Wednesday, 9 October 2024
Hanna appointed COO of La Vie Hotels & Resorts
by Rose White
La Vie Hotels and Resorts has appointed Marcus Hanna as Chief Operating Officer. Hanna has over 25 years high-level experience in hospitality including almost 20 years with Accor.
La Vie was the first independent hotel operator, using the third-party model (also known as White Label Operators, WLO) in Asia Pacific, and has now cemented its presence in eleven countries, operating hotels and maintaining offices in key cities.
Hanna joins La Vie after almost two decades with Accor hotels, most recently as Vice President Operations Pacific, Sofitel, MGallery and Emblems. He has worked in Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane, as well as in London, Malta, San Francisco and Singapore, where he was Managing Director for Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel The Stamford.
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His career started at Sydney’s pioneering luxury hotel, The Regent, while he was completing a Hospitality Management course and also pursuing a sporting career in rowing, representing his country, Australia at World Championship level.
Before his career with Accor hotels, Hanna spent nearly a decade with InterContinental in Sydney, London, Malta, and San Francisco in leadership roles. He has opened and operated many award-winning hotels and worked as Project Manager for Sofitel on the opening of the Qantas First Class Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne. He has led award winning world first hotel innovations, including the first urban aquaponics farm within a hotel.
Hanna joins La Vie Hotels and Resorts at a time of major expansion for the group. Created and led by entrepreneur Jerry Xu, over the past year La Vie has grown its lifestyle portfolio with the addition of Adge Hotel and Residences, introduced NOOE Hotels and Restaurants with a flagship resort in the Maldives, and built up its senior leadership team in Sydney and Bangkok, which Hanna will now lead.
La Vie will soon open its first hotel in Laos, the Radisson Red in Vientiane, and will soon unveil the refurbishment of Hobart’s heritage hotel, The Islington.
Jerry Xu, CEO of La Vie said Hanna’s exceptional experience working with owners, operational excellence in hotels, and recognised leadership talent made him the ideal candidate to drive the group’s future progress.
“We work across multiple platforms – franchise, white label, and our own brands – with our success based on our ability to add value for owners and partners,” said Xu.
“We are committed to delivering performance and operational excellence, and Marcus has a proven record of bringing the best out of hotels and teams under his management.
“We are aiming to add some 20 additional hotels for the group over the next 18 months, and Marcus will play a key role in onboarding and integrating these hotels into our network.”
Hanna said he was looking forward to working for a company with such a rich vision for its future direction and its ability to deliver maximum value for owners and partners.
“Jerry Xu is a pioneer in the Asia Pacific hotel industry and I’m looking forward to contributing to La Vie’s expansion,” Hanna said.
“I have extensive international experience across the Asia Pacific region with luxury, upscale, and boutique properties; my focus will continue to be on building exceptional teams and driving superior returns for owners. Asia Pacific is gearing up to return fully to 2019 levels of travel, with leisure, business and conference travel all being boosted thanks to increased air capacity.”
“Connecting the regions and maximising the revenue opportunities for our hotels will help keep La Vie at the forefront of the industry,” Hanna said.
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