Thompson San Antonio – Riverwalk has announced the addition of three seasoned hospitality professionals to the hotel in key leadership roles. Eugene Mardell has been appointed General Manager; Melanie Bruce has joined as Director of Sales and Marketing; and Natalie Fournier as Director of Revenue. The trio of seasoned professionals will lead hotel operations and strategic sales and marketing initiatives at the award-winning, luxury lifestyle property overlooking San Antonio’s celebrated cultural epicenter – the River Walk.
“We are delighted to welcome Eugene, Melanie and Natalie to our growing Thompson San Antonio-Riverwalk family,” said Ted Knighton, Managing Director at Thompson Hotels, Houston, and San Antonio. “These talented individuals bring vast experience and distinct skill sets to our dynamic property, further elevating the guest experience and engraining the property in the culture of North River Walk.”
General Manager Eugene Mardell joins Thompson San Antonio – Riverwalk with over two decades in the Hyatt family, working across various brands in the portfolio, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Most recently, Mardell served as Hotel Manager overseeing the successful dual openings of Thompson Austin and tommie Austin in Texas. His previous Hyatt experience includes tenures as Hotel Manager at Hyatt Grand Central New York, Director of Hotel Operations at Grand Hyatt San Antonio – River Walk and Director of Food and Beverage at Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa in New Mexico. During his time in the United Kingdom, he worked in the University city of Cambridge, and Mayfair London at the prestigious Claridge’s hotel. Born in the UK, Eugene graduated from the University of Cardiff, Wales with a bachelor’s degree in hotel management. He has resided in San Antonio for the past eight years.
Melanie Bruce, Director of Sales and Marketing, joins Thompson San Antonio – Riverwalk from various Hyatt hotels in San Antonio, serving as Area Director of Sales at Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk and Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk. In addition to leading sales teams to drive strategic campaigns and achieve optimal revenue growth, Bruce is an award-winning sales professional, having earlier served in strategic sales roles at Hyatt Regency San Antonio, focusing on key business accounts and training sales staff, and at Hyatt properties in Houston and throughout Southern California. She is a graduate of Trend College, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Revenue professional and analyst Natalie Fournier joins Thompson San Antonio – Riverwalk as Director of Revenue, overseeing revenue growth strategy. Previously, she served as Director of Revenue at Wild Dunes Resort, a Destination by Hyatt property, in Isle of Palms, S.C. and, prior to that, as Area Director of Revenue at Two Roads Hospitality, Vail, Colo., responsible for revenue management at four Vail properties. She began her career as Revenue and Marketing Manager at Christiana at Vail and graduated from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. Fournier has both Certified Revenue Management Executive and Certified Digital Marketer certifications from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International.
