Work in the travel industry? Haven’t been recently promoted? Well, you’d be one of the few judging by this list.

AccorHotels appoints key Directors of Sales and Marketing roles across Australia 

AccorHotels has made three key appointments to Director of Sales and Marketing roles at Novotel Melbourne South Wharf, Pullman Brisbane King George and ibis Styles Hobart.

Michael Fletcher has been appointed Director of Sales & Marketing in anticipation of the opening of Novotel Melbourne South Wharf.

Fletcher is new to the AccorHotels family, but a veteran of the Melbourne hotel market and he brings 20 years of five star hotel leadership experience to his new role. Fletcher’s previous roles have including Director of Sales and Marketing at Stamford Plaza, Director of Sales at Grand Hyatt Melbourne and Director of Leisure Sales for Hilton Australasia.

His appointment comes as the team prepares for the opening of Novotel Melbourne South Wharf in March 2018. The brand new 347 room Novotel hotel will feature direct access to the largest event space in the Southern Hemisphere; the 70,000 square meter Melbourne Exhibition Convention Center (MCEC).

Jenifer Dwyer Slee has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at Pullman Brisbane King George Square, effective from August. Jenifer has a wealth of experience in the areas of hospitality and tourism sales, including having worked at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.

Dwyer Slee also served as Director of Sales – Business Events at AccorHotels’ corporate office in Sydney. In that role, Dwyer Slee was instrumental in the setting up of the Business Events Advisory Board, ACCOR. She was the Chairperson leading the advisory board activity to develop improvements in delivery, sales, marketing, communications and loyalty strategy for business events hotels and their owners throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Dwyer Slee returns to AccorHotels having recently worked for IHG hotels in both Canberra and on the Gold Coast. Her role in Canberra saw her heading the National Convention Centre as the Director of Sales and Marketing for three years with great success, whilst also serving as Deputy Chair – Destination Marketing & Visitor Experience – Sub Committee Tourism Industry Advisory Council.

Most recently Dwyer Slee has held the role of Director of Sales & Marketing at Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise. Prior to this she worked for Starwood, having previously been Managing Director for The Event Team Corp Pty Ltd.

Liz Gifford has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at the recently opened ibis Styles Hobart. She began her career working in the travel industry, and has specifically been working in hotels since 2000.

Her hotels roles include seven years as Sales Manager at Hadleys Hotel where she worked on a number of major projects, including the coordination of celebration of the hotel’s 170 year anniversary.

Gifford also has strong experience working as a sales and marketing consultant, during which time she advised companies in the hotel and tourism industries in Tasmania. Gifford’s most recent roles include Sales and Marketing Manager at Best Western Hobart and Event Sales Manager at Blundstone Arena managing major events including the Corporate Hospitality for AFL.

Gifford is a proud Tasmanian, passionate about great customer service and relationships and is excited to have joined the ibis team.

Miller moves to Adventure World

Adventure World is delighted to announce the appointment of Elliott Miller as their company Head of Sales. Miller is well known in the travel industry through his previous roles as Director of Sales, Australia and New Zealand for the Aman Resorts & Hotel Group and Regional Director of Sales (Australia & South Asia) for the COMO Hotel & Resort Group.

With over 20 years of travel experience, Miller has encompassed a wide range of responsibilities including brand awareness growth, sourcing new business in various regions and managing all market segments including wholesalers, travel agencies, lifestyle and concierge companies, meetings and events, corporates and TMCs.

Miller has travelled extensively across the Adventure World destination portfolio with his highlights including a four-month stint traversing South America exploring Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay.  An active mountain climber Miller has conquered Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Huayna Potosi in Bolivia. Bhutan holds a special place for Miller having travelled there five times in recent years.

Speaking about his appointment Miller commented; “I feel like I have found my home at Adventure World, the breadth and diversity of their unique product offerings is astounding and I look forward to continue sharing that with our very valued agency communities.”

LUX* Resorts Appoints Sales & Marketing Representative in Australia & New Zealand 

Five star LUX* Resorts & Hotels have announced their further commitment to the Australian and New Zealand market with the appointment of i4 Travel Marketing, headed up by Anita Carr, as Sales & Marketing Representative in the region.

