July 2008
Hotel credit controller steals more than £23,000
A credit controller working at one of the top hotels in the North-east was able to steal more than £23,000 over a year-and-a-half.
Tracey Walker, who was employed at the Ramside Hall Hotel and Golf Club, on the outskirts of Durham, made more than 100 bogus refunds to customers, with the money being paid on to her own credit card, Durham Crown Court heard.
She started stealing after her marriage broke up and she began drinking heavily, the court was told.
The 41-year-old, from Fence Houses, near Sunderland, admitted theft of £23,825 between December, 2005, and July, last year.
Stephen Orange, prosecuting, said: “Hotel managers were unhappy with her work in connection with a sales ledger and she received a written warning in April 2007, before resigning in July, rather than face a disciplinary hearing.
“It was only after she left, the bank noticed seven suspicious transactions in the last month of her employment totalling £1,299.”
Walker was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years
The judge, recorder Simon Brown, said: “One of the more worrying aspects of the case was the lack of apparent control the hotel had over its finances.
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The Ramside, which is a four-star hotel, with 80 rooms, each costing up to £275 a night, did not comment on the case.
Michele Meoni - Best hotelier 2007
Early July 2008, the House of Guides publishing house launched its seventh edition of House of Guides "Best Hotels and Restaurants" Romania 2008-2009.
The event took place at JW Marriot Hotel Bucharest and benefited from the presence of Mr. Mihai Rajnita, president of FI HR, Mr. Marius Nedeleanu from IMMCTPL Romania and Mrs. Ioana Irimiea, executive director al House of Guide.
The House of Guides representatives declared that the main criteria for choosing the winners were: the top level of quality of the services offered the evolution of the business and the consistency in quality.
Honored, Mr. Michele Meoni declared: "It makes me very proud and I would like to thank for receiving this prize. Its achievement is due to my staff and especially to Mr. Radu Enache, president of Continental Hotels who gave me opportunity to come to Romania and accomplish.
We do have an ambitious program: we'll invest 135 million Euro in the next years that will deliver us 21 new properties. The other achievement that I wish to mention is the developing of a sophisticated system of Customer Care, which will bring the added value and will represent the competitive advantage of our Continental Hotel Group".
This prize is awarded few days after the Continental Hotels' COO received the "Most Admired Hospitality Leader 2008", accorded by BBW (Bucharest Business Week), Unimpresa Romania and The Embassy of Italy.
Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Robyn Jones top vocational rich list
Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Robyn Jones, Delia Smith and Gary Rhodes are the highest placed hospitality industry stars on the latest City & Guilds Vocational Rich List, published today.
The Vocational Rich List tracks the fortunes of businessmen and women who started their career with a vocational qualification or training course and is now in its sixth year.
Of hospitality’s representatives, Michelin-starred Gordon Ramsay comes highest at 50 on the list with a personal fortune of £50m. Snapping at his heels in 55th place is Jamie Oliver, worth £40m at the age of 33.
Robyn Jones, chief executive of contract caterer Charlton House, is 74th on the rich list and worth £20m, while chef and cookery writer Delia Smith comes 85th with a personal fortune of £15m.
Gary Rhodes, who picked up a Michelin star for Rhodes W1, is 92nd on the list with just £10m to his name.
Bob Coates, managing director at City & Guilds, said: “It’s encouraging to see that many of the entrepreneurs who started their careers with a catering qualification continue to flourish.”
Prosecutions for hiring illegal workers rise
The number of employers prosecuted for hiring illegal workers has risen dramatically since February.
So far 352 businesses have been hit with fines since the points-based system for skilled migrant workers came into force.
According to an investigation by Caterersearch sister site Personneltoday.com just 15 businesses were fined for employing illegal workers in 2007 before the point-based system came into force.
Employers face fines of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker they employ, and more than £3.4m worth of fines have been issued according to the UK Border Agency.
In May the Home Office began a name-and-shame policy for companies that had paid their fines.
It currently lists 34 employers across the UK, including 25 catering businesses.
According to Jabez Lam, co-ordinator of the Chinese Immigration Concern Committee, which is part of the Ethnic Catering Alliance, 73% of the 34 businesses named and shamed were catering businesses of which the overwhelming majority (64.7%) were ethnic caterers.
Nearly seven in 10 (69%) of all illegal workers found in name and shamed businesses worked in catering generating £197,000 worth of fines for the industry.
