Development Team Executives

The RockResorts executive team has extensive knowledge and experience in every phase of luxury hotel development – from finance to operations to project management. Learn more about some of our key development executives below, and feel free to contact us to discuss potential development opportunities.

Paul Toner
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of RockResorts and Vail Resorts

Paul Toner has been selected to oversee and direct the Company's lodging and hospitality division which currently encompasses approximately 3,800 owned and managed hotel and condominium rooms, including the RockResorts collection of casually elegant resort hotels and spas, six independently flagged and Company-owned hotels, Grand Teton Lodge Company in Grand Teton National Park, Colorado Mountain Express transportation company and six Company-owned resort golf courses. Toner's new position is effective immediately and he will report directly to Vail Resorts Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz in the Company's corporate headquarters in Broomfield, Colo.

As the Senior Vice President of the Hospitality division, Toner brings more than 22 years of hospitality experience to the position.  He began his hospitality career in 1985 as a sales manager for the Key Bridge Marriott.  From 1987 until 1989, he was the director of sales for the Boston Long Wharf Marriott. In 1989 he embarked on a career selling and marketing resorts in the Hawaiian Islands. His first property was the Maui Marriott.  Paul then became the director of sales and marketing for the Hyatt Regency Kauai and then the Hyatt Regency Maui. In 1994, he returned to the island of Kauai to lead the sales and marketing efforts for the Kauai Marriott Resort and Beach Club that was acquired by Marriott after Hurricane Iniki and later  taking on all marketing activities for Marriott’s resorts in Hawaii.

His career took on a more international scope in 1999, when he became the director of marketing Central/Southern Asia and Pacific Islands for Marriott Hong Kong.  Paul’s extensive  resort experience brought him back to  Hawaii in 2002, as the area director of marketing for Marriott Pacific Islands and Japan.  Before accepting the position of vice president of sales and marketing for RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality, he was the vice president of sales and marketing of Asia Pacific for Marriott based in Hong Kong.    

Toner graduated cum laude from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA with a bachelor of science degree in food marketing. 

James C. O'Donnell
Vice President of Lodging Development

James O’Donnell joined RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality (VRH) in June 2002 as Director of Finance, and then served as  Regional Director of Operations until early 2006. In his current role as Vice President of Lodging Development, O’Donnell oversees the acquisition of new management contracts and developments for RockResorts and VRH.

Before joining RockResorts, O’Donnell was an Assurance and Business Advisory Services Manager for Arthur Andersen LLP. He served in such capacity in Andersen’s Miami, Florida office from August 1993 to July 2000, and in Andersen’s Denver, Colorado office from July 2000 to June 2002. While at Andersen, O’Donnell specialized in the hospitality and real estate industries.

O'Donnell regularly speaks on industry expert panels at the American Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS), the NYU Lodging Conference and various other IMN sponsored conferences.

O’Donnell received his bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a specialization in accounting, from the University of Miami (Miami, FL) in 1993. He received his MBA from the University of Miami in 2000.

Becky Lumly
Director of Lodging Development

Becky Lumly joined RockResorts and Vail Resorts Hospitality in September 2002 and was named Director of Lodging Development in 2008.  As Director of Lodging Development, Lumly is responsible for transitioning new properties into the RockResorts/VRH portfolio.  Lumly also oversees all financial matters related to new projects, including pro forma preparation and budgeting and forecasting for all aspects of the development and pre-opening phases.

Prior to being named to the Director role, Lumly worked for RockResorts in various financial capacities, but most recently as Senior Manager of Lodging Development Finance.  Prior to joining RockResorts, Lumly was an Assurance and Business Advisory Services Financial Auditor for Arthur Andersen LLP. She served in such capacity for 2.5 years in Andersen’s Phoenix and Denver-based offices. 

Lumly holds a Masters of Accounting and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas.  Becky is also a CPA and a member of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), the AICPA (American Institute for Certified Public Accountants) and Colorado Society for CPAs.

Mark Symonds
Director of Technical Services

Mark Symonds joined the company in October 2007 as the Director of Technical Services for RockResorts and Vail Resorts Lodging Company.  In this role, Symonds helps coordinate the various design, programming, architectural, and operational reviews of the lodging projects in development, along with significant renovation projects.  He serves as a main point of contact for VRDC on the lodging projects being developed by the Real Estate division, including Ever Vail and Peak 8 in Breckenridge.

Mark came to RockResorts and Vail Resorts Lodging Company with many years of experience in project management and the design of hotels and resorts, and has served similar roles with Starwood, InterContinental Hotels, and Hyatt, with a focus in the luxury market throughout the world.  He was officially trained in Wales, Great Britain, where he attended South Gwent College and Allt-Y-Ryn University, with a specialization in architecture and construction management.

To learn more about other senior members of the RockResorts team, visit the RockResorts Executives  page.