Vinoy names Ritz-Carlton vet as its GM

For the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club’s new general manager, taking daily control of the historic 361-room resort marks a homecoming, of sorts, to Central Florida.

Although Tabish Siddiquie joined the downtown St. Petersburg property from the Ritz-Carlton in Denver, he has previous experience along the Gulf Coast: From 2008 through 2011, Siddiquie was director of food and beverage for the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota resort.

“This hotel has a strong legacy,” Siddiquie says. “It’s historic and iconic, and when my family and I first began discussing the idea of returning to Florida, the Vinoy and the Tampa and St. Petersburg area were at the top of the list.”

Siddiquie joins the Vinoy Renaissance — a brand, like Ritz-Carlton, of Marriott International Inc. — after two decades with Ritz-Carlton in the aforementioned Denver and Sarasota, as well as the luxury chain’s properties’ Abu Dhabi Grand Central, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Grand Cayman and San Francisco.

While he was the general manager at the 38-story Ritz-Carlton Denver, the five-diamond, downtown hotel generated the highest revenue and profit levels in its 12-year history.

Siddiquie’s appointment comes roughly two years after SCG Hotel LLC, a group led by Tampa Bay Buccaneers Co-Chairman Bryan Glazer, bought the Vinoy from RLJ Lodging Trust for $180 million.

At the time, the 95-year-old hotel at 501 Fifth Ave. NE was in the midst of a $50 million upgrade begun by former owner FelCor Lodging Trust, which RLJ acquired in August 2017 for $1 billion.

FelCor had owned the four-diamond resort, which also contains a 72-slip marina, 18-hole golf course, 12-court tennis complex, 5,000-square-foot fitness center and 60,000 square feet of meeting space, since 2007.

SCG Hotel retained Tampa-based The Plasencia Group to help develop and execute future improvements to the pink-hued hotel.

Siddiquie says SCG Hotel and Plasencia are “still working through the many details” regarding future enhancements.