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Colonial Williamsburg Foundation hires educational travel and conferences director
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced Friday that J. Thomas Savage will become its director of educational travel and conferences, effective July 12. Currently, Savage serves as director of external affairs for Winterthur Museum, Gardens and Library in Delaware. “Tom Savage is an internationally known and respected expert who will bring new vigor and creative energy […]
Northam: State to loosen more restrictions May 15
Beginning May 15, the state will loosen more restrictions, including allowing larger social gatherings and expanded audiences for entertainment venues and sporting events, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a video message released Thursday. Restaurants will also be allowed to resume serving alcohol after midnight. Northam’s amendments to his pandemic executive orders, which take effe[...]
Kings Dominion sets minimum wage at $13 for seasonal workers
Kings Dominion, the Doswell amusement park, has set its minimum wage for seasonal employees at $13 per hour, it announced Thursday. Previously, the base wage was $9.25. The park, owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., expects to hire 2,100 seasonal workers before reopening May 22, and it also is hiring 80 new full-time positions with […]
Va. restaurant, hospitality industry seeks $270M+ in relief funding
Hard hit by the pandemic, Virginia’s restaurant and hospitality industry is asking the General Assembly to dedicate more than $270 million from the state’s share of federal American Rescue Plan dollars to assist hotels, restaurants and other hospitality-related industries. In a letter sent Tuesday to members of the state legislature’s money committees, the Virginia Restaurant, [&[...]
Richmond confirms six eligible bids for casino, seeks public input
Place your bets. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s office confirmed Friday that the six casino proposals made public this week all submitted proposals that are eligible for consideration by Richmond City Council and voters. The city also revealed the proposed locations for all six plans. Bally’s Corp. and Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos are interested in […]
UPDATED: Golden Nugget, Wind Creek enter proposals to build Richmond casino
Updated 3 p.m., Feb. 24 Joining at least four other groups competing to be chosen as Richmond’s choice for a casino operator, bids from two other casino companies were made public Wednesday. Houston-based Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos has proposed a $400 million casino project about six miles from downtown, and Wind Creek Hospitality, affiliated […]
Rush Street Gaming announces general contractor for Portsmouth casino
Rush Street Gaming, the developer and gaming operator for the upcoming $300 million Rivers Casino Portsmouth, announced Friday it has chosen a joint venture between Virginia Beach-based S.B. Ballard Construction Co. and Philadelphia, Mississippi-based Yates Construction as the resort casino’s general contractor. Ballard and Yates will construct the 400,000-square-foot casino, which will incl[...]
Va. hotel revenues fell 42% in December 2020
Virginia hotel revenues for December 2020 were on trend for a year that saw the hospitality industry suffer from the pandemic. Compared with December 2019, hotel revenues statewide declined by 42% during December 2020, according to data released Monday from STR Inc., a CoStar Group division that provides weekly market data on the U.S. hospitality […]
Short Pump Hilton faces receivership, foreclosure
The Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa in Short Pump, the flagship of Chester-based Shamin Hotels’ empire, may change hands as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a complaint filed in Henrico County Circuit Court on Dec. 2, 12042 West Broad Street Holdings LLC, the Bethesda, Maryland-based noteholder on the property, alleges a breach […]
Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge names sales, marketing VP
Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge (Visit VBR) announced Monday it has promoted Debora Wright as vice president of sales and marketing. With more than 25 years of experience in destination marketing, Wright will lead external outreach and brand-building for the organization. She has been with the organization since 1993, when it was formerly known as Roanoke […]
More than $1.9M in grants going to Va.’s tourism industry
While COVID-19 continues to slam the tourism and hospitality industries, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday that more than $1.9 million in matching grants will be disbursed among 161 local tourism initiatives as part of Virginia Tourism Corp.’s Recovery Marketing Leverage Program (RMLP). Although Virginia’s tourism industry had another record year in 2019, posting $27 billion [&hellip[...]
Kings Dominion general manager to retire
Growing up on a tobacco farm outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, Tony Johnson learned the meaning of hard work early on. At a time when his local school system had a later start to the academic year to allow for the picking season, Johnson would get up at 4 a.m. to work the fields. “It […]
