Windsor Appoints Frank Rodriguez GM Embassy Suites Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, NV, April 20, 2007. Frank Rodriguez has managed exclusive hotels and resorts through renovation and re-branding everywhere from the Caribbean to the Midwestern United States, the Northwest and a few places in between. With the breadth of experience he has had over the last 30 years, Windsor Hospitality Group is confident he will do a world-class job as general manager at their Embassy Suites Las Vegas Convention Center.
"We were all impressed with his work at high-end resorts, in addition to his work at hotels with a stronger business travel emphasis," says WHG Regional Vice President Jim Kerrigan. "Those factors make him a great fit for working with our leisure and business customers alike in the competitive Las Vegas market."
Rodriguez explains, "My vision for this WHG property is the same as the company's vision. Their Embassy Suites Las Vegas has been very successful and my goal is to look for the new opportunities for growth, to maximize its service levels and profitability and all the new dynamics as this city is growing...This hotel will stay ahead of all of that." His CV leaves little room for doubt he is up to the challenge.
"I began my career in hospitality working with Westin Hotels in Seattle in 1977," Rodriguez says. Over the subsequent seven years, he worked in management and operations positions at the Westin Hotel Seattle, at the Westin Tulsa through is opening, in the Westin Hotels Corporate Offices in Seattle and at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City. He then joined the Marriott Kansas City Country Club Plaza as its assistant general manager through its opening.
"I was recruited by a former Westin VP who became president of Stouffer Hotels and he offered me the opportunity to move to St. Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands, to the then Stouffer Grand Beach Resort...I started as project manager during their $17 million renovation and was promoted to general manager," he recalls.
Through the 1990's, Rodriguez's positions included area director for Holiday Inn's Caribbean properties in Aruba and Jamaica, general manager at La Belle Creole, which was a Conrad resort on St. Martin, and director of operations for the new Radisson Aruba Beach Resort and Casino.
"After opening the Radisson in Aruba, my daughter was in college in Boston and my wife and I wanted to return to the US to be closer to her." Although Rodriguez was offered the GM position at the Radisson in Hawaii, he chose a regional director position with Kimpton Hotels in Seattle, where he and his wife still owned a home.
"I find the Northwest to be one of the best places to live in the US and I believe the nature of the people there offers hoteliers a workforce who already understands 'hospitality' and lives it everyday...However, my wife and I had actually been looking to buy a vacation property in Las Vegas for the last year-and-a-half, so the transition from the my most recent position of general manager at the Hilton Bellevue to this WHG property killed two birds with one stone. Instead of visiting our vacation home, we live in it."
Mark Goeman, WHG's vice president of sales and marketing says, "Frank is putting down roots in Las Vegas and has genuine interesting being part of the hotel community there in the long term. His leadership ability was evident when he operated a hotel in the same competitive set as our Embassy Suites Bellevue and we knew he would be a great fit for this property."
While his passion for Las Vegas is relatively new, Rodriguez has been passionate about the hospitality industry for nearly 40 years.
"In 1969, I was in the US Navy in Hong Kong, and one day, I was walking around, being a tourist, when I saw the Peninsula, this beautiful, classic hotel on the Kowloon side," Rodriguez recounts. "Growing up as one of nine kids, we never stayed in hotels of any consequence...we used to go camping on the beach or in the mountains instead...I walked into the Peninsula lobby, sat down and just fell in love with the atmosphere. Although I was very young, it was at that moment that I knew that working in and eventually managing a hotel was what I wanted to do with my life."
WHG is glad he brought his hospitality fascination and expertise to their Embassy Suites Las Vegas Convention Center.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
