D.C. Marriott GM Bringing Convention Expertise to New Job At Baltimore Hotel
Marriott Wardman Park, under Rudzinski's leadership, became a go-to spot for conventioneers.
(By Dennis Brack -- The Washington Post)
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Ed Rudzinski, 62, one of the best-known general managers in the Washington region and Marriott hotel chain, is stepping down from running one of the largest hotels in the city, Washington Marriott Wardman Park on Connecticut Avenue NW.
Rudzinski is going to become area general manager of the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, a 773-room hotel, and help oversee several other hotels in the Baltimore area. Baltimore's hotels have been hit hard by the economic downturn and have struggled to attract large conventions.
Rudzinski has served as general manager at the 1,316-room Wardman for 11 years. While there, he helped run the conversion of the hotel from a Sheraton to Marriott and oversaw a recent $100 million renovation. He also made the hotel a go-to spot for conventioneers and dealt with the hard-charging owners of the Wardman Park, JBG of Chevy Chase, say his competitors.
Before coming to Washington, Rudzinski, who has worked for Marriott for more than 38 years, was general manager at Marriott's first hotel in Eastern Europe, the Warsaw Marriott. He also has worked in top management positions at hotels in New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Boston.
He has served as a chairman and member of the Greater Washington Convention Bureau and the Marriott Hospitality Public Charter School. In 2003, he was recognized as Marriott's General Manager of the Year.
Marriott officials say Rudzinski is likely to return to Washington to run the 1,100-room Marriott hotel to be built next to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, at Ninth Street and New York Avenue NW, when it opens.
"I'll be back," Rudzinski told a crowd of well-wishers Thursday night at the Omni Shoreham hotel.
-- Dana Hedgpeth
