USA, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. January 24, 2018

Mainsail Lodging & Development announced today the appointment of Jim Swaim as general manager of the 335-room Ramada Plaza Fort Walton Beach Resort/Destin. Swaim will oversee the hiring of new staff and day-to-day operations of the Ramada Plaza, located directly on the Emerald Coast in the Panhandle of Florida.

With 20 years of hospitality industry experience, Swaim comes to the Ramada from the Marriott St. Petersburg Clearwater, where he worked for seven years, acting as director of hotel operations for the past two years. While at Marriott, Swaim held a variety of positions, including executive housekeeper, front office manager, banquet sous chef and restaurant chef. Prior to Marriott, Swaim spent two years with the Hideaway Restaurant & Banquets, where he worked as general manager and lead chef. A graduate of Columbia College in Missouri, Swaim has earned a number of recognitions during his career, including The Spirit to Serve Award and Marriott Housekeeping Excellence.

The Ramada Plaza Fort Walton Beach Resort/Destin features 600 feet of sugar white sand beach just steps from 335 well-appointed accommodations and convenient property amenities. The iconic Grotto Swim-up Bar has kept guests flocking back to the Ramada Plaza since 1952. With 14,000 square feet of flexible event space, two on-site restaurants and its beach bar, the hotel is popular among vacationers and meeting planners alike. Ocean view rooms and suites come standard with balconies overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.

For more information on the Ramada Plaza Fort Walton Beach Resort/Destin, visit www.ramadafwb.com.

About Mainsail Lodging & Development LLC

Mainsail Lodging & Development is a Tampa-based hospitality company that develops and operates lodging products in the Southeastern US and the Caribbean. In addition to managing the Ramada Plaza Destin West Beach Resort, their property portfolio includes three Autograph Collection® hotels - Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina (ScrubIsland.com), a private island resort in the British Virgin Islands; the boutique food-focused Epicurean Hotel (EpicureanHotel.com) in Tampa, Florida; and Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club on Anna Maria Island, Florida; in addition to Mainsail Beach Inn (MainsailBeachInn.com), a boutique beachfront hotel on Anna Maria Island, Florida. The company also operates corporate housing throughout the Southeast, exclusively managing the Florida market for Oakwood Worldwide® under both its ExecuStay® (ExecuStay.com) and Oakwood® (Oakwood.com) brands, while also operating ExecuStay in Georgia, portions of Alabama, and The Carolinas. Two additional Florida hotels are planned for 2018 and 2019, respectively - Fenway Hotel in Dunedin and Luminary Hotel & Co. in Fort Myers. Just north of Tampa in Pasco County, Mainsail Lodging is also developing a 128-room Residence Inn in conjunction with an indoor sports complex, opening in 2019.

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Nori Rodriguez
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