Proven Excellence in Hospitality Management since 1969.
Strand Development Management Team
CORPORATE CONTROLLERJoan McFarland | jmcfarland@sdchotels.com
Phone: 843-449-3463 x106
REGIONAL DIRECTORS OF OPERATIONS
Scott Martin | smartin@sdchotels.com
Phone: 678-682-5960
Originally from Charleston, SC., Scott relocated to Myrtle Beach to attend Coastal Carolina University. After graduating with a Baccalaureate Degree in Psychology, he joined Strand Development in 2003 as a manager in training and was General Manager of Hampton Inn Broadway before being promoted to Regional Director of Operations. He oversees brands such as Hampton Inn, Wingate Inn, Days Inn and some independent hotels. Scott is married and has one child.
Chris Rutherford | crutherford@sdchotels.com
Phone: 843-340-6755
Chris is the Regional Director of Operations of the Affordable Suites properties. Affordable Suites is an economy brand designed for the extended stay guest. Chris is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism administration. Most recently, he was with Extended Stay Hotels as an Area Operations Manager. Prior to this, he has extensive general management experience with many of the hotel brands such as LaQuinta, Sheraton, Ramada, Marriott and AmeriSuites. Chris resides in Jamestown, North Carolina.
James Alcorn | jalcorn@sdchotels.com
Phone: 843-602-9540
Originally from Ohio, James worked as a Food and Beverage Director as well as Assistant General Manager for BriLyn in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. He Joined the company in early 2007 working as a General Manager and Task Force training manager. James currently presides over such hotels as Comfort Suites, Comfort Inns, Sheraton 4 Points, Holiday Inn Express and various other brands. James graduated from the University of Miami of Ohio with a psychology degree. James is married and has two children.
Michael Heckathorn | mheckathorn@sdchotels.com
Phone: 843-267-7308
Micheal brings to Strand Development Company a wide range of experience from Extended Stay to Full Service Properties. This includes General Management of Hotels such as Extended Stay America, LaQuinta, Super 8, Ramada Suites and Days Inn and Suites. Formerly residing in Florida, Micheal now lives in the Atlanta area. Micheal has been in the hospitality industry for over 25 years.
Kimberly Martin | kmartin@sdchotels.com
Phone: 704-507-7163
Kimberly began her career in the hospitality industry 13 years ago, as a guest service representative with Hilton Hotels. This position led to her appointment as the General Manager of the Comfort Suites Northlake. She managed the Award Winning Comfort Suites for 11 years before being promoted to Regional Director of Operations. During her time there, she was awarded GM of the Quarter and GM of the Year. The property received numerous Choice Hotel Gold awards and was nominated for Inn of the Year. Kimberly resides in Charlotte, NC and oversees Choice and Wyndham brand hotels in VA, WV, and PA.
Verhonda Sercey | vsercey@sdchotels.com
Phone: 404-326-3448
Verhonda’s career in the hospitality Industry began as a front desk associate with Hilton Hotels Corporation. A native of Greenville South Carolina, Verhonda graduated from the University of South Carolina Spartanburg with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration, concentrating in both Finance and Economics. Previously, she was a Regional Director of Sales for Pineapple Management Services, Inc.
Verhonda’s experience includes managing the sales efforts for both limited and full service hotels. Prior to joining Strand, Verhonda was the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Georgian Terrace Hotel where she managed the sales, catering and conference services teams. In this position, Verhonda was responsible for re-branding the hotel and the creation of all advertising, marketing, and promotional material.
REGIONAL DIRECTORS OF SALES
Allan Brunner | abrunner@sdchotels.com
Phone: 704-299-8814
Allan’s nearly 20-year hospitality career began in Chicago as a front desk clerk at the prestigious Chicago Hilton & Towers. This position helped develop his passion for the hotel industry and led to stints in Sales and Operations for some of the nations leading hotel companies.
Most recently, Allan was the Regional Sales Director for Extended Stay Hotels (ESH), handling a 12-hotel portfolio in Central and Western North Carolina. While at ESH, Allan was successful in driving new revenues to his properties and finished in the Top 10 in RevPar improvement.
Prior to ESH, Allan managed sales at full service Chicago and Memphis Holiday Inns. He then led InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1-800-MEETING group sales line for 4 years until being promoted to IHG’s Global Sales team as a Key Account Director managing key accounts that generated over $30 million annually. While at IHG, Allan won awards for creative thinking and teamwork.
His well-rounded career also includes time operating key-asset select service hotels for management companies in North Carolina. Brands managed include Fairfield Inn, Comfort Inn, and Days Inn hotels. This combination of experiences helps Allan find balance between increasing revenues and maximizing rate for his portfolio with Strand Development.
Amanda Britt | abritt@sdchotels.com
Phone: 404-759-0985
Amanda joined Strand Development with 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Growing up in Myrtle Beach, Amanda started her career as a desk agent and continued on to positions as Director of Sales & Marketing and Director of Catering in major markets. Her experience ranges from full service Hilton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, and IHG Hotels to select service hotels with Hilton, Marriott and Wyndham Brands.
Prior to joining Strand Development Company, Amanda was a Regional Director of Sales for JHM Hotels, where she managed the sales efforts of several brands, including Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, Hampton, Fairfield and Comfort Suites. Previously she was a Regional Director of Sales with Pineapple Management Services, Inc., handling a portfolio of 16 hotels throughout the Southeast.
Jennifer Metz │jmetz@sdchotels.com
Phone: 843-222-2746
Jennifer began her hospitality career as a front desk agent and night auditor at the Twinsburg, Ohio Hilton Garden Inn. There she developed a strong interest in hotel sales and revenue, which led her to a Sales Management position with Marriott in Ohio. Since moving to South Carolina, Jennifer has worked as a Regional Director of Sales and Revenue for several hotels. Through her sales efforts, each of her properties grew revenue over 25%.
Jennifer works with Strand properties in Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas. She takes great satisfaction in seeing the results of her efforts in the bottom-line revenues at each hotel she oversees. Jennifer is married with three children.
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