"WMS is very pleased that the La Quinta property's construction is on schedule and we will open this beautiful Homewood Suites by Hilton in early September," says Windsor's Vice President of Regional Operations Regina Samy. "And I am personally very excited to announce that we have engaged Brad and Amanda, two seasoned professionals, to lead this hotel during its construction and long after its opening."

"Considering this hotel's proximity to the desert's most pristine golf courses and tennis courts, including the Classic Club in Palm Desert, which is home to the Bob Hope Classic, the Arnold Palmer Classic Course at SilverRock Resort, the PGA West Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and the La Quinta Resort," Samy explains, "we anticipate a great deal of tournament business. For that reason, WMS wanted two leaders who have experience in private clubs and high-traffic markets alike. That is one of the things that set Brad and Amanda apart from other candidates."

Brad Poncher, General Manager

Brad Poncher, WMS's choice for general manager, has worked with Hyatt Hotels, the famed Smoke Tree Ranch and the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club prior to this opportunity. "Actually, I moved here 17 years ago with Hyatt Hotels," Poncher said. "They transferred me here to convert the Maxim's, of the same brand as Maxim's de Paris, to a Hyatt Regency Suites." At that point, he had already escalated through Hyatt's hierarchy, serving as regional manager over 24 hotels in the Midwest and as director of sales and marketing.

After 15 years and eight promotions within Hyatt, Poncher left to work at the Smoke Tree Ranch for 12 years in both vice president and GM capacities. "Smoke Tree is actually a mixed-use property. It is a seasonal resort, a private club and a homeowners association," he says. "But Smoke Tree is a very exclusive community, so we marketed that very discreetly, more word of mouth than anything." Apparently his approach worked.

During Poncher's tenure at Smoke Tree, the Robb Report named it as one of the "World's 10 Exclusive Hideaways 2004." His work as resident and general manager at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club required the very same business-development intuition coupled with discretion.

Poncher well understands La Quinta specifically. "I was on the Board of Directors of the Palm Springs Convention and Visitor's Bureau and Dick Oliphant was also on the Board," he says. "Dick was the one who told me about Windsor and put me in touch with the company. He and his partners, Francis A. Wong and Dennis French, are this property's owners and they are all incredibly well respected in the community. The minute they said their company, CP Development La Quinta, had selected Patrick Nesbitt and his company, Windsor Management Services, to manage the property, that was all the credibility this opportunity needed to have."

Amanda Frank, Director of Sales

Amanda Frank, WMS's hire for director of sales, took a different approach. She sought Windsor and proposed herself for the job.

"I actually saw the hotel being built and went to the construction site to drop off my resume," she says. "I found out that a gentleman I already knew works for Homewood and he was able to track-down a contact for me within Windsor."

In addition to being impressed by that initiative, Frank's accomplished career path gave Windsor pause as well. "I started as a sales manager with White Lodging Services in Indianapolis and rose up very quickly with the care of my mentor, Anne Dunlavy," she says. From that first position, she progressed to regional sales manager and director of sales. "Ten months later, I moved up to director of sales, opening the new Residence Inn and Spring Hill Suites in Carmel," before being recruited to another company to open their new hotel.

Most recently, Frank was member relations director at the Indian Wells Country Club.

With her own endearingly humble spin to her career story, she adds, "The first achievement I can recall is being hired by White Lodging as a sales manager for five hotels, due to the fact that I did not have any hospitality experience, I did not even know hotels had whole sales staffs and I was applying for a much lesser position in sales." After that, her favorite accomplishments are opening three different hotels and surpassing all of the goals the owners and management companies had set. " ... And being able to meet so many great people and form solid business relationships with those people and companies," she adds.

So far, Frank seems to like her new company. "Windsor is fantastic," she says. "I have been so impressed with the people with whom I have worked ... Everyone has been so easy to work with and friendly, which is not always the case ... It seems the company is really interested in moving forward and growing -- not only the company, but their people, from the inside out."

WMS admires the same in Brad and Amanda. Says Samy, "Both of them have strong, long-standing reputations in the La Quinta market. They come to us with recommendations from many people as the key leaders to make this opening project a success."

About Windsor Management Services -- Windsor Management Services (WMS), the new corporate division of Windsor Capital Group that is dedicated to third-party management contracts. Through WMS's long-term contracts, this new division has expanded the Windsor portfolio considerably since its launch last summer. It will continue to grow in the coming months.

Windsor Capital Group, Inc. is a California-based commercial real estate acquisition, development and management firm. It is the largest private franchisee of the Embassy Suites brand, which is owned by Hilton. With the Homewood Suites La Quinta, the company's hotel portfolio includes 28 brand name properties in commercial and cultural hubs such as Midtown Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and Houston. Visit: www.wcghotels.com for more information about the company and its collection of properties.

Windsor Capital Group, Inc.
http://www.wcghotels.com