With more than 20 years of management experience in the hospitality industry, including food & beverage and hotel operations, Tanakaya has established himself as a well-rounded hotel industry executive. 

Tanakaya began his hotel management career with the Hyatt Regency Houston in 1982.  He earned his first director of food & beverage position with the La Mansion del Rio Hotel in San Antonio in 1984.  Tanakaya joined the Hilton Family of Hotels in 1989 as director of food & beverage at the Guest Quarters Hotel in Baltimore.  In 1991, he moved to the West Coast to the Doubletree Guest Suites Santa Monica where for the next seven years he held various executive positions, including assistant general manager.   In the Spring of 1998, Tanakaya joined the Hilton Los Angeles North/Glendale as assistant general manager, his most recent position before moving to San Diego.

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Tanakaya earned a bachelor of science degree from the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston.  He is an active community advocate, holding board positions in the local Rotary club, and was an adjunct instructor of hospitality this past semester at Glendale Community College.  He has just been elected to the Board of Governors of the Japanese American National Museum where his 2002 diversity project recently won an award from Hilton Hotels Corporation through his hotel team�s dedication to teaching cultural understanding to more than 2,600 Glendale Unified School District students in the Spring of 2002.

Tucked in the rolling hills of beautiful Black Mountain and less than a half-hour drive from downtown San Diego and San Diego International Airport, the secluded Doubletree Golf Resort San Diego is the perfect Southern California retreat for avid recreational enthusiasts.  Home to an 18 hole par 72 golf course with eight driving cages, a putting green and 6,418 yards of challenging play; five lighted outdoor tennis courts; and a 5,500 sq. ft spa and fitness center with a five-lane outdoor, heated lap pool, the Doubletree Golf Resort San Diego for both a serious and leisurely golf and tennis experience.