Eric Ashton Named GM for 263-room Westin Cape Coral Resort in Florida
Michele Frank Named as Director of Sales & Marketing
Cape Coral, FL - January 9, 2013 - The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village is proud to announce the appointments of Eric Ashton as general manager and Michele Frank as director of sales & marketing. The newly updated 263-room resort is located in the prestigious waterfront community of Tarpon Point and is Starwood's first Westin property in Southwest Florida. The hospitality veterans will be relying on their combined 34 years of experience to create a revitalizing atmosphere that travelers have come to expect from the innovative Westin brand.
Eric Ashton is an eight-year veteran of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. He previously served as the hotel manager at The Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto where he was responsible for leading a team of over 400 associates, two division leaders and seven department heads as well as initiated multiple renovation and refurbishment projects. Prior to that position, Ashton was the regional director of food and beverage for Canada, where he oversaw food and beverage for multiple Starwood properties, and previously served as the director of food and beverage at The Westin Calgary helping to bring guest satisfaction scores to the highest in the country.
“I'm thrilled to be joining the Cape Coral community and bringing the signature Westin experience to our guests,” shared Ashton. “We plan to take full advantage of the resort's superb waterfront location by adding new programming to enhance our marina and boating offerings.”
With over 20 years of hospitality experience, Michele Frank will oversee all sales and marketing activities, including group and leisure sales, food and beverage, catering and public relations for the property. Before joining the Cape Coral resort, Frank was director of sales and marketing at The Westin Resort & Casino, Aruba and also held the same role at The Westin Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa in Hollywood, FL where she was responsible for driving occupancy at both resorts through a mix of group and leisure business, as well as the weddings market.
“As a Sunshine State resident, I was excited to join the first Westin property in Southwest Florida,” said Frank. “The resort already has so many great features for leisure and group travelers and the addition of the Westin Heavenly Spa, new meetings space and ballroom will make the property even more desirable.”
For more information about The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village or to make reservations, call 1-866-837-4278 or visit www.westincapecoral.com.
About The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village
Opened on Dec 13, 2012, The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village boasts a prime waterfront location within the prestigious Tarpon Point community overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, the Caloosahatchee River and San Carlos Bay. The newly updated resort features 263 oversized rooms and suites complete with the world-renowned Westin Heavenly® Bed and Heavenly® Shower, world-class dining at Marker92 Waterfront Bar & Bistro and The Nauti Mermaid Dockside Bar & Grill, a lagoon-style outdoor pool, clay tennis courts, 24-hour WestinWORKOUT® fitness studio, marina with watersports, cruises and fishing, and much more. With 25,000 square feet of meeting and function space, the waterfront resort can accommodate groups and events of varying sizes. www.westincapecoral.com
About Westin Hotels & Resorts
Westin Hotels & Resorts offers innovative programs that transform every aspect of a stay into a revitalizing experience. All Westin signature services - like the Heavenly®Bed, delicious SuperFoodsRX® and WestinWorkout® studio - have been designed with the guests' well-being in mind. Westin hotels, with more than 186 hotels and resorts in nearly 40 countries and territories, is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT). Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,128 properties in nearly 100 countries and 154,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Meridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and ElementSM. The Company boasts one of the industry's leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.westin.com
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
