Over almost 25 years in the hospitality industry, Villafane has excelled at many aspects of the industry such as Food & Beverage and catering management, restaurant management, conference services, group sales, sales and marketing. He currently serves as Resort Manager here at the Ocean House. He has worked at properties throughout the Continental US as well as in Central America and the Caribbean.
Career Highlights
- Came to Ocean House in 2009 for his fifth resort opening. He had dual roles as Assistant Managing Director and Director of Sales and Marketing before being promoted to Resort Manager. Villafane is an integral part of the team that successfully earned Ocean House a AAA Five Diamond Award in its first year of operation.
- Joined Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts as a member of the opening sales team for the company’s property in Costa Rica and then managed sales for their resort in Nevis, West Indies, and their property in Exuma, Bahamas.
- Started at Rosewood Hotels & Resorts as Director of Conference Services & Group Sales for the pre-opening of the group’s Five-Star Martineau Bay Resort in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Villafane then transferred to Rosewood’s Little Dix Bay Resort in the British Virgin Islands as Food and Beverage and Group Sales Manager. Ultimately became the Senior Sales Manager for Rosewood’s Caribbean properties.
- Opened the Avalon Hotel & Spa in Oregon.
- Previously held a variety of positions at Holiday Inn at John F. Kennedy Airport as well as the The Plaza Hotel in New York City as Conference Services Manager.
- Education: attended Bernard M. Baruch College in New York City, where he earned a BA in Operations Management.
Personal Insights
- Born and raised in New York City