MERRILLVILLE, Ind.,  May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- White Lodging of Merrillville, Indiana is pleased to announce the appointment of Phil Ray to General Manager of the Indianapolis Marriott Hotel Downtown. 

Ray joins White Lodging from Omni Hotels where he served as the General Manager of the Omni Severin Hotel, Indianapolis.  Ray brings extensive experience to the position.  A graduate of Bentley University, Ray joined Marriott International and started his career in finance at Boston Long Wharf, Dallas Fort Worth, Las Colinas Mandalay, Desert Springs Resort, Portland Maine and Newport Rhode Island.  In addition, he served as Controller of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco and Director of Finance of the Plaza Hotel in New York.   He later moved into operations as Director of Services at the Doral Arrowwood with Omni hotels and then became GM of the Omni Severin where he has been for the last several years. 

He was named Omni Hotels GM of the year in 2007, Indiana Hotel Lodging Association GM of the year in 2008, and was also the recipient of the Indianapolis Tourism Leadership Award in 2009. Ray is a former President of the Great Indy Hotel Association and is currently a board member of the Indy Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Indianapolis Chef's Academy. 

"We are thrilled to have Phil joining our WLS team.  Phil brings the necessary leadership and market knowledge to continuer the traditions of excellence at our Indianapolis Marriott," says Regional Vice President John Randall.

White Lodging Services Corporation was established in 1985 and is headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana. White Lodging is a fully integrated hotel ownership, development, and operations company � a recognized leader that has defined and cultivated the ability to achieve consistent, sustainable growth among mid- to large-scale hotels across the country. Their current portfolio consists of 148 hotels in eighteen states and encompasses representation of the following leading brands: Marriott International, Inc., Hilton Hotels Corporation, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental Hotel Group, and Carlson Hotels Worldwide.