INFLUENCER: The

Meet Damaris Messina

With a “never boring” MO, this hospitality exec is making a downtown hotel the place to be

As director of sales at Aloft Providence Downtown, you seem to be making your signature “never boring” imprint on the place. Tell us about your e orts to make the hotel a nightlife destination.

My goal is to create a destination with a vibrant hotel social scene and an innovative music scene through our LIVE@Aloft performances. I want to create a community of followers that’s always on the lookout of what’s next at Aloft because the unexpected happens here!

Tell us about the naming of Blu Violet and what vibe you are setting out to create there.

Blu Violet is our rooftop restaurant on the seventh floor. It offers the most magnificent views of downtown, College Hill, and Innovation Park. The name comes from a collaboration between the state flower (blue violet) and the color when the sunlight hits the Providence River. It’s a great spot for after-work drinks and shareable bites, but what really sets us apart is our RUM&B LIVE DJ Brunch on Sundays!

You earned an MBA from JWU. Was it the university that brought you to Providence?

It did – Johnson & Wales paved the path to my hospitality career. Being from the Dominican Republic, I discovered at a very young age my passion for hospitality, so when I was in search of a school, Johnson & Wales checked all the boxes. I loved their reverse curriculum and internship program. Who gets to travel to Italy in their sophomore year or study abroad in Switzerland

Photo by Michelle Carpenter Photography courtesy of Damaris Messina