Waterford Hotel Group, which manages two of downtown Hartford’s biggest hotels, has promoted Gregory Smith to oversee a national expansion of its lodging portfolio.
Smith’s new job as vice president of business development will be to tap his 30-year network of contacts with investors, lenders and operators to widen Waterford’s hotel-inn portfolio through acquisitions and joint ventures, Waterford Hotel operating chief Rob Winchester said in a statement.
Waterford Hotel, among other properties in its portfolio, manages both the 393-room Hilton Hotel on Trumbull Street and the 22-floor, 401-room Hartford Marriott Downtown, next door to the Connecticut Convention Center.
Waterford Hotel is a division of Waterford Group Inc., whose interests also include owning, developing or managing convention and gaming facilities. It operates some 60 hotels nationwide that fly the Marriott, Starwood Hotel and Resorts, Hilton, Choice Hotel International, and InterContinental Hotels Group banners.Â
Since joining Waterford in 2009, Smith has served as a key financial link between Waterford Hotel Group, property ownership, and hotel managers.Â
Prior to joining Waterford, Smith was finance and administrative chief for Boykin Management Co.
