If you have stayed at a Universal Orlando Resort hotel in the last decade, there is a decent chance Stephen Cummings had something to do with how that stay went.
He is back, and this time he is in charge of all of them.
Loews Hotels & Co has promoted Cummings to senior vice president of operations for Loews Hotels at Universal Orlando Resort. In plain terms, he now runs the whole hotel side of the resort. Eleven hotels. Every price tier. Everything from the pool towels to the strategy meetings.
Wait, Who Is This Guy?
Cummings is not a new name around here. He worked at multiple Loews properties in Orlando from 2018 to 2023 before heading to Texas, so this is a homecoming rather than a fresh start.
While he was here the first time, he led the opening teams for two hotels you have probably heard of or stayed at:
- Universal Aventura Hotel, the modern one with the rooftop bar and the great park views
- Universal Endless Summer Resort, Dockside Inn and Suites, the budget favorite with the huge family suites
Opening a hotel is chaos. Opening two is a résumé.
After Orlando, he ran the Loews Arlington Hotel & Convention Center and Live! By Loews in Arlington, Texas, as complex managing director. Both hotels hit record numbers under him, along with strong guest satisfaction scores.
He Started as a Chef
Here is the fun part of his background. Cummings did not come up through the front desk or the corporate ladder. He started in kitchens.
Before he ever managed a hotel, he worked as an executive chef and executive sous chef for Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton, and St. Regis. From there he moved into leadership at Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, and the Don CeSar over on St. Pete Beach.
Nearly 40 years in hospitality, and a big chunk of it spent learning how restaurants actually work. At a resort where the dining is half the reason people book, that is not a bad thing to have running the show.
Why Now?
Timing is everything, and Universal Orlando Resort’s hotel lineup just went through the biggest growth spurt in its history.
Three hotels opened in 2025:
- Universal Stella Nova Resort
- Universal Terra Luna Resort
- Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a Loews Hotel, sits at the center of Epic Universe
That is thousands of new rooms added in a single year, right as a brand new theme park opened next door. The building part is done. The “running it well” part comes next, and that is the job Cummings is walking into.
Loews Hotels & Co Chief Operating Officer Dan Flannery called him “a dynamic hotel operator” and pointed to those Orlando hotel openings as major moments for the partnership. Cummings, for his part, said he is “honored to return to Orlando” and talked about building on the momentum already happening here.
What This Means for Your Next Trip
Honestly? Nothing you will notice tomorrow.
Leadership changes are slow burns. You will not see a different check-in process next weekend or a new menu at Bice because someone got a promotion.
But over the next year or two, the guy making calls about staffing, dining, service standards, and how these 11 hotels operate day to day is someone who already knows this resort inside and out. For a hotel portfolio still finding its rhythm after adding three properties and a whole new park, that familiarity is worth something.
Welcome back, Chef.
