Acme Hospitality
Willie Simpson has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Willie started their career in 1989 with Marriott International, where they worked in regional revenue management, sales, and operations until 1999. In 1994, they completed a hotel management internship with Kempinski Hotels. From 1999 to 2018, they worked as the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Howard Johnson Hotel and Water Playground at Disneyland under the Northwest Hotel Corp and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. In 2014, they joined Marriott International again as the Opening Sales & Marketing Director for the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance. Since 2020, Willie has been working at Acme Hospitality, where they started as the Marketing Manager and then progressed to Senior Marketing Manager and currently holds the position of Marketing Director. In this role, they manage brand strategy and marketing activations for multiple award-winning restaurants and tasting rooms in Santa Barbara's Funk Zone.
Willie Simpson has a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business, Marketing, and German from California State University-Long Beach - College of Business. They also have a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) in Permaculture and Sustainable Land Use from EarthFlow Design Works - Los Angeles. Willie has studied Holistic Nutrition at Clayton College of Natural Health and was involved in the German American Partnership Program (GAPP) as an exchange student at Gymnasium Eversten. In addition, Willie has obtained certifications in Content Marketing from HubSpot, and Google Ads Search and Google Analytics Individual Qualification from Google.
Acme Hospitality
Headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, Acme Hospitality owns and operates an innovative collection of food and beverage concepts and boutique hotels in California. Acme currently operates seven restaurants in and around Santa Barbara’s burgeoning arts and entertainment district affectionately called the Funk Zone. Concepts include The Lark, Loquita, Lucky Penny, Helena Avenue Bakery, Pearl Social, La Paloma Cafe, Santa Barbara Wine Collective, and Notary Public Wines. Acme played a major role in the revitalization of the Funk Zone that is now one of the top destinations in the region. Acme also owns and operates two historic hotels in California’s Gold Country – The National Exchange Hotel in Nevada City and the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley. Located five miles apart, these icons of California’s history and hospitality were lovingly restored by teams of local artists, designers, and craftspeople and are ideally situated in the picturesque Sierra Nevada Foothills. Acme’s latest boutique hotel is the midcentury jewel, Azure Sky Hotel, near downtown Palm Springs. A secluded luxury hideaway, Azure Sky promises a residential experience close to the heartbeat of Palm Springs. Acme concepts and team members have won numerous awards and accolades from local, regional and national sources.