The remaining 322 cases are yet to be resolved so are not yet listed by the Home Office.
A spokeswoman for the Home Office refused to break-down the remaining cases by industry sector.
The Connaught Hotel Unveils Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
The Connaught Hotel and internationally acclaimed Chef Hélène Darroze are delighted to announce the opening of the celebrated chef’s eponymous restaurant ‘Hélène Darroze at The Connaught.’ Hélène Darroze at The Connaught reinforces the Mayfair landmark’s remarkable 110 year legacy of discreet elegance, bespoke service and fine dining. The Connaught has recently emerged following an historic 8-month, $140 million restoration. The detailed restoration work included a magnificent redesign of the guest rooms, suites and interiors, and brought together some of the world’s finest designers and craftsmen. The legendary hotel has been brought into the 21st century while preserving with great care its authentic elegance, distinctive personality and intuitive style of service.
Hailed as one of France’s most distinguished chefs, two-Michelin starred Hélène Darroze is also the owner of the widely praised Hélène Darroze restaurant on the Parisian Left Bank. For her restaurant at The Connaught, she has chosen a menu that reflects her signature style of cuisine. This includes a combination of traditional produce from her native Landes in South West France, coupled with some of the finest ingredients from the British Isles. In addition to signature dishes including Gillardeau oyster tartare with caviar d’Aquitaine jelly and Le Poulet Jaune de Chez Monsieur Duplantier, guests will discover le sole de Douvres, a traditional British dish, and with a nod to the local butchers on Carlos Place, guests will enjoy le boeuf Aberdeen Angus de chez Allen’s of Mayfair.
Reflective of Hélène Darroze’s passion for the finest, simplest ingredients, guests will be greeted on arrival in the restaurant by artfully displayed freshly made breads, selected cheeses by master fromagerie Bernard Anthony, pots of wild herbs and reels of freshly churned butter. Guests will also delight in the trolley with an antique fire-engine red Berkel meat slicer where the Jambon noir from Bigorre in Gascony is served straight off the bone.
Commenting on her opening at The Connaught, Hélène Darroze said ‘I shall be cooking in the same way that I do in Paris. I live by the philosophy that the star is not the chef, but the produce that I use, and you must treat it respectfully. I will then cook it from my heart, and put my emotions into every dish.’
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Thomas Storey has been promoted to President of Fairmont, succeeding Chris Cahill, who moves into the role of Chief Operating Officer. Over the last seven years, Storey has held a number of leadership roles within the company, most recently as Executive Vice President, Development. A Cornell graduate, before joining Fairmont, he held senior management positions with a number of U.S. lodging companies including Marriott, Doubletree, Radisson and Promus.
InterContinental Hotels Group has named David Tessier Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in the Americas region, taking over for the recently promoted Rick Kowaleski. Tessier was most recently the Chief Financial Officer for Kerzner International. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Ian Schrager Hotels in New York and Senior Vice President for Hilton. He also spent 17 years at Marriott International.
Julien Debarle has returned to Mexico City to take over from Carlo Bicaci as Director of Operations for the eleven hotels managed by Presidente InterContinental. He will be based at the InterContinental Mexico City where he formerly served as Executive Assistant Manager. Debarle previously held the General Manager position for the InterContinental Miami and the InterContinental Cleveland, before taking over his most recent role as General Manager of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand.
Wolfgang Jonas has joined the Fairmont Miramar as Director of Operations. Most recently, he was briefly at the Beverly Wilshire as Director of Rooms. Jonas previously served as General Manager of the Hotel Kura Hulanda Spa and Casino in Curaçao. In addition, he has served in various rooms management positions at the Four Seasons Atlanta, the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Arts in Barcelona.
Anthony Dombrowik has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer of Red Lion, taking over for Anupam Narayan who recently became President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Dombrowik was most recently serving as the company's Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller.
The InterContinental Boston has named Kenneth Ng Director of Sales and Marketing. He was previously the Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hotel @ MIT.
Florian Hugo has been named opening Executive Chef for Brasserie Cognac in New York City. He was most recently the Chef de Cuisine at the Four Seasons New York. He has previously worked with Alain Ducasse in Paris and at the former restaurant in the Essex House.
