William E. Murphy Jr. has been named vice president, sales and marketing, at Sonesta Hotels, Resorts and Nile Cruises, based in Boston. Murphy joins Sonesta after serving for three years as regional director of sales and marketing at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which is also headquartered in Boston.

At Benchmark Hospitality, Mark Kontny has been named associate director of sales and marketing for The AT&T Learning Center in Basking Ridge, N.J. Previously, Kontny was director of sales and marketing and for the Founder’s Inn in Virginia Beach, Va.

Richard A. Brooks has been appointed incentive sales director for the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. His sales team will be responsible for all Disney incentive offerings in Florida, including resorts, theme parks, recreation, and Disney Cruise Line. Brooks had been director of sales and marketing for The Westin Santa Clara in California.

Michael O’Connor has been named director of convention services for The Diplomat Resort Country Club & Spa, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami in Hallandale Beach, Fla. O’Connor was most recently director of conference management for the Wyndham Anatole Hotel in Dallas.

At the Opryland Hotel Texas, scheduled to open in August 2003, Amy Smith and Kristen Harris have been named national sales managers. Smith, who has worked for Opryland in Nashville since 1998, will focus on the Midwest market, while Harris will be responsible primarily for the Southeast region. Most recently, Harris was manager of business development for Pegasus Solutions Inc., where she also handled sales and marketing.

At the Las Vegas Hilton, Kevin Donnelly has been promoted to director of meetings and conventions. Donnelly was formerly assistant director of meetings and conventions.

At The Century Plaza Hotel and Spa, A Westin Hotel, in Los Angeles, Jay Smith has been named director of group sales. He will oversee nine sales managers at the 724-room hotel. Smith joined the Century Plaza in 1998 as national sales manager.

Deborah Bailey is the new corporate sales manager, and Matt Swanson is executive meeting manager at The Stanford Park Hotel in Menlo Park, Calif. Bailey comes to the hotel from Meeting Solutions Inc., where she was a meeting and event planner. Swanson was promoted from restaurant manager for the Duck Club, the hotel’s fine dining outlet.

Veronica Jackson has been appointed director of sales and marketing at The Half Moon Bay Lodge in Half Moon Bay, Calif. She comes to the Lodge from the Radisson Miyako Hotel in San Francisco, where she was sales manager.

Dan Tavrytzky has been named director of sales for The Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, scheduled to open in early 2001 on the Phoenix-Scottsdale, Ariz., border. Previously, Tavrytzky was director of group sales and national sales manager for the Sheraton Crescent Hotel in Phoenix.

At Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa in Monterey, Calif., Scott E. Blakeslee has been named sales manager. Blakeslee will be responsible for the Southeast region. He was formerly national senior sales manager at Hilton of Santa Fe, in New Mexico.

Carol Sullivan has been named director of sales at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, scheduled to open in April 2002 in La Jolla, Calif. Sullivan had been director of sales for Bahia Resort Hotel, San Diego.

Steven R. Sampson has been appointed director of sales and marketing at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua on the Island of Maui in Hawaii. Prior to his move to Maui, Sampson was director of sales and marketing for Carefree Resorts at The Boulders in Carefree, Ariz.