels.

“I am very excited about joining the team at Innisfree for many reasons,” says Chef Stovall. “I am at the point in my career where I am ready to stay in one place, and I could not be happier to do it in Battle Creek. I also feel that the timing is great with all of the changes coming to the hotel.”

Chef Stovall feels that a simple menu will give him a chance to focus on other areas of the kitchen, where he feels like he can use his talents to shine.

“I have been conducting many interviews over the last few days looking for a strong sous chef,” he says. “I have found some good candidates. The current restaurant menu is very simple, and I am going to focus on just making the food better while I build the staff.”

As a competitor in the Signature Chef Auction at the March of Dimes 2017, Chef Stovall took Third Place for Best Taste and Second Place for Best Plate. Chef Stovall, while noticing his personal accolades, thinks that McCamly Plaza Hotel will eventually be the beneficiary.

“I still have connections with the organizer from the March of Dimes event,” he says. “After speaking with Ryan, the general manager at McCamly Plaza Hotel, we are planning to enter the hotel in the event. It will be a good event to promote the hotel and what we can do.”

Even though Chef Stovall has only been on the property for a short time, he is already enjoying his new post.

“I am very impressed with all of my interactions with managers and the culture that is being developed,” he says. “I recognize the challenges, but could not be happier, and I consider myself very fortunate to be part of this team.”

Welcome back to Battle Creek, Chef!

Chef Rafael Vallejo III, formerly the executive chef at McCamly Plaza Hotel, has taken the reins as executive chef at the Hilton Garden Inn and Holiday Inn Resort in Fort Walton Beach. According to Chef Rafael, there are plenty of familiar faces down on the Panhandle.

“I originally met Jeremy Skinner when he was sitting in as general manager at McCamly Plaza,” he says. “And I started speaking to George about the possibility of coming down here when I was working in Traverse City. I’m really happy that I was able to move forward with the company. I was impressed that Innisfree was willing to work with me and found a place for me to utilize my talents. It was heartfelt. Being able to grow with this company is a big deal for me.”

As a native of Atlanta, Chef Rafael admits to being excited about being back in the heat that the South seems to be so good at offering.

“That snow wasn’t going too well with me,” Chef laughs. “I was eager to move closer to my family. Atlanta is just a five-hour drive away from Fort Walton Beach. And since my daughter is only two years old, I wanted to move her while she was still young.”

But Chef did have some bittersweet feelings leaving the team at McCamly.

“I loved working with Ryan Simmons,” he says. “He’s doing such a phenomenal job up at McCamly. I owe him a lot. Plus, I usually don’t like to leave loose ends, so leaving McCamly kind of felt like unfinished business. But I had to jump at this opportunity.”

Chef Rafael hopes that his Southern roots will translate well with the guests at Fort Walton Beach.

“Since I’m originally from Georgia, I’m more familiar with the type of food that will sell here,” he says. “Southern soul food is what I’m best at.”

The menus at Fort Walton Beach are remaining the same for the most part, so Chef Rafael hopes to maintain the high standard for quality. But there is one area where he hopes to make more of an impact.

“The banquet menus are an area where I have a chance to be more creative,” he says. “The sales team here has been adamant about that on both sides.”

Chef Rafael hopes that this new opportunity is a chance to learn new things and build his career, especially with a company like Innisfree.

“I love my job,” he says. “It’s not very often that someone gets to make money doing something they love.”

As Tom Rasinen prepares to step down from his post as director of sales, David Cowles is primed and ready to take his place.

Born in Williamsburg, Virginia, David spent most of his life in Birmingham, Alabama. After working in wireless sales for AT&T, David made his Innisfree debut as a regional sales manager at Hilton Pensacola Beach.

“By that time I had moved down to Fairhope with my wife and two kids,” he says. “I still make the commute, but once I get to the beach, it’s like paradise.”

During that time, David was working for someone you may know — Tom Rasinen.

“Tom has been one of my all-time best bosses,” says David. “I’ve learned so much from him and value the friendship we have.”

David took a brief hiatus from Innisfree and spent time working at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama.

“Gina and George contacted me and told me that Tom was stepping away at the end of 2018, and the director of sales position would be opening,” says David. “It was a welcome call. The opportunity and great culture at Innisfree made it an easy choice.”

For David, the Hilton has always been home. As he prepares to take the reins as director of sales, he is staying humble.

“I know I have some big shoes to fill,” he admits. “Tom does a fantastic job here. I’m always learning from him.”

And although David is taking plenty of pages out of Tom’s book of consistency, he knows that change is inevitable.

“You have to embrace change,” says David. “You just have to buckle up a prepare for the ride.”

Keeping his eyes on the horizon, David is excited about the road the lies ahead.

“I am looking forward to building the sales team, and taking it to the next level,” he says. “I’m prepared to give it my all. I have wanted to be director of sales here for quite some time.”