Duncan O’Rourke has taken over as Chief Operating Officer of the Kempinski Hotel Group based in Geneva. He replaces Michel Novatin, who takes on the Chief Executive Officer position for Shaza Hotels later this year. O’Rourke previously held various positions with Rosewood, Marco Polo and Mövenpick. Novatin replaces Chris Hartley, who will now be Chief Executive Officer of Global Hotel Alliance, of which both Kempinski and Shaza are members.
Philippe Gas is the new President of Euro Disney, replacing Karl Holz. Since 2006, Gas had been the Vice President Human Resources for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As for Holz, he has been promoted to President of new projects and operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Regis Lecendreux has returned to Paris to join the Warwick Westminster as General Manager. He previously served as General Manager for the Hotel de Castille in Paris before his most recent position in Monte Carlo as Regional Director for the Stein Group. In addition, Lecendreux is a former General Manager for both the Lancaster and the Montalembert in Paris.
Major change in the award-wining kitchens of the Four Seasons George Cinq in Paris: Chef Philippe Legendre, who had earned the hotel its first, second and third Michelin stars (until Michelin demoted its restaurant, Le Cinq, to Two Stars) is moving on, leaving the hot seat to Eric Briffard. May sound familiar to the latter who, as a Two-Michelin-starred Chef at the Plaza-Athénée a few years ago, had been let go to make room for Alain Ducasse. Briffard joins Le Cinq from Les Elysées du Vernet, another Two-Michelin-starred venue.
Isabelle Alexandre has relocated to Portugal as the Chef de Cuisine for the Sofitel Lisbon. This is return to Lisbon for Alexandre, a Lausanne grad, after previously serving as Executive Sous Chef of Le Méridien Park-Atlantic. She has also overseen the kitchen at the Old Angler's Inn in Maryland and the defunct Citronelle in Santa Barbara.
Connor O'Leary has moved with Hyatt to the ANdAZ London as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. He was formerly the Assistant Food and Beverage Manager at the Ritz London.
Philippe Caretti has returned to Jakarta to rejoin the Mulia Hotel Group as Senior Vice President. A graduate of the Ecole Hotelière de Lausanne, he was previously the General Manager for the Hotel Mulia Senayan in Jakarta before his most recent post with Wynn Las Vegas as Senior Vice President/General Manager of Resort Operations. In addition, he has held various key positions with Shangri-La for thirteen years, including that of Area Vice President and General Manager of the Shangri-La Makati in Manila.
Tony Cousens has joined Jumeirah International in Singapore as Senior Vice President Asia Pacific. For the past three years, he held the post of General Manager for the Marina Mandarin in Singapore. Previously, he was with Méridien Hotels for nineteen years, serving as General Manager of the Le Royal Méridien King Edward Hotel and overseeing sales and marketing for the corporate office in London and in Hong Kong.
Richard Hartman is the latest Chief Executive Officer at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels in Singapore. Since 1999, Hartman has held senior positions at InterContinental Hotels Group, most recently as Managing Director of InterContinental Hotels Group, Europe, Middle East, and Africa and prior to that as Managing Director of InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific. Before joining IHG he served as the President of ITT Sheraton North America and President of ITT Sheraton Asia Pacific.
Replacing Jason Friedman at the Four Seasons Golden Triangle is Michel Volk. He was most recently the Director of Rooms at the Four Seasons Provence Terre Blanche.
Guy Hutchinson has been named General Manager of the Hilton Shanghai, taking over for the recently retired Volkmar Ruebel who had served as General Manager of the hotel since 1995. Hutchinson joined Hilton in 1997 and had been the General Manager of the Hilton Cairns since 2005.
Denis Thouvard has joined the Bora Bora Nui Resort as General Manager. Recent postings included some as Manager at the Royal Phuket Yacht Club and the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. Thouvard is also a former Executive Assistant Manager of the Repulse Bay Hotel in Hong Kong.
Jean-Pierre Mainardi has signed on as General Manager of the Hilton Sanya Resort & Spa. He joins the resort from the Nile Hilton in Egypt, which he managed for five years. Prior to this, he held management positions at Hilton Hotels worldwide in Brussels, London, New York, Bangkok, Lahore, Bahrain, Turkey, Strasbourg and Glasgow.
Bernhard Langer has been promoted to Executive Assistant Manager at the Westin Beijing. He joined the property in pre-opening and was most recently the Director of Food and Beverage for the hotel.
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