The appointment reinforces the brand’s undertaking to double local business in all segments by 50% in the coming 12 months, with the market continuing to rank in their top 10 source of revenue for the past 3 years in a row.

In her role with LUX* Resorts & Hotels which is initially part-time, Carr will be responsible for the growth of outbound leisure traffic to key LUX* destinations including Tea Horse Road China, Mauritius, Maldives, Reunion Island and Turkey.

Carr will also support the collection’s aggressive expansion plans with the opening of six new LUX* Resorts in Vietnam, China, Reunion, Maldives and Mauritius in the next 12 months, as well as manage local partner relationships, sales calls, ongoing product and destination training, tradeshow participation and familiarisations.

Originally from Sydney, Carr brings to the role an impressive 20 year tourism pedigree, specializing in the outbound Australian and New Zealand leisure market, predominantly with luxury high-end travel products.

In addition to extensive Australian experience, Carr formerly lived and worked in Dubai for 8 years as a Business Development and Sales Manager representing some of the world’s leading Destination and Management Companies.

Sydney Pierre, Worldwide Head of Sales said of the appointment, ‘I am glad to have Anita as part of the team to reinforce our presence in the market. The Australian and New Zealand region is important to us and we are committed to growing the business even further.”

Six Senses Zil Payson Welcomes General Manager

The pristine private island of Félicité in the Seychelles is the extraordinary setting for Six Senses Zil Payson and the latest home for Hilton Hastings, its newly appointed general manager. He returns to the Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas’ family having previously worked with the group at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Vietnam.

A South African national, Hilton is a dedicated nature lover who entered his first resort management role in Madagascar as a water sport and marina manager at Anjajavy L’Hotel. From this posting, his career developed through various positions from assistant general manager to resident manager and then general manager.

In 2008, Hilton joined Constance Hotels and Resorts and managed properties in Madagascar, Maldives, Seychelles and most recently with Six Senses in Vietnam. He has worked in unique properties that include private island resorts, fly-in-only reserves and golf resorts.

Hilton has a degree in Industrial Psychology, Marketing and Communication from UNISA. A linguist, he is fluent in Afrikaans, French and English with some Italian, Malagasy and Zulu.

Henry Gray, vice president of operations at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas said, “”I am very excited to have Hilton back with us and look forward to working closely with him and the Six Senses Zil Pasyon team in achieving our business and environmental goals. Hilton’s rich experience is enveloped in his passion for cultures and people development.”

ULU CLIFFHOUSE ANNOUNCES KEY HIRES

Primed to redefine the beach club concept in Bali, Ulu Cliffhouse, the ‘clifftop playground’ curated by a community of creative talent, has announced key appointments to oversee its operations ahead of its launch in September 2017.

Managing Director                : Jacques Dejardin

With over 20 years of hospitality experience, from washing pots, to leading restaurant rollouts, Jacques has spent his whole career on the front line of F&B operations. Previously as Operations Director for Jamie Oliver Restaurants, Jacques developed a number of concepts including Barbecoa, and was responsible for the launch of five unique brands.

He has led restaurant launches for Richard Corrigan, Jean-Georges, MEATliquor, Individual Restaurant Company and Gaucho, to name but a few.

General Manager                   : Marcus Boyle

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Marcus Boyle earned his stripes across some of Australia’s best restaurants including Momo, Ezard, and Rickys in Noosa Heads.

In 2009, Marcus moved to Singapore as the General Manager and Chief Sommelier for Tippling Club, and over an eight year span, he helped drive the restaurant to the Asia’s Top 50 and then further developing the group into four restaurant concepts.

Marcus has had a keen inkling towards wine through his extensive travel and is a Certified Court Master Sommelier.

Consultant Executive Chef    : Diego Muñoz

Diego Muñoz is a Peruvian Chef, a free rider and concept creator, aiming to explore and exchange through his culinary creativity.

