Star Linen & Hospitality Co. recently agreed to a contract extension with Choice Hotels International as an approved vendor partner for all rooms' linen, amenities, appliances, disposables and top-of-the-bed products.

TravelCLICK named Robert E. Dowdell chairman of the board following the recent addition of TravelCLICK to the Genstar Capital portfolio. Dowdell is the founder and chairman of Career Education Corp.

David Neff joined the law firm of Perkins Cole as a partner and co-chair of its hotels & leisure group and will work from its Chicago office. Neff had been co-chair of DLA Piper's hotel, resort and timeshare practice.

TIG Global opened a new office in London with plans to broaden its reach and augment its international online marketing service offering for European and U.S. clients who target niche travel markets in Europe.

Andrew Sanders and Keith Cook joined Multi-Systems, Inc. to help accelerate the implementation of growth strategies and broaden the executive management team. Sanders is the vice president of sales and Cook is the new director of product management.

David Kahn joined HD Supply Facilities Maintenance to lead the textiles team. Kahn and his group will develop a new textile program under the Cotton Bay Hospitality Linens label.

American Hotel Furnishings, a division of American Hotel Register Company, was awarded a contract to provide ff&e procurement, project management and freight management services for La Quinta Inn & Suites' new construction project in Olathe, KS. Also, American Hotel Furnishings' Deidre Schwartz, the director of design, obtained LEED accreditation.

Onity appointed Shelia DeShazo and Dan Artman as members of the North American regional sales team for the company's latest product introduction, the CodePro electronic code access system.

Meridian Capital Group named Daniel Heumann managing director, senior operating officer. Heumann, who was a senior vice president at Kushner Companies, will be based in the firm's New York City headquarters.

Rich Musgrove will head Hospitality Real Estate Counselors' new asset management division as principal/president. Musgrove, who was a senior vice president of Ashford Hospitality Trust, will be based in Dallas and also work with HREC's investment banking group.

Xavier Lividini formed a hotel consulting practice, Hospitality Advance International, which will provide services ranging from hotel acquisitions, development and investment to asset management, sales and marketing and executive recruitment. The Miami-based firm has offices in New York, Los Angeles and London.

John Aykroyd was promoted to vice president, business development at Sloan Valve Co. Aykroyd had been national sales manager since 2006 and will be responsible for planning and directing all aspects of Sloan's business development and customer-care policies.

Thomas C. Barney was named president of Hersha Interiors & Supply. Barney brings over 20 years of experience to Hersha and was most recently with St. Joe Clubs and Resorts, a division of Fortune Hotels.

H. Brandt Niehaus will succeed Charles Fritsch as Hotel Brokers International's board president. The rest of the board is: Jeff Westgor, president-elect; Joe McCann, secretary; Tony DeGeorge, treasurer; Jennifer Church, director; Greg Meinhold, director; Steve Ferrarini, director; Diana Alt, associate director; Lee Vasché, associate director; and members-at-large Dick Lopez and Charles Fritsch V.

Several United Feather & Down products were awarded Best Buy status in Consumers Digest magazine, including the MicroMax pillow, Supreme Goose Down Comforter and Nature's Preference Pillow designed for Select Comfort.

Jonathan Nehmer + Associates opened a West Coast office to better serve west and northwest projects, as well as a growing number of clients in Hawaii and the Pacific Rim. Vice president David Winkler will lead the new office in Carlsbad, CA.

Mike Gray joined revenue management systems provider IDeaS as chief technical officer. He joins the firm from West Publishing and Thomson Corp.