David’s first full year as director of sales in 2019 will also be the 100-year anniversary of Hilton — no pressure, right?

We welcome David back to Innisfree and wish him the best of luck at his new position as director of sales. Congrats, David!

Born in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, one might wonder how Tom Rasinen ended up working in hotels on the Gulf Coast.

“There weren’t that many schools to choose from back then,” says Tom. “I wanted to go to sunny Florida. I ended up at Florida State University and graduated with a degree in hospitality in 1976.”

After spending some time as a food and beverage director at a country club, Tom eventually walked into his first hotel in 1980.

“I was on vacation in Tarpon Springs, Florida at Innisbrook Resort,” Tom recalls. “A British man, who turned out to be the owner, wanted to know what I did for a living and told me he had an opening in catering. I didn’t even have a coat — I wasn’t ready to interview.”

Accepting that position would be the beginning of Tom’s 38-year career in hospitality. It was an opportunity in Sandestin that would eventually bring Tom to the panhandle.

“When I heard about the Hilton in Sandestin,” Tom says. “I remember wondering why someone would put a Hilton there.”

Luckily, that wouldn’t be the only time a Hilton would go up in a unique location.

“I was working at the Perdido Beach Hilton when I first met the Julian and the rest of the Innisfree team,” says Tom. “I just remember thinking that they were really good guys.”

Soon after, Tom had an opportunity to interview with Innisfree. But coming from full-service hotels, Tom admitted to being confused as to why Innisfree wanted to meet with him.

“I knew they weren’t managing any full-service properties,” says Tom. “Then they showed me a rendering of the Hilton on Pensacola Beach. I was sold.”

Tom took his skills in sales and connections on the Gulf Coast and put them to the ultimate test. He was selling a hotel that didn’t even exist yet.

“You have to imagine … I was making rack cards and displays with the rendering of the hotel,” he says. “I remember standing on nothing but an empty lot covered in sand and telling people, ‘We’re standing in the conference center.’I was lucky that a lot of people already knew me.”

For 16 years, Tom has been Director of Sales at the Hilton. Through hurricanes and oil spills, Tom can confidently point to someone that kept him on team Innisfree for all of these years.

“Julian,” he says. “Just his vision and commitment. Most companies these days have culture, but Julian was talking about culture before it was cool. Innisfree made a commitment to me, so I made a commitment to Innisfree.”

As Tom prepares to step away and enjoy retirement, he shared some parting wisdom that he has cultivated over years of working in hotels and sales.

“Consistency,” he says. “If I can tell you anything about this business, it’s that people do business with people they like doing business with. Even if the next hotel has more amenities than yours, you have to be the salesperson that people like.”

And if consistency is at the top of Tom’s list, David Cowles stepping in as Director of Sales should be a seamless transition.

“I literally watched this Hilton grow from the ground up,” says Tom. “It’s like having a baby, so you want to make sure you leave it in good hands. I know that David is a perfect fit — he already has the respect of the employees.”

Tom is looking forward to spending more time with his family, including his three sons and three grandsons during his retirement.

“I’m gonna get off the merry-go-round, take a look around and do things I didn’t have time to do,” he says. “Whether it’s golfing, diving or boating, I’m just going to try things.”

We are humbled and grateful for Tom’s years at Innisfree and wish him well in his retirement.

We would like to officially welcome Francesca Lupo, Innisfree Hotels’ newest Director of Human Resources. Francesca was born in Italy, but it’s hard for her to call just one place home.

“My father is a retired Italian Air Force pilot,” she says. “So, we moved every two to three years.”

The constant moving from a young age has given Francesca time to hone a very particular set of skills — cue the Liam Neeson references.

“I have become really good at packing,” she says. “I can pack the whole house in less than a week.”

Francesca studied in both Italy and England as an undergraduate.

“I finished my high school in England because my dad was based there,” she says. “We moved back to Italy and I was accepted at Verona University where I studied foreign languages and literature.”

From a young age, she was inspired by her father’s service in the skies above.

“I wanted to be a fighter pilot and follow in my dad’s footsteps,” she says. “But at the time, the military was not accepting women. Plus, physics is not one of my strong suits.”

But she found a way to still make a living at a high altitude.

“The closest I could get to being a fighter pilot was becoming a flight attendant,” she says. “And I flew for a little over two years and that’s when I discovered a passion for hospitality.”

Which led Francesca to a new career path on solid ground.

“When I came to the states, I started working as an Office Manager at a guest ranch in Colorado,” she says. “I was selecting staff for the summer and I remember the owner walking by and asking if I ever thought about going back to school for HR. Six months later, I started working on my Master’s Degree at Colorado State”

As Francesca’s time in human resources elapsed, she found that the position was more nuanced than she previously expected.

