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Press Release - Former Marriott boss to head Crowne Plaza's return to city Centre Manchester
Manchester’s new Crowne Plaza, due to open in September, has brought in experienced hotel boss Bob Fairweather to be its general manager.
Bob, 39, is joining the hotel from the Manchester Airport Marriott where he was general manager for the past five years.
“Bringing the Crowne Plaza brand back to the centre of Manchester after a four-year absence is a fantastic opportunity and an exciting challenge,” said Bob.
“My main challenge is to recruit the best people who are passionate about hospitality and who have an outstanding commitment to customer service – after all it will be this that will set us apart and that will be the reason for guests to return.”
The Crowne Plaza Manchester City Centre on Shudehill will boast 228 contemporary and bedrooms. Those looking for a little extra luxury and exclusive lounge access will head to the top floor where they will find 24 Club rooms and the Plaza Suite.
The hotel will also contain a destination restaurant serving fresh locally sourced food, while businesses will be able to make use of nine conference rooms. One of these will accommodate up to 300 delegates in theatre style seating.
The Crowne Plaza Manchester City Centre is operated by Liverpool-based hotel developer Centre Island and can be found on the Web at www.cpmanchester.com
For more press information please contact John Butters on 07788 432343 or jbutters@bellpottingernorth.co.uk or Richard Clein on (0151) 229 1780 / 07803 729 133 or rclein@bellpottingernorth.co.uk
Notes to editors:
Centre Island is a Merseyside based, privately funded limited company specialising in the development and management of award-winning internationally branded franchised hotels.
The instantly recognisable portfolio consists of Crowne Plaza Liverpool, Crowne Plaza Birmingham City Centre, Express by Holiday Inn hotels at Albert Dock and John Lennon Airport, Holiday Inn hotels in Liverpool, Ellesmere Port, Preston and the exclusive 62 Castle Street Liverpool. A further Crowne Plaza hotel, currently under construction in the vibrant Northern Quarter of Manchester’s city centre, is due to open in September 2008.
Current annualised group turnover is £32m and employees number 800 across its eight hotels, making Centre Island Merseyside’s largest hotel employer.
Founded in 1995, the company has earned an excellent reputation for the selection of suitable development opportunities, resulting in a portfolio of highly profitable and customer-focused hotels of both freehold and leasehold tenures.
The development of the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels in Liverpool by Centre Island (opened 1998 and 2000 respectively) is often seen as the start of the regeneration of the hotel market within Liverpool city centre and a key contributor to the campaign that led to the Capital of Culture Award in 2008.
The hotels target the corporate/business traveller through a wide variety of globally recognisable brands operating in every hotel sector from upscale to limited service. Centre Island is an approved franchisee for brands offered by the major hotel companies such as Marriott/Ramada, Accor and the InterContinental Hotels Group.
Its proficiency as owners and operators of quality hotel products extends far beyond the development stage. Once open the hotels operate to the highest standards of product and service, demonstrated both by their ability to out-perform the competition financially and by the many awards that Centre Island receives from professional bodies, franchisors, customers and most importantly its workforce.