Meghan James, Vice President of Operations (Full Bio)
As a child growing up in rural Vermont, Meghan James did not immediately realize the impact homestead life would have on her future successes. However, the life lessons in integrity—combined with hard work, tenacity, and the ability to overcome obstacles—set the stage for a strong work ethic, dedication to excellence, and a focus on value creation.
A passionate hotel operator, Meghan understands that hotels must adapt to thrive. She blends her entrepreneurial spirit with general management, consulting, economic development, and real estate experience to drive service excellence and continuous improvement. A trusted advisor to many peers and colleagues, Meghan draws upon her in-depth industry insights and detailed understanding of the customer to resolve complex business problems and stretch performance.
Meghan’s experience as an operations manager is at the foundation of her steady leadership. Meghan’s proudest achievements are the high-quality teams she has built, and those she has mentored to increased success. She has navigated these inspired contributors through ongoing change, including the acquisition and launch of new properties, renovations, and rebranding, and into new levels of RevPAR, market penetration, and guest satisfaction.
Today Meghan serves as the Vice president of Operations for LeximaS, a management and consulting firm serving the hospitality industry. Recruited to join LeximaS in 2020, Meghan offers a comprehensive hotel management perspective as well as an attention to detail across all operating functions.
Located in the Big Cottonwood Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains outside of Salt Lake City, Utah, Solitude Mountain Resort gave Meghan her first opportunities to explore hotel management. A former snowboard instructor, Meghan joined this ski resort staff in 2004. She quickly advanced to become Assistant General Manager of Solitude Resort Lodging amid rapid growth while also managing a part-time real estate business. The business development, marketing, service, owner and customer relations, and negotiations skills she honed here have continued to inform her leadership point of view.
Meghan joined LodgeWorks Partners in 2009 as Front Office Supervisor for the Hyatt House in Sandy, Utah. In six months, she was promoted to Assistant General Manager. In 2012, this hotel received recognition as Hyatt House of the Year for outstanding customer experience, revenue, and profit performance. Meghan earned General Manager responsibilities in 2013.
In 2014 Meghan joined Lodging Dynamics’ as General Manager of their first Hyatt-branded property—a 159-room in-development Hyatt House in downtown Salt Lake City. She was immediately charged with coordinating all logistics pertaining to opening this high-profile property across the street from the Salt Palace Convention Center and Vivint Smart Home Arena (home of the Utah Jazz). The hotel opened in January 2015, and she continued to drive growth through October of 2016.
Meghan returned to the Hyatt House in Sandy, UT as the General Manager, in November of 2016. In 2018, she led the hotel to its most profitable year since opening. As a result of her success, Meghan was tasked with responsibility of overseeing two additional hotels in Salt Lake Valley (Hyatt Place - Cottonwood and Hyatt Place - Salt Lake City/Downtown), as an Area Manager for LodgeWorks. Over the next two years, she led these hotels through staffing model changes, extensive training, large-scale renovations, and initiatives that strengthened the Hyatt brand image.
Meghan’s success in elevating the performance of these hotels and the teams, resulted in her recruitment for her current role as Director of Operations for InterCoastal Hotels.
A lover of the outdoors and a committed sustainability advocate, she completed a semester in Biosphere 2—a closed ecological system utilized for research and development. Meghan is a cum laude graduate from the University of Utah, holding a B.S. in park, recreation, and tourism.