Nijad Fares has been appointed as General Manager at 1 Hotel Seattle

With more than 20 years of international hospitality experience across lifestyle, luxury, and boutique hotels in Japan, California, Hawaii, and Switzerland, Fares brings extensive expertise in hotel operations, team leadership, guest experience, and food and beverage. In his new role, he will oversee all aspects of operations at 1 Hotel Seattle, which opened in May 2025 in the city’s South Lake Union neighborhood. The 153-room property marked 1 Hotels’ debut in the Pacific Northwest and has since earned a MICHELIN Key, establishing a strong presence in Seattle’s luxury hospitality landscape.

Fares joins 1 Hotel Seattle following his role as General Manager of Aloft Osaka Dojima, where he elevated guest satisfaction, strengthened team engagement, improved financial performance, and reduced annual talent turnover to 10%. Under his leadership, the hotel’s leadership index improved by 51 points and achieved a top-five ranking in Japan.

Throughout his career, Fares has held leadership positions at Tokyo EDITION, W Hollywood, Viceroy Santa Monica, Clift Hotel San Francisco, The St. Regis Monarch Beach, and several Westin and Sheraton properties. His experience includes opening signature restaurants and bars, leading hotel openings and renovations, achieving strong regional service-audit results, and directing multimillion-dollar capital improvement projects. At Clift Hotel, he also introduced a rooftop herb garden and beehives, reflecting an early commitment to thoughtful hospitality and a connection to nature.

A Certified Sommelier and Six Sigma Green Belt, Fares holds a Bachelor of Arts in Hotel Management from Washington State University’s Swiss Branch and a Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management from Institut Hôtelier César Ritz. He speaks English, French, and Arabic fluently and is developing his conversational Japanese.