Lori Hughes to Lead Efforts at White Lodging's Newest Austin Development.

Bringing more than 15 years of industry experience to the job, Austin resident Lori Hughes will be the Director of Sales at the Hyatt Place Austin Downtown. White Lodging's most recent development in the city, construction of Hyatt Place Austin Downtown is expected to start soon, and the hotel is anticipated to open in 2013. A stand-alone 14-story building, the property will have 296 guestrooms and is located adjacent to the Austin Convention center.

"Lori's extensive background, including 12 years of full-service sales experience that covered several brands, requiring different responsibilities in a number of different sized hotels, makes her a perfect fit for this position," said Kevin Grandin, Regional Vice President for White Lodging. "Her start date is dependent on construction, but I expect it to be no later than August 1."

Hughes started her hospitality career in 1989 as the Conference Sales Manager at the Harvey Hotel at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. She then was named Sales Manager and then Senior Sales Manager at the Harvey Hotel in Addison, Texas. Bristol Hotels and Resorts rebranded both of these properties as Crowne Plaza Hotels in 1999.

Between 1992 and 1999, Hughes continued with Bristol Hotels and Resorts, first as the National Sales Manager in the company's Austin sales center, then as the Director of Sales for the company's Holiday Inn Town Lake and then as the Area Director of Sales for the South Texas Region.

Since 2009, Hughes has served as the Director of Sales at the White Lodging's SpringHill Suites by Marriott Austin South. "I am so thrilled to be a part of the White Lodging organization and to be in on the ground floor of this exciting new development," said Hughes. "The Hyatt Place is a relatively new member of the Hyatt brand, and the hotels are highly regarded as upscale, select-service properties."

White Lodging Services Corporation was established in 1985 and is headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana. White Lodging is a fully integrated hotel ownership, development, and operations company - a recognized leader that has defined and cultivated the ability to achieve consistent, sustainable growth among mid- to large-scale hotels across the country. Their current portfolio consists of over 155 hotels in 18 states and encompasses representation of the following leading brands: Marriott International, Inc., Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Global, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental Hotel Group, and Carlson Hotels Worldwide.