Christian Hirt has been appointed general manager of the Swissôtel Sydney. With more than 17 years’ hospitality experience, Hirt has worked in North America, Europe and now Australia. He previously served as director of operations at Swissôtel the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Previously, Christian Hirt workded for Kempinski at the Adlon Berlin.
Commerford brings a wealth of experience to the position - the past 18 years has seen her fulfil senior marketing roles across the consumer goods, quick service restaurant and alcoholic beverage industries in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Justin North has become the new culinary ambassador for Accor’s Pullman Hotels & Resorts brand in Australia. The advisory role will see North oversee the culinary direction of the 11 Pullmans in Australia. He is well-known in Australia, having held two coveted chefs’ hats for more than eight years.
Rudolf van Dijk has become the new general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. He joins the hotel from the Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou in China, and has also worked at the luxury hotelier’s properties in Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Shanghai and New York.
On the eve of SiteMinder's 7th birthday, the global leader in online distribution successfully launched the first networking event specifically targeting Online Booking Channels. The event was created to provide an open platform to discuss the latest developments within the industry while giving those who attended an opportunity to network with their peers.
Double Bay's legendary hotel situated at 33 Cross Street is soon to become InterContinental Sydney Double Bay. Singaporean-based Royal Hotels and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) have signed a management agreement for the 140-room InterContinental hotel on this famed site in one of Sydney's most luxurious suburbs.Royal Hotels will undertake a multimillion-dollar refurbishment of all guest rooms and public areas of the hotel, after which it will reopen as InterContinental Sydney Double Bay in January 2014.Purpose-built in 1991 as the Ritz Carlton Double Bay, the hotel established a reputation as the place to stay for celebrities when visiting Sydney. It became the Stamford in 2001, before closing in 2009 with a view to being redeveloped.Australian architects, Bates Smart have been appointed by Royal Hotels to restore the hotel to its former glory. Facilities will include a ballroom for up to 300 guests, meeting space, an all-day dining restaurant, Club InterContinental, café, lounge and bar, rooftop pool and bar and generous underground parking. Underneath the hotel, a ground floor arcade will be developed and is anticipated to include a health club or day spa as well as retail space.Bobby Hiranandani, Director of Royal Hotels said, "We are tremendously excited about re-launching this property and becoming a member of the internationally-renowned InterContinental family. We selected IHG as our partner for this hotel based on the strength of the InterContinental brand both here and worldwide, and its proven ability to deliver premium returns on the assets that bear its name."Our plan is to rejuvenate this ideally-situated hotel and its surrounds, making it the destination for Eastern-suburbs locals and Australian and international visitors alike. InterContinental Sydney Double Bay will become an ideal destination for weddings, conferences and dining as well as luxury hotel accommodation."We are pleased to be partnering with IHG in this, a landmark in the Australian market. We have been impressed with IHG's support to date, and in them believe we have a partner that will assist us creating an exciting new guest experience in Sydney", said Hiranandani.IHG Asia, Middle East and Africa CEO, Jan Smits continued: "The signing of InterContinental Sydney Double Bay is a significant development for the InterContinental brand in Australia. The site at 33 Cross Street has long awaited the arrival of a new luxury hotel for Sydneysiders and visitors, and we feel confident that in partnership with Royal Hotels we will create something very special for our guests".InterContinental Sydney Double Bay will be the fifth InterContinental hotel in Australia, and will join the family of 169 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts around the world.
Starwood Hotels and Resorts is pleased to announce the appointment of David Janz to the position of Account Manager, Leisure, within the Starwood Sales Organisation team.
Swissôtel Sydney is excited to announce Mr Martin Yeo as the newly appointed Director of Food and Beverage. Entering the hospitality industry with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in Hotel Management, Martin bringswith him numerous years of Food and Beverage operations experience. Martin’s managerial experiences include his roles as Conference and Events Operations Manager at Novotel Manly Pacific and most recently as Food and Beverage Manager at Sofitel Wentworth Sydney.
Commencing in 2011 as Swissôtel Sydney’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Ross bought with him over 30 years experience in the hospitality and travel industries having worked for internationally established brands including Marriott, Mirvac, Parkroyal, InterContinental and Crowne Plaza hotels.
Echo Entertainment Group Chairman John O’Neill and CEO John Redmond said today that Echo’s expansion plans for The Star would see the world’s first “Connected Integrated Resort” built in Sydney. Mr O’Neill and Mr Redmond today unveiled details of Echo’s Detailed Proposal which was formally submitted to the NSW Government through its unsolicited proposal process on Friday afternoon.
LAUREN BREMNER has been named as Best Western Australasia’s new Marketing Communications Manager, replacing Hansni Bhagani. Ms Bremner has worked previously in communications roles for organisations including Qantas and the Independent Education Union of Australia.
HANSNI BHAGANI has been announced as the new Director of Public Relations for the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney. Ms Bhagani brings to the role almost seven years’ experience in the media industry, most recently as Marketing Communications Manager at Best Western Australasia.
Market Metrix, the leading provider of feedback management solutions for the global hospitality industry, has hired Simon Haigh to lead business development in Australia and New Zealand. Simon is a 25-year veteran of the hospitality and technology industries with experience and know-how that allows him to span strategic planning to detailed operations. Along with an office in Singapore, a local presence in Australia will allow Market Metrix to support its growing client base throughout Oceania and Asia. Market Metrix’ growth in the region follows the opening of an office in Singapore in 2012. The growing list of clients in the region includes: Langham Hotels International, Fairmont Raffles Hotels, Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Dusit International, Crown Melbourne Unlimited and Sky City Casinos. Market Metrix is headquartered in San Francisco, and European operations are run from Barcelona, Spain.
In Sydney Erkin Aytekin has been made the general manager at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth while in Melbourne Llewellyn Wyeth has moved into the general manager's role at Novotel Melbourne St Kilda that was vacated by Aytekin.
Emily joins the SMaRT team from InterContinental Sydney where she has most recently held the role of Business Development Executive- Corporate since March 2011. Prior to that Emily was Business Development Executive- Corporate Meetings at InterContinental Sydney, joining the InterContinental team in 2009. Prior to joining IHG Emily worked for the Lido Group and the Dorchester in London.
Citigate Central Sydney has rebranded to Novotel Sydney Central, marking an exciting time for the hotel as it undertakes a major refurbishment, while the suburb of Haymarket is in the midst of one of the most progressive urban renewal plans the city has ever seen.
Ms Lefevre joins The Langham, Sydney from her post as Hotel Manager of The Langham, Hong Kong where she joined LHG in 2010. Ms Lefevre successfully repositioned the Hong Kong property from a domestically-oriented entity to an internationally recognised luxury hotel standard, as well as the leading hotel in the busy Kowloon precinct.
Dynamic and accomplished hotelier, Ralf Bruegger, today starts his new appointment as Group General Manager of Lilianfels, Echoes and the Hydro Majestic in the Blue Mountains.
Today, the renowned Quay Grand Suites Sydney will rebrand to Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour, signalling a dramatic expansion of Accor’s 5-star Pullman brand in Australia. Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour joins two other Pullmans in Sydney. It also joins Pullman Reef Casino in Cairns and the recently rebadged Pullman Resort Bunker Bay in Western Australia’s Margaret River region.
With a passion for PR and communication, Kimberley Roberts, from Brisbane, Queensland, commenced her career in Brisbane with varied roles in the not-for-profit sector which was followed by her appointment at Hilton Brisbane. Kimberley commenced her tenure with the hotel in 2006 as marketing communications coordinator and in 2008 was promoted to marketing communications manager.