Austrian-born Kurt Strohmayer, the head of Bucharest's biggest five-star hotel, JW Marriott, will leave the hotel late this month to set up his own company, in the field of hotel consulting services.
"The reasons for my departure are very simple. I am going to set up a company in the field of hospitality in Romania, more exactly in the field of hotel consultancy in Bucharest. I have already talked with potential partners. I want to stay here because I like this country," stated Kurt Strohmayer, 46, who has been running the hotel since 2003.
During his term, turnover generated by Societatea Companiilor Hoteliere Grand, which manages the 402-room JW Marriott hotel, almost doubled, to around 40 million euros in 2007, according to Finance Ministry data. In the same year, though, the company reported losses of above 11.3 million euros, from income worth almost 15 million euros a year ago. For 2008, the company did not publish its financial results, but expected turnover similar with the 2007 one, namely 40 million euros.
The position of chief executive officer will be taken over by Israeli-born Igael Porecki. Porecki, 59, has been, since 2002, the chief executive officer of Marriott and Courtyard (a Marriott chain brand) in Tbilisi, Georgia. He has a hotel management degree and speaks fluent English, German and Romanian, according to his CV posted on the company's website.
Porecki's appointment once again proves that Bucharest's five-star hotels, affiliated to international hotel chains, and managed under a management contract, are run by expats. These managers' wages can go as high as 10,000 euros.
Whereas in Romania there are many expats running hotels, there are no Romanians running hotels abroad. Ray Iunius, deputy manager with the hotel school of Lausanne, the most prestigious university in Europe in this field, accounts for this situation by the fact that "the market is still shaping up and we must become part of this trend".
JW Marriott, the hotel boasting the biggest revenues on Bucharest's hotel market, last year generated turnover put at 40 million euros.
Bucharest hotels in the first months of the year registered a declining occupancy rate, of below 50%, despite the lower accommodation rates. Nevertheless, Marriott chain will also bring the four-star Courtyard brand in Bucharest, some time in the next two years. The contract has already been signed with a developer and construction of the hotel that will operate 187 rooms, should start this year.
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