RETAIL & LEISURE
HOTELS AND RESORTS, RANKED BY NUMBER OF ROOMS
Top 10 SHERATON PHOENIX DOWNTOWN HOTEL 340 N. Third St., Phoenix, 85004 // 602-262-2500 // sheratonphoenixdowntown.com FOUNDED 2008 ROOMS 1,000 AZ EMPLOYEES 350 PRINCIPAL Mike Ehmann, general manager HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Cindy Radamaker, area director of human resources JW MARRIOTT DESERT RIDGE RESORT & SPA 5350 E. Marriott Drive, Phoenix, 85054 // 480-293-5000 // jwdesertridgeresort.com FOUNDED 2002 ROOMS 950 AZ EMPLOYEES 1,000 PRINCIPAL Steve Hart, general manager and Marriott area vice president HIGHESTRANKING WOMAN Yoko Hodges, market revenue management leader ARIZONA GRAND RESORT & SPA 8000 S. Arizona Grand Parkway, Phoenix, 85044 // 602-438-9000 // arizonagrandresort.com FOUNDED 2006 ROOMS 744 AZ EMPLOYEES 600 PRINCIPAL Paul Gray, general manager HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Kerry Feltenberg, director of catering and conference service ARIZONA BILTMORE 2400 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix, 85016 // 602-955-6600 // arizonabiltmore.com FOUNDED 1929 ROOMS 740 AZ EMPLOYEES 940 PRINCIPAL AND HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Sheila Foley, general manager
A MARRIOTT TRAVELER
YOKO HODGES MARKET REVENUE MANAGEMENT LEADER BY GREMLYN BRADLEYWADDELL
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An Arizona resident for less than a year, Georgia transplant Yoko Hodges is still getting to know her new home state. But when it comes to her career as market revenue management leader for JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa, she knows the lay of the land well. She’s worked in that sector of the industry for roughly 15 years and calls revenue management her “true passion” because it not only touches a property’s financial outcomes but also affects the experiences of guests and associates. “My job’s also fast-paced, and I love that aspect of it,” she says. Hodges’ department is charged with setting the property’s sales strategy and pricing, and ensuring that “we have the right business at the right time,” she says. That’s a task that typically has her looking ahead a year or more and working with a wide variety of potential clientele. “I’m a people person, and that’s a critical part of what I do,” says Hodges, who also oversees revenue management operations for the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain in Marana and the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson. Originally from Tokyo, Hodges first got a taste of American life in high school, when she joined a student exchange program that gave her the opportunity to go to school
for six months in Los Angeles and a year in Portland, Ore. After attending college in Japan, Marriott International, Inc., was looking for bilingual employees. Although Hodges had never considered working in the hospitality industry, she applied for job and landed a front-desk position at one of the firm’s hotels in Atlanta, where she stayed for nearly 19 years. She was hooked. “I fell in love with the industry and the culture Marriott brings,” she says. After moving into revenue management, other positions gave her the chance to work with a number of Marriott brands, such as Renaissance Hotels, Ritz-Carlton and the Autograph Collection, some of which were also in Florida and Louisiana. Nearly a year ago, she moved with her husband, Barron, to the Valley for her current job. Their daughter, who had been attending college in Georgia, also decided to call Arizona home and has transferred to the University of Arizona. “My husband and I enjoy exploring the state,” she says, adding that a recent goal was to finally visit the Grand Canyon. In the meantime, she continues to thrive in her fast-paced setting, where practices and approaches continue to evolve rapidly. “You can’t ever think that you know it all,” she says. “You have to remain a student of the business.”
THE WESTIN KIERLAND RESORT & SPA 6902 E. Greenway Parkway, Scottsdale, 85254 // 480-624-1000 // kierlandresort.com FOUNDED 2002 ROOMS 732 AZ EMPLOYEES 850 PRINCIPAL J. Bruce Lange, managing director HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Liz Franzese, director of sales and marketing HYATT REGENCY PHOENIX 122 N. Second St., Phoenix, 85004 // 602-252-1234 // phoenix.hyatt. com FOUNDED 1976 ROOMS 693 AZ EMPLOYEES 320 PRINCIPAL Thomas Delaney, general manager HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Danyell Schastny, director of sales and marketing FAIRMONT SCOTTSDALE PRINCESS 7575 E. Princess Drive, Scottsdale, 85255 // 480-585-4848 // scottsdaleprincess.com FOUNDED 1987 ROOMS 648 AZ EMPLOYEES 1,005 PRINCIPAL Jack Miller, general manager HIGHEST-RANKING WOMEN Pam Gilbert, director of sales and marketing; Rosemary Taylor, regional director of human resources THE PHOENICIAN AND THE CANYON SUITES AT THE PHOENICIAN 6000 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale, 85251 // 480-941-8200 // thephoenician. com, canyonsuites.com FOUNDED 1988, 2007 ROOMS 643 AZ EMPLOYEES 800 PRINCIPAL Mark Vinciguerra, managing director HIGHESTRANKING WOMAN Katie Hirose, director of revenue management POINTE HILTON TAPATIO CLIFFS RESORT 11111 N. Seventh St., Phoenix, 85020 // 602-866-7500 // tapatiocliffshilton.com FOUNDED 1982 ROOMS 584 AZ EMPLOYEES 470 PRINCIPAL Ron Simon, general manager HIGHEST-RANKING WOMAN Rose Walz, director of human resources JW MARRIOTT STARR PASS RESORT & SPA 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd., Tucson, 85745 // 520-792-3500 // jwmarriottstarrpass.com FOUNDED 2005 ROOMS 575 AZ EMPLOYEES 626 PRINCIPAL Russell Bond, general manager HIGHEST-RANKING WOMEN Jennifer Horstman, director of human resources; Meredith Nicklas, director of finance
WHO’S WHO IN BUSINESS // 2015
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