McKibbon Hospitality announces two new hires for Asheville hotels

Press release:

McKibbon Hospitality Announces New Asheville Team Members
Leading hotel development and management company hires general manager for new AC Hotel and market director of sales for downtown Asheville properties

Asheville, N.C. (August 15, 2016) – McKibbon Hospitality announced today that it has hired Michael Hickerson as general manager for its AC Hotel Asheville Downtown and Marie Dalis as market director of sales for McKibbon’s downtown Asheville properties, which include the Aloft Asheville Downtown and AC Hotel Asheville Downtown. The AC Hotel is slated to open in late 2016 and will be McKibbon Hospitality’s second downtown Asheville hotel in addition to the Aloft, which opened in 2012.

“We are very excited to welcome Michael and Marie to our team and look forward to the contributions they will make at both of our downtown Asheville hotels,” said Randy Hassen, president of McKibbon Hospitality. “In addition to each of them having a proven track record of success in the hospitality industry, they have both held positions with McKibbon and are very familiar with our core values, including our commitment to personalizing the guest experience and maintaining strong ties with the local communities we serve.”

Hickerson is an award-winning industry veteran with more than twenty years of experience in hospitality. He has worked for McKibbon since 2001, holding general manager positions at properties in Sarasota and Little Rock, and he has led teams through openings for various hotel brands. In his role as general manager for the AC Hotel Asheville Downtown, Hickerson will help recruit, interview and train the hotel’s team, manage day-to-day hotel operations, assist with sales and marketing efforts, and help maintain brand standards across the property, including for the hotel’s world-class food and beverage offerings.

Dalis joins McKibbon Hospitality from Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, where she was previously the director of sales and marketing for the Brice Hotel in Savannah. Prior to her time with Kimpton, Dalis worked as a director of sales for McKibbon. She has held positions for a variety of Marriott brands at properties in Florida and Georgia, including a Kessler Collection property in Savannah, which is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. As market director of sales for the AC and Aloft in Asheville, Dalis will be responsible for the overall sales of both properties, training all associates as it relates to sales processes, implementing new sales initiatives, and supporting guest experience and satisfaction.

As the first AC Hotel in the Carolinas, the AC Hotel Asheville Downtown will boast 132 upscale rooms and European-inspired public spaces including a ninth floor reserved for dining, meetings and a spectacular rooftop bar with indoor and outdoor seating, all overlooking amazing views of the surrounding mountains. The rooftop bar will offer perfectly made cocktails, wine and beer, and a thoughtfully curated menu of small plates, including a selection of Mediterranean-inspired tapas, as well as daily breakfast. The hotel will sit atop a new four-story parking deck with 336 spaces and public access at the corner of College and Broadway. In addition to the AC and Aloft, McKibbon Hospitality is set to open its third downtown Asheville property in 2018 at the site of the former BB&T building.

To learn more about McKibbon Hospitality, visit www.mckibbon.com.