M&R Hotel Management has appointed Tracey Rucks as General Manager of the new 271-room Holiday Inn New York City – Times Square at 585 Eighth Ave., between 38th and 39th streets. The 36-story, newly constructed hotel is the 13th New York hotel in M&R Hotel Management’s 16-hotel portfolio and fifth Holiday Inn hotel.
Rucks, an 11-year hospitality industry veteran who has managed hotels in Indiana, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, will oversee all aspects of the hotel’s operations, including sales, marketing, security, maintenance, housekeeping and accounting.
She previously served M&R Hotel Management as general manager of the Holiday Inn Express Manhattan Midtown West on West 48th Street. Prior to joining M&R, she was general manager of the Holiday Inn Indianapolis Carmel. From 2010 to 2014, she was general manager of the Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Fifth Avenue. From 2008 to 2009, she was general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn Edison/Raritan Center in New Jersey, and from 2007 to 2008 she was general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn-Danbury in Connecticut.
In 2007, Rucks was an area director of sales for Alliance Hospitality, a hotel owner and management company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and oversaw sales strategy for nine hotels representing four brands. From 2006 to 2007, she was general manager of the former Holiday Inn Tinton Falls-Eatontown in New Jersey.
As Alliance Hospitality’s area director of revenue management from 2004 to 2006, she helped develop and lead a training course required for general managers and sales managers. Rucks has been certified as a general manager by InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and a fire safety director certificate of fitness from the New York City Fire Department. She is a member of the Professional Women’s Business Association.
“Tracey’s years of experience as a general manager in the hotel industry, especially with M&R in the increasingly competitive West Side of Manhattan, makes her an excellent choice to lead the team at our new Holiday Inn,” said Brian M. McSherry, M&R Hotel Management chief operating officer.
