Appointments, June 2019
The Essex – Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa
Ron Droegmyer has been appointed as the general manager for The Essex – Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa under Benchmark, a global hospitality company. The announcement was made by Greg Champion, president and COO of Benchmark. Previously, Ron Droegmyer was the general manager of PHM Consulting Limited. He was also the general manager of Doubletree Fort Lee and the Holiday Inn Secaucus earlier.
Church House
Lauren McKenzie has been appointed as the Event Coordinator for Church House replacing Katie Housego for the position. Lauren has served a hotel which was London-based as Event Planner. She got promoted to the post of Event Manager soon.
Port of Seattle
Bookda Gheisar has been appointed as Senior Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for the Port of Seattle. Gheisar would lead the first ever Equity Department beginning from June 12. Prior to joining the Port, Gheisar was the Policy Advisor for King County’s Office of Equity and Social Justice, in the office of King County Executive, Dow Constantine. Gheisar got selected through a thorough competitive selection procedure.
Choice Hotels International
Michelle Masters has joined the Choice Hotels International, Inc as Regional Vice President of franchise services, Northeast region. In the role, Masters will lead the company’s area directors, to help drive system-wide hotel performance and owner satisfaction throughout the Northeast United States. Prior to joining Choice, Masters was the regional vice president of franchise operations for Radisson Hotel Group. Masters is a Certified Hotel Administrator and was recognized as one of Hotel Management’s Top 30 Influential Women in Hospitality in 2018.
Hotel Hendricks
Sietse Nabben has been named as General Manager for the new hotspot, Hotel Hendricks. He has been working for the hospitality industry for over twenty years. Nabben worked at the Marriott Copley Hotel and also served various management positions at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel where he ultimately served as Director of Restaurants. Nabben was General Manager of six properties within eight years. Recently he served as the Managing Director for Royalton Park Avenue, formerly known as Gansevoort.
Appointments, May 2019
AC Hotel Los Angeles South Bay
European lifestyle Marriot brand hotel appointed Ahmed Elassy as the General Manager of the AC Hotel Los Angeles South Bay, expected to open in early summer. Since 2015 he was the Director, Operations for both the Hotel and Convention Centre of the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport. He also served as an interim General Manager for various Marriot properties, including the Cincinnati Marriot at River Centre and Seattle Airport Marriot. He spent decades serving Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, gaining diverse knowledge and held various positions in hotels around the world before joining Marriot.
The Pod Hotels
Rani Gharbie is appointed as the Head of Acquisitions & Development for The Pod Hotels, announced by BD group. He will be responsible for identifying potential investment opportunities, bringing together strategic partners and investors to fund future projects for various markets along with BD Hotels owners. He will focus on expanding BD Hotels’ expertise in hotel development, investment and operations across the country and eventually globally. Before joining Virgin Hotels, Gharbie served as the Managing Director and Founder at Cedar Funds, New York City based development and investment firm as well as regional Director of Development with Inter Continental Hotels Group.
Kempinski Palace, Slovenia and Kempinski Hotel Adriatic, Croatia
Kai Behrens announced as Cluster General Manager of Kempinski Palace, Slovenia and Kempinski Hotel Adriatic, Croatia in Istria. A German national, graduated from the school of Management in Dortmund, Germany, he holds an Executive MBA for Hospitality and Tourism from NEOM Business School. Having started his career in Rooms Division at the Hyatt Regency in Cologne, in 2007, he joined Kempinski as Resident Manager at Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow. He has acquired extensive experience within the company through managing hotels in Thailand, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and China over the past 12 years.
Sharjah Collection by Mysk
Shaza Hotels, a member of the Global Hotel Alliance, has appointed Shafik Alaaeddine as the General Manager for the Sharjah Collection by Mysk. Shafik Alaaeddine has spent several years with Shaza Hotels in various capacities and countries in the Middle East and Africa. He has been a key team leader in building the Mysk by Shaza brand, opening the flagship property, Mysk Al Mouj, Muscat. The core of his talent is on guest services and creating successful destination. Shafik is known for his recruiting skills, as he has appointed many hardworking and excellent talents and train them up to deliver unique guest experience.
General Manager of Kempinski Hotel Changsha
Robin ma is appointed as General Manager of Kempinski Hotel Changsha by Kempinski Hotels. He will be in charge of Operation management and business development of the hotel. He holds 25 years’ of working experience in the hospitality industry. In 1994 he started his career at the Peninsular Beijing in the hotel industry. Thereafter he moved to Marriot group, the China Jinmao group and many more places like Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and so on. Robin Ma has led his team to successfully complete the hotel reception and service work for many large international government conferences and activities.