Jeff Wilkinson
Vice President of Operations
Jeff began his hospitality career in 2001 as a maintenance supervisor with Vail Resorts based out of Keystone Colorado. Due to his drive and determination he was promoted to General Manager in less than a year. He was responsible for all three of the platinum properties at the resort and would task force in to the underperforming properties as well. As a result of his successes at keystone he was asked to transfer to Bachelor Gulch Village as the Senior General Manager in which he managed fifteen properties and over a billion dollars in assets.
In 2010 Jeff returned to Texas to help with the development of a new luxury beach resort called Cinnamon Shore located in Port Aransas, Texas. As the only experienced hospitality professional, Jeff was instrumental in instituting best practices and operating procedures as well as maximizing revenue for the resort. As a result of his revenue management experience he was able to increase revenue by $700,000.00 in his first year. He also developed several new lines of business which brought significant increases in revenue as well.
Seeking a new challenge Jeff agreed to join RBG hospitality as the General Manager of Holiday Inn Airport Conference and Convention Center. Upon assuming his duties Jeff began the long difficult process of turning around the lowest rated Holiday Inn hotel in North America as it was ranked 770 out of 770 for hotels in the brand. Less than 2 years layer it occupied the rank of 435 and was performing successfully as well from a financial perspective. This was all accomplished while a 3 year multi-million dollar renovation was ongoing.
2015 saw a change in duties for Jeff as he accepted the position as Regional Director of Operations for US Hospitality. He oversaw a portfolio that included Hampton Inn, full service hotels such as a holiday Inn and Radisson as well as choice and Holiday Inn Express. True to form Jeff was able to bring these hotels back to form both operationally and financially. With almost half of the portfolio being sold due in no small part to Jeff’s management oversight the company no longer had a need for a regional director (Jeff worked himself out of a position) his position was eliminated.
Live Oak Lodging came calling in early 2017 offering an opportunity for Jeff to become the General Manager of the Lighthouse Inn. Hurricane Harvey seemed to have other ideas for him as it lashed the City of Rockport and the Lighthouse Inn. As the hotel sustained considerable damage Jeff was asked to relocate to the home office in Marble falls and offered the corporate Director of Sales and Marketing and within just a few weeks was asked to assume the duties of Vice President of Operations upon the retirement announcement of his predecessor.
Previous to his hospitality career Jeff spent fourteen years with the Association of the US Army and several years on active duty with two of the most elite units in the United States Army. He served in the US Army Honor guard and was a member of the 75 Ranger Regiment. His awards include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Parachute Wings, Ranger Tab, Army Achievement medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Joint service Achievement medal as well as the Army Good Conduct medal. His Industry certifications include Certified Hospitality Administrator and Certified Revenue Manager.
