Hotel executive moves: Accor, HHM, Hyatt, Remington

Here is a compilation of the most critical executive moves of the past week in the hotel investment world, alphabetically (by company):

Accor adds CCO for Fairmont, Raffles. Industry veteran Alexandra Withers has been named chief commercial officer of Accor's Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Raffles Hotels & Resorts brands, as of January 19. Withers joins from Highgate Hotels as EVP, head of Marketing.

Accor names chief franchise officer. Accor has also named Leire Leoz as chief franchise officer for its premium, midscale, and economy division, effective February 2. Prior to joining Accor, she served as vice president, owner and partner relations for EMEA at Marriott International. She also worked at Starwood Hotels & Resorts and InterContinental Hotels Group.

HHM adds 2 execs. Philadelphia-based HHM Hotels has added two leaders to its investment and growth team. Luke Callinan joined as senior vice president of investments and Alexandra Lalos Church joined as senior vice president of business development. Callinan’s most recent roles were as principal and head of hotel investments at Kasa Living, and a decade-plus at The Chartres Lodging Group. Lalos Church most recently served as managing director at Hodges Ward Elliott.

Hyatt names Inclusive Collection SVP. Hyatt Hotels Corp. has appointed Maria Zarraluqui as SVP, Global Hyatt Inclusive Collection Growth and Owner Relations. This appointment, effective March 1, 2026, will see Zarraluqui focus on asset-light growth strategies, resort development and repositioning, and cultivating strategic relationships to support the long-term expansion of Hyatt’s all-inclusive portfolio. Most recently serving as vice president of Global Development at Meliá Hotels International, she will now report directly to Javier Águila, president of Inclusive Collection at Hyatt, who assumed his global role in March 2025.

OCI hires VP. Duluth, Minnesota-based OCI Hospitality has appointed Mitra Van as vice president, asset management. She brings more than 20 years of experience in hospitality leadership, asset management, and operations. As a long-time partner and operator with Prism Hotels & Resorts, Van has managed diverse hotel portfolios and partnered closely with ownership groups and operators across North America, Mexico and the Caribbean. She also worked for Intel International.

Palette hires SVP. Amanda Frank has been promoted to senior vice president of Commercial Strategy at New York City-based Palette Hotels. With more than 20 years of operational and revenue growth experience, Frank most recently served as corporate director of sales at Kasa Living, a Series C startup, where she built the sales organization, scaling revenue to $3 million-plus in two years. She previously worked at Evolution Hospitality.

Remington adds EVP, technology. Dallas-based Remington Hospitality has added Ayotunde Gibbs as executive vice president, technology. Gibbs will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive IT strategy for the third-party management firm. Gibbs joins Remington from Dave & Buster’s Inc., where she served as vice president, enterprise systems and data and also worked at GameStop Inc.