Omni Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce two appointments for the highly anticipated Omni PGA Frisco Resort, Jeff Smith as vice president and managing director, and Gus Tejeda as director of sales & marketing. The resort, slated to open in Spring 2023 in partnership with PGA of America and the City of Frisco, has also just launched its sales efforts for groups and events.
Jeff Smith, Vice President and Managing Director
Having served over three decades in the hotel industry, and almost 20 at Omni Hotels and Resorts, Smith is a seasoned hospitality veteran and passionate leader. Smith was most recently general manager for Omni Frisco Hotel, and area managing director. In his new role with Omni PGA Frisco Resort, he will be the primary, strategic business leader, responsible for all aspects of the complex and the resort’s operation, as well as leading the executive committee members in the development and implementation of property-wide and brand service strategies and implementation.
Smith has served in numerous leadership capacities throughout his career with Omni Hotels & Resorts, including area managing director, vice president of operations, and corporate director of rooms.
“Jeff joined Omni in 1994 and in that time has proven himself to be a service-driven leader, exemplifying our culture through his high energy, engaging style, and passion for mentoring talent,” Peter Strebel, president at Omni Hotels & Resorts. “Jeff is established and beloved in the Dallas and Frisco communities, and we are confident he will build a strong team and lead them to a highly successful opening.”
“After having a variety of roles and leadership positions throughout my career at Omni, it is an honor to be leading such a significant milestone for the brand with the opening of Omni PGA Frisco Resort,” said Smith. “With the launch of sales and upcoming topping off ceremony, it’s an exciting time for the brand and our growing property team.”
Smith attended Michigan State University, where he earned a BA in business administration with a major in hospitality management. He also has an MBA from Rockhurst College.
Gus Tejeda, Director of Sales and Marketing
A transformational leader, and sales and marketing visionary – with more than 20 years of experience working with luxury hotels and resorts, Tejeda was most recently the director of marketing at Four Seasons Las Vegas. There, he led the hotel’s sales and marketing efforts while also overseeing catering, room reservations, and revenue management, and in 2019, he and his team were recognized with the “Hotel Sales Team of the Year” award for the Americas region.
“We are so pleased to welcome Gus back to Omni Hotels & Resorts,” said Jeff Smith, vice president and managing director at Omni PGA Frisco. “Gus has amassed a strong background in managing sales and marketing teams at a varied mix of hotels and luxury brands, and I am certain that he will be able to harness all of those experiences to best represent, sell, market, and open the resort, and ensure that it becomes the pre-eminent destination golf resort in the country.”
In addition to his work with Four Seasons Las Vegas, Tejeda has also held a host of sales, operations, and marketing positions with Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas, The Mirage in Las Vegas, and Bellagio Las Vegas.
“Since my first job as a convention set-up houseman at the Radisson South Hotel in Minneapolis, Minn., while in high school, I knew that my career would be in hospitality,” said Tejeda. “To be in the position to build an all-star team, and curate the entire sales and marketing efforts for this amazing property, really is the pinnacle of my career, and an opportunity that I could not refuse. And, as we move through every milestone, from the topping out, the launch of the website, and the debut of our new video, we move closer to sharing this world-class resort with the public.”
Tejeda is a past board member of the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives International Foundation; co-chair of the Meeting Professionals International CSR Committee; and Advisory Board of the Las Vegas Chapter of Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International.