“I discovered that human resources is more than just hiring and letting people go,” she says. “The hardest part is retaining the team members and people already working for you.”

And it was more than just a discovery — she was hitting the ground running with research and exploring every facet of human resources.

“My curiosity was off the charts,” she says. “I tapped into psychology and sociology as well as the more analytical and law disciplines. That’s what I love about this function. It’s not just one thing. You get to utilize so many different aspects every day. It just makes me so happy.”

Francesca is also using her studies in foreign language to her advantage as a human resources specialist. To her, it makes a huge difference.

“If I can speak to a Spanish speaker in their native language, it makes it easier,” she says. “It makes them feel more comfortable and more able to express themselves freely.”

And her time spent abroad and traveling to different countries has given her a unique insight into multiple cultures and how the people from those cultures react to certain situations.

“My experiences have given me the tools to gain a deeper understanding of what’s going on,” she says.

So far, Francesca is inspired by what she has seen at Innisfree. She told us about her first impression.

“It’s a very positive one,” she says. “What I like is to see people smiling and to hear people laughing. It means that people are enjoying where they are and what they are doing.”

We also wanted to know if she has any goals or unique challenges that she is looking forward to facing.

“My goal is to bring human resources to the people,” she says. “I don’t particularly like the term ‘human resources.’ We are dealing with people, so why don’t we focus on people?”

Away from the office, she is looking forward to enjoying the best that Pensacola has to offer.

“Anything I can do outside and surround myself with nature makes me really, really happy.”

Alyssa Townsend, the Director of Social Media for our in-house marketing agency, has been selected as one of the Inweekly Rising Stars for 2018. Inweekly’s Rising Stars list spotlights young professionals under the age of 35 who are excelling in their respective fields.

Hailing from San Jose, California, Alyssa began her academic quest in Chapel Hill at the University of North Carolina. She obtained her undergraduate degree in journalism with a specialization in public relations.

In 2015, Alyssa packed her bags and headed down to Pensacola for a job as a Communications Specialist at the University of West Florida. A year and a half later, she met Jill Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer of Innisfree Hotels, and was offered a job. We asked Alyssa what stood out to her most about Innisfree.

“Corporate social responsibility,” she says. “Specifically that our team is so involved with Innisfree’s corporate social responsibility program. I believe in giving back and serving the community, so being able to do that as part of my job is the golden ticket.”

And if the job description was the golden ticket, being selected as a Rising Star was the key to the factory.

“It feels awesome,” she says. “Since I first came to Pensacola, Inweekly was one of the publications that I always read. I would see the Rising Stars and it was a personal and professional goal of mine to end up on that list.”

Alyssa considers herself in good company amongst other Rising Stars.

“With all of the young professionals and movers and shakers in our community, it’s an honor to be listed among them. It gives me validation that I’m heading in the right direction and doing some good things.”

According to Alyssa, Pensacola is also heading in the right direction. We asked her what she thought about Pensacola becoming a destination for young professionals to grow and stay.

“I think Pensacola is well on its way,” she says. “There are a lot of initiatives that have come up that are helping the area — and specifically the companies and workplaces in the area — move in that direction.”

As Pensacola continues to grow, Alyssa hopes to do the same.

“I want to keep growing and learning,” she says. “The amount that I have grown in just this past year has been ridiculous. If that’s what I had in a year, I can’t wait to see what the next one brings.”

Alyssa has some parting thoughts and wisdom for her peers and the next generation of up and coming young professionals.

“You never know what you can do until you do it,” she says. “If you see something, go for it. Even if you don’t get it, you’ll learn something in the process. It might not always be a ‘yes,’ but the ‘yes’ will come.”

We are thrilled to announce that Olivia Hoblit, the General Manager at Seaside Amelia Inn, has been selected as one of the Top Women in Lodging Leaders with the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Olivia has been General Manager at the Seaside Amelia Inn since 2014, but her entrance into the hospitality world happened much earlier. Her reason for choosing hospitality was simple enough.

“My love and passion for service and people,” she says.

With a love and passion for people, Olivia gets to see the fruits of her labor on a daily basis at Seaside.

“My favorite part about working in hospitality is creating memories for our guests,” she says. “Hearing their laughter and seeing their smiles warms my heart.”

But Olivia recognizes that the hospitality world is not without its challenges.

“As a manager, recruiting people that care is a challenge,” she says. “Because you can’t teach people to care.”

The hospitality world is one that only succeeds with a lot of teamwork and mentorship. Olivia was able to point out some folks who were instrumental in her success.

“I am thankful for this recognition, but I owe my success to Susan & David Caples, the previous owners of Elizabeth Pointe Lodge and James McManeman, General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island for their continued support & guidance in my career path.”

As someone who is being recognized as a top woman in hospitality leadership, Olivia is a wealth of knowledge and information. We wanted to know if she had any tips or insight that lead her to this point.

