Business Observer

+ Booking.com recognizes Beach Club at Siesta Key
The Beach Club at Siesta Key received the “Guest Reviews” award from Booking.com for consistently achieving positive guest reviews. The Beach Club received an average score of 9.1 out of 10 between November 2012 and October 2013.

“We are delighted to receive this prestigious award, which recognizes the voice of the guest and rewards our continued dedication to excellence at The Beach Club at Siesta Key,” said Trevor Hind, chief operating officer of RVA Resort Vacations. “We strive to always offer a first-rate experience to our guests, and this honor validates that our hard work is translating into positive customer experiences.”

The Beach Club at Siesta Key offers studio, one- or two-bedroom units. Each unit features a full-size kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, private washer and dryer, flat-screen LCD TVs, complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access and iPod docking stations.

+ Kimal Lumber & Hardware opens drive-thru location
Kimal Lumber & Hardware has opened the West Coast of Florida’s first drive-thru lumberyard and hardware store, located at 7010 Fruitville Road.

The 24,000-square-foot drive-thru warehouse features aisles wide enough for pickup trucks and trailers to load lumber products and other building materials. The facility also boasts an 8,400-square-foot hardware store.

Kimal Lumber & Hardware has been in business for more than 30 years as a local, independently owned building material supplier with locations in Englewood, Nokomis, Venice and, now, Sarasota.  

The lumberyard and hardware store are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

+ Premier Sotheby’s welcomes Russell, Dock
Premier Sotheby’s International Realty has named Frank Russell director of creative services and Jama Dock public relations and communications manager.

Russell most recently served as art director for Naples News Media Group, for which he managed the design and production of its affiliated publications. Throughout his career he has overseen the design and art direction of publications, including Gulfshore Life and N magazine, and custom publications, such as Gulfshore Life at Home. Russell relocated to Naples from Colorado in 2007.

Dock brings more than 15 years of experience, including executive and employee communications, media relations, crisis management, community relations and marketing in Southwest Florida. She is a past president and founding member of the Public Relations Society of America Gulf Coast chapter.

+ Grapevine Communications announces staff changes
Grapevine Communications has hired Miranda Spinner as its public relations and media manager and Mary Everist as account coordinator. In addition, Sara Englund has been promoted to production and traffic manager.

“We are excited to announce these changes to our staff in response to the continued growth we are seeing with existing and new clients,” said Angela Massaro-Fain, founder and president of Grapevine Communications. 

Spinner has an extensive background in broadcast news reporting, event coordination, marketing, public relations and client services. She will serve as the agency’s point of contact for all media channels.

Everist has experience in marketing, business development, finance, project management and operations. She will provide additional client support as well as in-house project coordination and production processing.

Englund joined Grapevine in mid-2013 with experience in client relations and marketing coordination. She has already been assisting in production-management duties for several months.