Anthony Delaby has been appointed executive assistant manager of Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria and Holiday Inn Manila Galleria, his first stint in Asia. Delaby honed his career at InterContinental Hotels Group properties in Germany and Austria, and joined InterContinental Vienna as assistant executive housekeeper in 2009. Prior to this posting, he was director of rooms of InterContinental Vienna.
Ester Marcaida is now general manager of Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa. She served as its resident manager during its pre-opening stage from 2009 to 2010, and was most recently general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Lhasa, which she helped launch.
Richard Ong has been picked to lead Orchard Hotel Singapore as its new general manager. Bringing over 30 years of local and international hospitality experience to the job, Ong joined Millennium & Copthorne last year as general manager, operations, Asia.
Michael B Gaehler has been appointed general manager of Regent Taipei. Gaehler first joined FIH Regent Group in 2009 as general manager of Silks Place Taroko, and later returned to the group in 2013 as group general manager – pre-opening.
Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel is now helmed by Titiya Chooto, who is regarded as one of the most successful female general managers in Thailand’s hospitality industry. She has over 20 years of key managerial experience, and was most recently general manager of Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai and Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle.
Samir R Wildemann is now general manager of Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok and senior vice president operations South-east Asia for Kempinski Hotels. A 28-year veteran hotelier, Wildemann has held a number of senior hotel management positions in five-star hotels.
Banyan Tree Phuket has made Hery Kuswoyo its new hotel manager. He joined Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts in 2010 and was most recently executive assistant manager for Banyan Tree Macau.
Benjamin Zahn has been promoted to the position of general manager at Le Royal Méridien Shanghai. He was previously hotel manager of the property.
A day spent with friends is a day well spent. Building its meeting experiences along those lines, Angsana Laguna Phuket has created a range of friendship meetings – activities that will add a dash of fun to corporate meetings.
Activities on offer include the half-day Cast Away session which takes delegates back in time. Participants travel to Rang Yai island where they are unable to use smartphones, Wi-Fi or any other form of modern technology, and must work together in teams to overcome the challenges presented.
Educational experiences can also be arranged, whether in the form of a massage workshop, cooking class, or cocktail-making session.
These friendship meetings are promoted along with nett-priced room rates. Meeting planners who book their next event at the resort can secure room rates of 3,200 baht (US$95) nett, with those chalking up bookings worth 500,000 baht to receive a free iPad.
Angsana Laguna Phuket features a range of event spaces including the XANA beach club for parties and function rooms for up to 400 guests, while a dedicated events team will ensure that each meeting proceeds without hiccup.
