Dorchester Group Appoints New GM for Le Meurice
Franka Holtmann re-joins Dorchester Group
PARIS, France, July 3, 2006. Dorchester Group announces the appointment of Franka Holtmann as General Manager of Le Meurice, from 1st June 2006.
For the second time in her distinguished career, Ms Holtmann achieves a first, as the only female GM to run two of Paris' six Palace hotels. She joins Le Meurice after two and a half years steering the Crillon as its General Manager, responsible not only for a highly successful and sympathetic revamp of the hotel but also for dramatically increasing its sales and profits as the result of an ambitious sales and marketing drive.
A native of Essen, Germany and mother to an eighteen-year old daughter, she graduated from hotel school in Munich and arrived in France some 26 years ago. She is also a graduate of literature from the University of Nice.
Her experience in the Paris luxury hotel sector is second to none: she is more qualified than most to run a top Paris hotel, having acquired her managerial talents at some of the finest addresses in town: from Le Meridien Etoile, to The Ritz where she was director of sales and marketing, and most recently before the Crillon, the Hotel Plaza Ath'en'ee, also a Dorchester Group property, where she was the Hotel Manager and was key in the repositioning of that property.
Innovative and creative in her approach, her plans for Le Meurice are to revitalize and strengthen the image and renown of this much loved hotel. With a strong focus on communication, she intends to make much of its stupendous location opposite the famous Tuileries Gardens and the vibrant neighbourhood behind the hotel, as well as rejuvenating its jewel-like ambience. 'I am delighted to return to the Dorchester Group at a time when its stated goal is to grow its brand and it is poised to expand. I very much look forward to contributing to the development of the synergy between the Hotel Plaza Ath'en'ee and Le Meurice, which will strengthen the impact of the Dorchester Group on the Parisian market.'
Speaking of the appointment, Francois Delahaye, COO for the Dorchester Group said, 'I am absolutely delighted that Franka Holtmann has chosen to return to the Dorchester Group and join Le Meurice. Her professionalism, dynamism and in-depth knowledge of the luxury sector were a vital ingredient in the success of The Plaza Ath'en'ee and I know she will apply the same skills to Le Meurice, with undoubted success.'
The Dorchester Group was established in 1996 as an independent UK registered company to manage the evolving international collection of luxury hotels belonging to the Brunei Investment Agency in Europe and the United States.
The Dorchester Group collection of hotels currently consists of The Dorchester in London, The Beverly Hills Hotel in California, the H^otel Meurice in Paris, The Plaza Athen'ee in Paris and The Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan, all owned and managed by the Group.
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