Questex Media Group, Inc., publisher of Travel Agent, Luxury Travel Advisor and Home-Based Travel Agent magazines and the Premier Hotels & Resorts directory, announced today it has named John McMahon Vice President/Group Publisher for all travel media properties and Ruthanne Terrero Vice President-Content/Editorial Director for the same group of travel media properties.

McMahon was most recently Group Publisher of Luxury Travel Advisor and Premier Hotels & Resorts. In his new capacity as Vice President/Group Publisher for all travel media properties in the Travel Agent and Luxury Groups, McMahon will have management oversight and responsibility for the group’s sales strategy and operations as well as business development and major account initiatives.

McMahon has more than 10 years of diverse management experience at the company and over 20 years in the travel industry. He has been instrumental in leading new product development and launching initiatives on many of the most successful properties in the Questex Media travel and hotel industry groups.

Terrero was most recently Editorial Director of the Questex Travel Group. In her new role as Vice President-Content/Editorial Director for the Questex Travel Group, she will continue to oversee the existing properties in the Group, while leading the development and implementation of dynamic strategies to acquire, develop, manage and distribute content across all of Questex’s multiple media channels and editorial platforms serving the global travel industry.

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One&Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico, has announced that effective September 1, 2008, the resort’s five-year contract with renowned chef Charlie Trotter will end and, with it, the closing of “C,” the resort’s fine-dining restaurant.

One&Only Palmilla, however, isn’t in dire straits. It has announced that in November 2008, it will debut an original dining concept through a collaboration with another famed chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten (pictured here), behind such haute eateries as the eponymous Jean Georges inside New York City’s Trump Tower at Columbus Circle.

Aquapura Douro Valley (www.aquapurahotels.com) in Portugal has named Maurizio Romani general manager. Luxury travel advisors will know Romani from his most recent role as general manager for Hotel L’Andana in Tuscany. He’s also had senior positions at Grosvenor House in London, Hotel Danielle in Venice and Forte Village Resort in Sardinia.

Aquapura Douro Valley opened in Portugal’s World Heritage wine region in summer 2007. We’re told that the Aquapura Hotels has plans to expand with additional property openings in Bahia and Fortaleza, Brazil; Alentejo, Portugal; Prague; Italy; Macedonia and Panama.

For more on the Aquapura Douro Valley resort, visit www.luxuryta.com, past issues, December 2007.

Luxury Travel Advisor jetted out to Los Angeles in April for American Express Publishing’s annual Luxury Summit, which was held at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village (http://www.fourseasons.com). Luxury experts, from hoteliers and designers to entrepreneurs and actresses, made the scene to discuss what’s on the minds of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and how best to serve them.

Right away, the tone was set with an address to delegates by keynote speaker Robert Frank, wealth reporter for the Wall Street Journal and author of Richistan: A Journey Through the American Wealth Boom and the Lives of the New Rich. Frank dissected the psyche of today’s newly affluent Americans, describing many of them as uncomfortable in their wealth. Often, Frank said, those individuals who make up the top percentage of America’s rich no longer desire to be the “neighbor on the street with the Hummer in his driveway.” Instead, Frank said, today’s HNWIs yearn for life experiences that set them apart from their peers. To illustrate, Frank told the story of a man he met in his research for Richistan who traveled with his family to Antarctica, where they studied penguin migration for 10 days. Not only did his subject enjoy an extravagant 10-day expedition with his family, but when he returned home to regale friends with tales of his family’s journey, no one knew how much he spent to make it happen. Frank’s point: Sell values, not value.

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Paul McManus, president and CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World the other day used a phrase to describe a new affluent set we hadn’t heard thus far. He referred to YAWNS, who are “young, wealthy and normal.”

McManus says that research shows that this group, a.k.a. the “new wealthy consumer” tends to be married, happy and optimistic. “Seven out of 10 of them are from the middle class and have had their money for less than 10 years,” he reveals. What’s interesting about this group? They value bespoke goods alongside a $15 Karl Lagerfeld tee-shirt. YAWNS are “not about ostentatious wealth,” says McManus. Other factoids on this wealthy sector? McManus says that they want to go home and tell their friends what they learned on their vacation. Time is also a vital element, hence they want services that give them time and they want amenities that provide convenience.

Marshall Calder, senior vice president of marketing for LHW, meanwhile, shared his insight on two very different markets, Baby boomers and Gen Xers. “Baby boomers know what the Internet is but they don’t socialize on it,” says Calder. “They look information on it but are more apt to go home and watch TV and read a book. They have a history of buying brands.”

What’s the deal with Generation X, whose members are their peak spending years? “They are gregarious travelers, they enjoy multi-generational travel and travel with groups of friends. They are “e-telligent” and wired. They are brand conscious but not brand loyal. They are loyal to themselves, they want a certain design, they want technology. And they will keep searching for something until they find it,” says Calder.

The new Barbados tourism minister, the Honorable Richard Sealy, paid a visit to New York recently to give an update on what’s happening with the island’s infrastructure.

“We’ve already started restructuring the agency to expand the mandate of greater investment,” Sealy said, who said the goal is to increase the number of branded hotels on Barbados. “The Hilton is the only branded hotel on the island and does well with U.S. market,” said Sealy, who hinted that there will be “tangible news the month after next.”

While nothing’s been announced yet, we hear that Rosewood may indeed be the next luxury brand to enter the island’s market, which we feel would give Sandy Lane a good run for its money. What we can confirm is that The Four Seasons has already been announced for a 2010 opening on the west end of Barbados.