1:35pm | The Queen Mary announced the appointment of its new management company today, Evolution Hospitality, LLC, based in Newport Beach, Calif.
 
Evolution Hospitality will oversee all aspects of operations for the ship’s 314 staterooms, 80,000 sq. ft. of meetings space, museum and attraction ticket sales, special event productions, retail outlets, and seven restaurant and bars.
 
“Our primary goal is to increase revenues in order to preserve this wonderful community tourism asset and international icon as well as help it flourish. By implementing our sales-driven culture and knowledge of the Southern California marketplace, our team will focus on growing the Queen Mary’s customer base and leveraging the considerable investments made in the ship’s facilities over the past several years,” said John Murphy, Evolution Hospitality’s president.
 
Matt Greene, regional director of operations for Evolution Hospitality and general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, will oversee the transition and ongoing operations for the ship. Greene has over 20 years’ experience in hotel/entertainment management. Prior to joining Evolution Hospitality, Greene was senior vice president of operations at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, responsible for the overall operations of the hotel, the property’s entertainment division, the hotel’s retail division, and its famed nightlife and food and beverage outlets.
 
“We recognize how truly iconic the Queen Mary is – there’s simply nothing else like it – and we’re excited to be a part of the team that supports the ship,” said Greene. “We plan to build upon all that has been achieved previously at the Queen Mary and are ready to apply our management expertise, tools and technology, and servant leadership philosophy to the ship, its guests and associates, and the Long Beach community at large.”