Hotel executive moves: Central Romana, Dream Capital, Five Star

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

New CMO for Central Romana Corp. La Romana, Dominican Republic-based Central Romana Corp. has named Jason Kycek as chief marketing officer for its Hospitality, Tourism and Real Estate division. Kycek will oversee the corporation’s brand, communication, and marketing strategies while continuing as senior vice president of sales and marketing at Casa de Campo Resort & Villas. He joined Casa de Campo in January 2017 and has over 15 years of executive experience. He previously worked for Occidental Hotels and Resorts and KSL Resorts.

New exec at Dream Capital. Atlanta-based Dream Capital has named Justin Patel as senior associate, Investments and Asset Management. Most recently, Patel was senior asset management analyst with Peachtree Group and worked for 33 Degrees.

Five Star names new EVP. Atlanta-based Five Star Group has named Kimberly Rowell as executive vice president of Five Star Hospitality Management. Rowell joined the organization in February 2023 and has over 35 years of hospitality leadership working for such organizations such as Blackstone, Winegardner & Hammons, ZMC Hotels and HP Hotels while driving operational excellence across a diverse portfolio of Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Wyndham and Choice Hotels.

Urban Renaissance names CIO. Seattle-based Urban Renaissance Group has hired Manual Garibay as chief investment officer. Garibay was a founding partner of real estate firm Kamiak and has been active in real estate investment and development for 20 years. Previously he served as a vice president at Blackstone's EQ Office platform and also worked at Vulcan Real Estate, Clarion Partners and KeyBank Capital Markets.

New manager at Whitbread. Dunstable, U.K.-based Whitbread PLC has named Sam Murphy as project and program manager. He has 18 years of development and project management experience and was previously an associate for AECOM in London. He also worked for Gardiner & Theobald LLP, JLL and Drivers Jonas Deloitte.