Benchmark Hospitality International has announced the appointment of Denise Benoit as marketing director for Lansdowne Resort, the signature property located near Leesburg, Virginia. Peter Faraone, Benchmark’s managing director at Lansdowne Resort, made the announcement. An award-winning marketing communications veteran, Denise Benoit was previously president of Benoit Marketing, a company she founded nearly a decade ago, which specialized in the hospitality industry. In this role, Ms. Benoit provided strategic marketing communications counsel, web marketing, and advertising planning and programming to hospitality clients in markets across the United States, including luxury resorts, guest ranches and country inns. Ms. Benoit’s strategic initiatives resulted in double digit revenue increases for her firm’s clients and significantly enhanced their web optimization. Previous to this, Denise Benoit was director of marketing for Governing Magazine, a Washington, DC-based publication, developing media plans for corporate advertisers. She has worked for several DC publishing entities, including Telecommunications Report, Public Utilities Reports and Washington Researchers. Earlier in her career, Ms. Benoit worked as a meeting and special events planner for the National Association of Broadcasters, Decatur House Museum, McKenna & Cuneo, and WAVA Radio, all based in Washington, DC.

The Nuevo Mundo group plans to build three new hotels that will be located in Punta Sal (Tumbes) and the city of Cusco, as well as it plans the extension of the infrastructure of its hotel in Lima. These projects would demand an investment of US$ 40 million. The hotel in Punta Sal will start to be belt in July and it will be finished for May 2010. The hotel in Cusco would start to be belt next November. This establishment would be located in two blocks from the Plaza de Armas and it will have 150 rooms. The other hotel project   in this city will be located in Valle Sagrado de los Incas and its construction could possibly start at the end or at the beginning of 2010.

David Hornby, Commercial Director at Visit London, has left the tourism organisation after six years to concentrate on new projects in the events and business tourism market. During his time at Visit London, David re-launched London’s Convention Bureau and built a winning team which re-positioned London’s business tourism offering. He also led the formation of the capital’s first ever major events team at Visit London,  Events for London, which has secured a variety of high profile events for the capital, including the NFL, UEFA Champions League Final 2011, World Badminton Championships 2011 and this year’s first London Restaurant Festival.