Mr. Connelly joins Angsana Laguna Phuket with over 35 years of leadership in the hospitality management. Prior to this, he was Cluster General Manager at Doubletree Resort Phuket, General Manager of Oakwood properties in Asia Pacific and held management positions in Hilton, Fairmont and Intercontinental in Asia Pacific and Middle East.
Ms. Bulut, as Hotel Manager for Angsana Laguna Phuket, has more than 20 years of experience in Rooms Division with many global brands. She will oversea the day-to-day operations of the scenic beachfront resort, including budgeting and financial management as well as front-of-house Food & Beverage operations.
A French citizen, Richard graduated from Vatel Hotel Management school in France. Prior to his appointment as General Manager for Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort, Richard was the Hotel Manager at the prestigious 408-room hotel, Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16. Richard spent the past fifteen years in Asia, including eight years in Thailand, one of his recent role was Resident Manager at the chic lifestyle hotel, Pullman Bangkok Hotel G. Prior to this he was the opening Resident Manager at Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich, China.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world's leading hotel companies, has signed a management agreement with U&N Hospitality Company Limited for a 222-room Holiday Inn Express on the popular Ao Nang Beach in Krabi, Thailand. The hotel will mark the entry of Holiday Inn Express, one of the largest and fastest growing hotel brands in the world, into Krabi when it opens in 2017.
AccorHotels has recently appointed Mr. Philippe Le Bourhis as General Manager of the newly rebranded, Pullman Bangkok Grande Sukhumvit (Previously Grand Millennium Sukhumvit)
Best Western International is excited to announce plans to open its first hotel in the up-and-coming area of North Bangkok.
On 13 July at Dusit Thani Bangkok, Thai Military Bank signed a contract with Dusit International to provide financial support for Dusit Thani Hotel School. Thai Military Bank has agreed to provide financial support for renovations and purchasing of the latest equipment and modern technologies for the computer systems.
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of Simon Rindlisbacher as General Manager of its first Bangkok property, the five-star Mövenpick Hotel Sukhumvit 15 Bangkok.
– Banyan Tree Phuket is thrilled to announce the arrival of Alfonso de la Dehesa as its new Executive Chef. Coming to Thailand from the Banyan Tree resort in Cabo Marqués, Mexico, Alfonso brings with him a highly-developed focus on modern and international cuisine, honed over decades of experience at some of the world’s most distinguished restaurants. Originally from Spain, Alfonso soon earned a reputation for exceptional quality in his approach to culinary innovation and presentation. His considerable talents found their expression at ARZAK, a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Spain – and then again at El Bulli, another 3-star Michelin restaurant, considered by many to be the best in the world. Alfonso next became Chef de Cuisine at Spain’s most successful catering company, Catering Medens. He remained at that position with his subsequent appointment at Jumeirah – the first of several 5-star hotels he has worked for in the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Mexico and now Phuket, Thailand.
Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Orhun Denizoglu as Director of Food and Beverage, overseeing all of the hotel’s prestigious outlets, namely, 57th Street, the District Grill Room and Bar, Octave Rooftop Lounge and Bar, Chocolate Cake Company and banquet.Orhun has been building up his extensive background in Food and Beverage for the past decades and sharpened his skills with different luxury properties around the world, including Ritz Carton properties in Turkey and Bahrain, Fairmont in the UAE and Ayada resort in Maldives. His last assignment prior to Bangkok was with JW Marriott Medan in Indonesia, where he held the position of Director of Food and Beverage for the past 2.5 years with impressive performance by achieving financial results, service excellence and employees satisfaction across 7 F&B outlets.
Killian Donoghue has been announced as the new general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok. Donoghue has worked with Marriott since 2001, holding sales & marketing roles across Europe and Asia. He moves to Bangkok following a spell as GM of the Renaissance Koh Samui.