“Be sincere and flexible,” she says. “Think like a guest and go the extra mile. Take care of your team and they will take care of you.”

And lastly, but certainly not least, Olivia has one more method that never seems to fail.

“SMILE,” she says.

Olivia is one of only 20 women selected in the state of Florida for this award. If you want to keep up to date, look out for the April publication of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association magazine.

Please help us in congratulating Olivia on this wonderful achievement!

We would like to formally introduce Dr. Lusharon Wiley, our newest Director of Culture here at Innisfree Hotels.

Lusharon comes to us from the University of West Florida, where she was not only the Director of Case Management Services and Senior Associate Dean of Students, but also instrumental in multiple inclusion and diversity groups and programs on campus.

“I worked in both Academic Affairs and Student Affairs at the University of West Florida,” says Lusharon. “I had worked in the TRiO programs for 11 years and when the Dean of Students position was brought back to the university, I was asked if I would be interested in being Assistant Dean.”

And Lusharon was also the first Director of Case Management Services at the University of West Florida, where she worked with students who had numerous problems including mental or physical health issues. She also was on the Medical Withdrawal Review Committee, which evaluated whether students were eligible for a medical withdrawal based on health conditions.

Being an effective mediator, a big part of our Director of Culture position here at Innisfree, was a skill Lusharon honed as Student Ombudsperson.

“As Ombudsperson, I would often have to facilitate discussions between faculty and students as well as student-to-student,” she says.

Lusharon became aware of Innisfree Hotels’ community involvement and outreach shortly before the Director of Culture job opening.

“When I saw the Director of Culture position open, it was as if it was magnified on my screen,” she says. “I read the job description and I was sold on it. It was because of what I knew about Innisfree, their culture and the feedback from the community that made this position attractive to me.”

Lusharon finds herself working with our current Director of Culture, Jack Guillebeaux.

“I see Jack as the guru for Innisfree,” she says. “I’m growing and learning and so happy to be working with him.”

As someone who is new to the hospitality world, Lusharon finds herself coming to Innisfree from a different angle.

“I think I bring simply a new perspective, never having been in the hotel industry nor the service industry,” she says. “I’m looking forward to expanding the conversation beyond Innisfree to let the greater Pensacola community know what it is that Innisfree does in terms of its connectedness and care. At a minimum, I would like to be a person that is willing to listen.”

Lusharon is eager to start her new chapter with Innisfree Hotels.

“I am so excited to be a member of the Innisfree family and look forward to growing together.”

Hotel Business, the number one hotel industry source for information according to Harvey Research, released the 2017 rankings for Top Management Companies and Top Owners & Developers. Innisfree Hotels continues to climb higher into the limelight. Hotel Business ranks Innisfree Hotels as 66th in Management Companies and 49th in Owners & Developers.

Since humble beginnings in 1985, Innisfree Hotels has made its mark all along the Gulf Coast and as far away as Vermont. Julian MacQueen, Founder and CEO of Innisfree Hotels, reminisced on the journey.

“I feel like we have moved out of a mom and pop mentality and into a scalable, nationally recognized hotel company,” he says. “And although we struggle with those challenges, I’m convinced we have the right people in the room to make that transition sustainable.”

MacQueen attributes this current ranking to the hard work and contributions made by everyone company-wide.

“To see something like that in the context of a national ranking is a bit of a wake-up call,” he says. “To know that the scale of what we do is not insignificant.”

Innisfree Hotels has not been immune to the constant changes and challenges facing the hospitality industry. However, MacQueen believes that the fundamental foundations of hospitality remain fixed.

“Two of the fundamentals are genuine hospitality and creating experiences that are fun and memorable,” he says. “But one of the biggest changes in the last five years is the role of marketing and the democratization of revenue channels, putting into question traditional ways of market placements and messaging.”

In its major market debut in 2017, Innisfree Hotels purchased a hotel in New Orleans called The Mercantile Hotel. The acquisition and branding of this independent boutique marks a major milestone for both Innisfree Hotels and MacQueen.

“We have specialized in tertiary markets for most of our career as Innisfree Hotels,” he says. “Not only did we enter a major market, but we did it without the benefit of a brand. I am very excited about watching the ramp-up of this independent hotel in a major market to see if our investment in digital media has the strength to gain more than our fair share of the market.”

MacQueen is also confident that Innisfree Hotels will continue to climb the rankings in 2018.

“Our pipeline of deals, assuming everything is static, will push us up a few more places in 2018,” he says. “And the exciting part to me is that we have made good on our pledge to not put growth in front of culture.”

Innisfree Hotels witnessed a 44% growth in 2017 and is poised to grow by another 10% in 2018. You can visit the Innisfree Hotels website to keep track of their new and exciting projects on the Gulf Coast and around the United States.