Raffles Hotels & Resorts Appoints New Regional Vice President of EMEA

Peter French has been appointed as the new Regional Vice President of Europe, Middle East and Africa for Raffles Hotels and Resorts. Mr French is the General Manager for Raffles Dubai, a five-star hotel that provides luxury Dubai holidays for leisure and business travellers from all over the globe.

The hotelier will continue in his role at Raffles Dubai and will also oversee operations for Royal Monceau-Raffles Paris and Raffles Praslin Seychelles, as well as new Raffles properties that are currently under development in EMEA.

President of Raffles Hotels and Resorts, John Johnston, said: "Peter‘s outstanding job in leading the team in Dubai is reflected in the hotel's impressive performance. He brings a wealth of international luxury experience to Raffles with in-depth background in operations, sales and marketing, human resources, finance, redevelopment, repositioning and transition.

"We are embarking on a new phase of expansion and Peter's experience in project development will be invaluable. I am delighted to make this appointment."

Originally from the United Kingdom, Mr French has over 40 years of international luxury hospitality experience and some of his previous roles include General Manager and Vice President of Operations and Development for Mandarin Oriental Hotels Group (1975-1986), and the General Manager of Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, The Sukothai in Bangkok, The Carlyle in New York and Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

The GM was previously nominated for "Hotel Manager of the Year" by the American Hotel and Catering Institute and Virtuoso, the Association of American Travel Agents and he is also a Fellow of Hotel Catering and Institutional Management Association.

Raffles Dubai is one of the most luxurious Dubai hotels with a unique pyramid-structure inspired by Egypt's great Pyramids, and a central location at the heart of the city's renowned shopping destination, Wafi.

The award-winning hotel boasts upscale accommodation comprising guest rooms and suites with private balconies, and an array of facilities for guests taking Dubai holidays, including ten restaurants and bars, Raffles Amrita Spa, an outdoor swimming pool, the Raffles Botanical Garden, a wellness area with full fitness centre, a library and personalised butler service.

The hotel group plans to open Philippines, Hainan, Indonesia and Maldives hotels in 2012.

About the Author

Born in Cuba and having lived and studied in London for over 5 years, Susana is a recent university graduate with a passion for travel who has taken much inspiration from the exotic destination she has visited throughout the years.

Upon graduating she has ultimately come to join an important UK tour operator specialised in Cuba holidays to share her love for travel with holidaymakers as the company's very own travel reporter and news editor. Her interest in the tourism industry was formed from a very early age, following her father's footsteps, a travel representative and manager, who worked for Cuba's national air carrier and whose travelling job was also the reason she found herself travelling from an early age and living in different parts of the world with her family.

Having travelled extensively herself, throughout her home country in Cuba, Europe and other faraway destinations in Asia and the Middle East, including exotic hot spots like China and Egypt, she continues to nourish and build upon her tourism knowledge to bring our travel readers with a fresh outlook on the latest happenings in the holiday industry.