Area Vice President, Marriott International – South-East Asia, Karl Hudson recently announced the appointment of Lars Kerfin as a General Manager of Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel. Prior to joining Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, Lars Kerfin was the General Manager of Anantara Lawana Resort & Spa, Koh Samui, Thailand.
Manfred Ilg, General Manager of SilverNeedle® Collection’s award-winning 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai, is pleased to announce the appointment of Thiti Thammanatr as Executive Chef. Chef Thiti will oversee all culinary operations at the hotel including its award-winning signature Palette Restaurant.Chef Thiti has extensive international experience from a career spanning more than 30 years. He worked his way up from a cook to Executive Chef and has assumed Corporate Executive Chef roles in Canada, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Chef Thiti combines his broad range of culinary styles to create his own global hybrid form of cuisine where he combines two or more ingredients with different cooking techniques, both modern as well as traditional, to create unique flavors and textures. Prior to joining 137 Pillars House, he was F&B Director at the Baan Wanglang Riverside in Bangkok where he oversaw the operations of three new outlets.
Bangkok-based hospitality management company Absolute Hotel Services is delighted to announce the appointment of Khun Poomdecha Rattanyoo as the new General Manager of AHS’ 4 star 104-room property Eastin Yama Hotel on the tropical island of Phuket.Khun Poomdecha, or “Nok” as he is more usually known, is a Thai national and has nearly 25 years of hospitality experience in his native country in a number of luxury hotels and resorts throughout the South of Thailand. Prior to taking up his new position he was General Manager of the deluxe Sea Sun Sand Resort in the world-famous Patong Beach.
HVS Managing Partner Asia Pacific, Daniel J. Voellm, is pleased to announce the recent promotion of Christian Pucher to Vice President of HVS Bangkok, Thailand.
Thirayuth Chirathivat, chief executive officer of Centara Hotels & Resorts, has announced the appointment of Wim N.M. Fagel as general manager for Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok. Wim is a Dutch national from the Netherlands and has extensive experience for over 30 years in management at many international leading hotels both in Asia and Europe including the Summit Hotel in Nepal. During the year 1999 – 2003 he was managing director of the Summit Hotel and Summit Nepal Trekking in Kathmandu before moving to Thailand in 2003 and was working as general manager for Amari Rincome Chiang Mai, after that he transferred to be general manager for Amari Residences Bangkok in 2009. Wim joined Centara Hotels & Resorts in 2012 as general manager of Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok and in 2014 he was promoted to be area general manager Indonesia.
Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Orhun Denizoglu as Director of Food and Beverage, overseeing all of the hotel’s outlets, namely, 57th Street, the District Grill Room and Bar, Octave Rooftop Lounge and Bar, Chocolate Cake Company and banquet.
Evason Hua Hin in Pranburi, Thailand is delighted to announce the opening of a culinary academy in partnership with Matthew Kenney Cuisine. This well-known American integrated lifestyle brand founded to meet the increasing interest in living foods and the art of raw food preparation is the ideal partner for Evason. Offering Asia's first classically structured plant-based culinary academy, the new academic facility is surrounded by 20-acres of rich, manicured tropical gardens, lotus ponds and access to the best plant-based produce Thailand grows.
Vignesh Mani, appointed general manager of Oakwood Residence Sukhumvit Thonglor, has returned to the Oakwood fold, where he was previously director of sales and marketing for the two properties in Bangalore. His past experience included working at Marriott. Vignesh holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad and a Bachelors in Hotel Administration from Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal, India.
Lina Abdullah, appointed general manager of Oakwood Residence Garden Towers Bangna, Bangkok, joins from Onyx Hospitality Group where she was general manager at the 5-star business hotel, Amari Dhaka in Bangladesh. Her 14 years’ experience in the hospitality industry included stints in the Marriott group where she spent ten years, and at InterContinental. She has worked in Malaysia and in the U.K. At Oakwood Residence Garden Towers Bangna, she will not only manage the serviced apartments but also the Bangna Convention Center and the Food Camp by Oakwood.