PRESS RELEASE – 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville is pleased to announce the appointments of several key staff to the positions of Director of Sales and Marketing, Sales Manager, Event Sales Manager and Revenue Manager. The hotel, located just north of downtown Bentonville’s square, is scheduled to open its doors in the first quarter of 2013. 21c expects to employ a total of 160 employees across all areas of the property. The remaining positions will be filled during two job fairs to be held in Fayetteville November 27 and 28 and Bentonville January 6 and 7, details to be announced.
Rick Reed, Director of Sales and Marketing
In this role, Reed will be responsible for overseeing external marketing and sales opportunities. Reed brings over twenty-five years of hospitality experience to 21c, and has worked as Director of Sales and Marketing for both branded luxury and independent boutique properties. Most recently, Reed held this position at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel. He has also worked for two Preferred Hotels properties in Houston, Hotel Icon and Hotel Derek, as well as the Ritz-Carlton Houston.
Mimi Minton, Sales Manager
Minton joins 21c with a proven track record of sales. Before coming to 21c, Minton held sales posts at The Peabody Hotel in Little Rock and The Chancellor Hotel (formerly The Cosmopolitan) in Fayetteville. As part of the 21c team, Minton will focus her efforts on both local and national clients as well as local and regional community involvement.
Celine Peruzzi, Event Sales Manager
Peruzzi will work with both local and national clients to select the perfect space for their event needs. 21c will offer 12,000 square feet of light-filled, state-of-the-art meeting and conference rooms as well as outdoor spaces for private functions. Peruzzi joins the 21c team with twenty years of experience in hotel event sales and corporate meeting planning.
Andy Yoon, Revenue Manager
Yoon’s background includes revenue and front office management experience. Prior to joining the 21c Museum Hotel team, Yoon was an Area Revenue Analyst for Kimpton Hotels in Chicago. Yoon’s responsibilities in this role include maintaining an optimal mix of customers while managing competitive rates, pricing strategy and demand forecasts.
“It is very satisfying to see our staff grow as we ramp up to open the doors. This is a team of highly competent and experienced people, dedicated to upholding the high standards of genuine hospitality that 21c Museum Hotels has become known for,” says Emmanuel Gardinier, General Manager of 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville.
About 21c Museum Hotel
21c Museum Hotel Bentonville, opening in the first quarter of 2013, is a combination boutique hotel, contemporary art museum and restaurant modeled after the award-winning flagship in Louisville, Kentucky. Building on its mission of engaging the public with contemporary art and supporting the revitalization of American downtowns, 21c Bentonville will feature 12,000 square feet of museum, meeting and event space. The museum will exhibit the work of living artists and will be open free of charge to the public. An outdoor sculpture garden will complement the interior museum galleries. These spaces will serve as a key link in the emerging arts promenade that connects downtown Bentonville to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The hotel will incorporate 104 guest rooms—including a one-bedroom 21c Suite with a terrace—that embrace the founders’ ethos of “living with art.” Architect Deborah Berke’s design integrates extensive natural lighting throughout the 100,000 square foot property, which will also feature a spacious ballroom and state-of-the-art meeting and conference rooms, outdoor spaces for private functions and The Hive restaurant. Led by chef and Arkansas native Matthew McClure, The Hive will emphasize the unique culinary identity and ingredients of Arkansas, while articulating McClure’s approach to refined country cuisine.
About 21c Museum Hotels
Founded in 2007, 21c Museum Hotels is a growing company that oversees the expansion and management of 21c Museum Hotel nationally. 21c Museum Hotel was founded in Louisville, Kentucky by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, contemporary art collectors and preservationists, who had a vision for bringing art into people’s daily lives and supporting the revitalization of their hometown. The couple tapped architect Deborah Berke to convert five 19th century tobacco and bourbon warehouses into a 90-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, award-winning restaurant Proof on Main, and cultural civic center in the heart of downtown Louisville. The property’s 9,000 square feet of contemporary art space features a rotating program of curated exhibitions as well as site-specific commissioned installations. Voted among the top 10 hotels in the world in 2009, 2010 and 2011 in the Condé Nast Traveler annual Readers’ Choice Awards, 21c Museum Hotel is redefining the art of hospitality. With the success of the Louisville property, and with strong local partners who share the belief that art can be an economic driver for a community, 21c is expanding outside of Louisville. Hotels are under construction in Bentonville, AR and Cincinnati, OH, opening in the first quarter of 2013 and the fourth quarter of 2012 respectively. Projects have been announced in Lexington, KY and Durham, NC, and the company plans to develop 15 properties over the next ten years. For more information visit 21cMuseumHotels.com.
For additional information:
Stephanie Greene
21c Museum Hotels
502.882.6231
sgreene@21cHotels.com