He has worked at Mugaritz and El Bulli in Spain under the lead of Andoni Luis Aduriz and Ferrán Adriá, transformed Bilson’s in Sydney, and subsequently moved to Lima to lead Astrid & Gastón, taking the restaurant to #1 on The Latin American 50 Best Restaurants List, and to #14 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurant’s List.

Group Beverage Director      : Albie Barratt

Albie Barratt has over 10 years of experience working within some of hospitality’s most respected and well known organisations across London and Asia.

He began his bartending trade early on as Bar trainer for the Las Iguanas group, and has since led the drinks programme at acclaimed establishments like Jamie’s Diner Piccadilly and Fifteen London under the Jamie Oliver Group, Above Audio, and The Blind Group in Singapore.

Music Director                        : Neil McLellan

With a track record of working with XL Recordings, Sony BMG Music Ent., Epic, Sire, Arista, Columbia, Maverick, Virgin, and Island Records, Neil has produced a string of No. 1 hits, as well as gold and platinum records.

He has enjoyed success with acts including Madonna, Oasis, Carl Cox (and many more), but his most popular work began with the UK electronic music group, The Prodigy, mixing the hit singles Firestarter and Breathe.

Neil will be leading the charge on establishing Ulu Cliffhouse as the ultimate music destination.

Luxurious getaway destination near Singapore welcomes Jared Green as DOS 

A seasoned hospitality professional with almost two decades of experience across three continents and a passion for the independent hotel movement has been named The Sanchaya’s Director of Sales.

Jared Green’s appointment to the 21-villa and nine-suite beachfront estate on Bintan Island follows a two-year stint as Director of Sales with The Strand Hotel in Yangon, Myanmar. He played integral roles in the reopening of the property after an extensive refurbishment and the launch of new luxury river cruise ship The Strand Cruise on the Ayeyarwady River.

Green also worked as Director of Sales at Cambodia’s first private island resort Song Saa for more than three years, after he was Director of Revenue at Raffles Hotels, Dubai.

He quickly rose up the ranks at luxury hotels in London, Bahrain and Dubai after starting his career in his native Australia as a senior receptionist at The Prince Hotel in Melbourne.

“Recognised and trusted by the industry, Jared has a great track record of activating luxury distribution channels,” said The Sanchaya’s estate manager Magnus Olovson. “His rich experience, personality and strong work ethic will further underpin The Sanchaya’s unrivalled level of hospitality and attention to detail.”

Green said his ambitions for The Sanchaya included introducing the 10-hectare estate to a wider exclusive audience of and creating even more unique experiences for guests.

“I am drawn to the flexibility and creativity of the independent hotel movement and The Sanchaya is exemplary in this field,” said Green. “The attentiveness of the staff, known as ‘artisans’, due to the level of training invested and innovative initiatives such as the S’YA fashion line make me feel very excited to be part of the team,” said Green.

Six Senses Laamu Appoints Wayan Sudarma as Executive Chef

Six Senses Laamu is pleased to announce the appointment of Wayan Sudarma as Executive Chef.

Chef Wayan joined Six Senses Laamu as an Executive Sous Chef in February 2016 and was promoted to Executive Chef earlier this month. Staying true to the brand’s core value of Pioneering Wellness, Six Senses Laamu continues to focus on health in cuisine and Wayan is no stranger to wellness menus and programs. He has a large appreciation for local, fresh and organic ingredients and is keen on incorporating these in all menus.

Balinese by origin, Chef Wayan has profound knowledge of Asian cuisines and always ensures that his personal modern twist is added on every dish. “

“Experimenting with the local ingredients and with the fresh produce from the organic garden to create a true Six Senses experience, is definitely a call to a chef’s creativity. Culinary innovation through sustainable practices is a beacon for the team, while we ensure that we deliver the best quality service to even the most discerning pallets,”” Executive Chef Wayan said.

Having worked alongside Michelin-star Chefs such as Stefano Cavallini and Jesper Koch, Wayan has enhanced his already vast professional culinary skills. His generous and outgoing character is highly valued by Six Senses Laamu guests, who very often approach him for his signature Balinese satay chicken recipe.