Gerrit Schmitt has been appointed as General Manager at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah
A long-time Marriott director of operations has taken up his first general manager role. Gerrit Schmitt steps up to general manager of Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah as it gears up for a summer opening this year.
Schmitt's time at Marriott dates back to 2004, starting out as F&B management trainee for Ritz-Carlton in Wolfsburg. Staying at the hotel for half a decade, he would hold positions such as assistant banquets and stewarding manager and director of banquets before moving on to Ritz-Carltons in other destinations.
He later worked with Ritz-Carlton in Vienna, Abu Dhabi, Bangalore and Almaty, all within F&B operations. In 2011 he was made assistant and acting director of food and beverage for the Ritz-Carlton in DIFC.
This was followed by a string of senior operational roles, starting with senior manager operations development and meeting & events discipline leader MEA from 2014 to 2016. Next he was made area director of operations and meetings and events discipline leader MEA, heading up operations of rooms, spa and retail across six countries.
In 2018, he was made senior director of operations luxury - UAE, meaning he oversaw rooms, spa, retail, restaurants and bars for 30 UAE properties. This was followed by senior director of operations in the UAE, bolstered to 65 properties under his remit.