Holiday Inn & Suites-Bellingham, an IHG property slated to open in January 2017, is pleased to announce the addition of two new leaders to its management team – Juli Wavada, Assistant Director of Food & Beverage and MegAnne Offredi, Catering & Sales Manager. The announcement was made by Ragan Humphrey, General Manager.
“Holiday Inn & Suites-Bellingham is the newest full-service hotel to enter the Bellingham market and we are very excited to introduce our new restaurant, ‘northwater,’ to the travelers coming into the area and to our locals. I believe Juli and MegAnne will be a great fit for the restaurant and catering side of the business,” Humphrey said. “They embody the passion for excellence and commitment to service that is paramount to our guest experience.”
Juli Wavada joins the team as Assistant Director of Food & Beverage with a career in the industry spanning more than 13 years. In her new role, Wavada is responsible for creating a specialty and seasonal drink menu for the bar at northwater along with supporting the restaurant and catering teams.
Prior to joining northwater, Wavada served as Director of Food and Beverage Outlets at the Best Western Lakeway Inn, starting as a bartender and working her way up into a leadership role.
With a passion for the hospitality industry since her first job at age 17, Wavada has served in roles from dishwashing to management. She is enthusiastic about her new role at northwater and looks forward to growing with what she considers to be a fantastic team.
“We have the start of a strong family and I am eager to share the northwater experience with others. Creating lasting relationships within our property and throughout the community is where our heart is at,” Wavada said. “This is truly the start of something great and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
As Catering and Sales Manager, Offredi, who began her hospitality career over 15 years ago as a bartender and moved up to catering sales with Best Western Lakeway Inn and eventually Director of Marketing at a local casino, is responsible for establishing new relationships among the area’s business community to grow the property’s meeting and event clientele and overseeing the planning and execution of the property’s special events and catering contracts.
“I am extremely excited to have the chance to be a part of this new property,” Offredi stated. “Knowing the leadership that is in place already, I was honored to join the team. I am looking forward to using my 15 plus years in hospitality to create truly outstanding experiences for those who visit our property.”
Holiday Inn & Suites – Bellingham is located at 4260 Mitchell Way at Bellingham International Airport, about 500 feet from curb to curb from the main terminal. The hotel will introduce 153 contemporary design guest rooms, an onsite fitness center featuring the latest in exercise equipment, an indoor mineral pool, a steam room and a sauna. It will also offer over 9,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and northwater featuring locally sourced cuisine. The hotel is under contract with Hotel Services Group LLC to manage the operation for the investor group.
