Top international award for young Corinthia Hotels manager

Thirty-three-year-old Maltese national, Roderick Micallef, acting general manager and director of finance at the CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI) operated five-star Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in Portugal, was proclaimed winner of the prestigious International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Young Leader Award 2010. The award, co-sponsored by IHIF and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC), was presented to Roderick Micallef by Jonathan Worsley, chairman Bench Events, co-organizers of the forum, and ISCH chairman Angelos Loizou, during a special plenary session of the 13th edition of the IHIF held in Berlin, Germany, on March 8-10, 2010.

Now in its second year, the Young Leader Award was created by IHIF, in conjunction with ISHC, to celebrate the excellence of young emerging leaders in the hospitality industry and to reward an outstanding individual with the title of IHIF Young Leader of the Year. The IHIF Young Leader must be under 35 years of age, currently work in a hospitality-related field, have completed a significant project for his or her hotel or organization and be recognized by leaders of his or her own hotel or organization as an emerging leader. He must also be based in a European country. The judging panel for the Young Leader Award 2010 included no less than 15 top professionals from the leading hospitality brands worldwide.

“Following the success of last year’s Young Leader Award, we are delighted to again reward another deserving young leader in the industry,” said Bench Events chairman Jonathan Worsley: “It’s extremely important to look for the rising stars in the industry to acknowledge their contributions and encourage them to even greater achievements. It is more important than ever before to focus on the leadership of the future in a time of economic uncertainty.”

Congratulating Roderick on his achievement, CHI Hotels & Resorts CEO and managing director Tony Potter commented: “We entrusted Roderick with the dual role of acting general manager and director of finance of Lisbon’s largest hotel and spa at such a tender age, because we strongly believe that he has the potential to become one of the best leaders in the Industry. With his energy, positive attitude, personality, and knowledge, Roderick is fast developing our Corinthia Hotel Lisbon into one of the world’s greatest MICE and spa destinations. He has introduced innovative hotel products and marketing initiatives, while constantly focusing on customer service excellence and employee motivation. Corinthia is driven by a central belief that if we treat our team members well, in return they will deliver exceptional service to our guests, and that will bring success to Corinthia, and great satisfaction to each one of us that works for this remarkable company.”

After working at other Corinthia hotels in Malta, Roderick Micallef was appointed to the role of director of finance at the Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in January 2004. In May of last year, he also successfully took on the additional job of acting general manager and has since achieved success in both assignments, maximizing on revenues, strengthening brand awareness, and increasing customer loyalty. Within the first few months of taking over general management responsibility for the hotel, Roderick oversaw two major projects that have enhanced the hotel’s portfolio of products: the completion of a new state-of-the-art business center, innovatively launched with a “Meet for Free” promotional offer, and the development of the Malo Spa – the largest spa complex in the city. Corinthia Hotel Lisbon is one of seven five-star landmark hotels owned by International Hotel Investments plc, a leading Maltese company, which is listed on the Malta Stock Exchange and which has entrusted the management of its hotels to its subsidiary company CHI.

An elated Roderick thanked the co-sponsors for the unexpected recognition: “I feel honored to be following in the steps of last year’s winner, Leslie McGibbon, senior vice president of corporate affairs for InterContinental Hotels Group. Corinthia Hotels, for whom I work and without whom I would not be here, is, of course, a much smaller organization, but no less concerned with the development of its young people. So I’d like to dedicate this award to all the young people who work in the seven Corinthia hotels and in the wider family of hotels, which are managed by CHI Hotels & Resorts. It’s often said that young people are the life-blood of an industry. Corinthia turns this saying into a reality but with respect for the contribution that all its team members bring. Any number of hotel companies could have helped me grow into a competent hotelier, but Corinthia trained me to become an expert in hospitality, which means much, much more. Corinthia is constantly on the look-out for those young men and women who will take pride in their own ability to go beyond what is strictly necessary to achieve a true masterpiece of hospitality service. My message to young hoteliers is to come and join Corinthia and one day, they, too, could be standing here, holding a trophy such as this.”

The International Hotel Investment Forum is a world-class conference aimed at bringing the industry together in a first-class location to deliver the very best educational program, outstanding networking opportunities, and the most senior level professionals from all areas of the industry. The conference agenda included interviews with leading hoteliers, forecasts from top economists, panel discussions on the latest developments, and trends and best practice in the hotel and investment industry, with an inspirational keynote speaker to conclude the three-day event. An average of 140 speakers, all leaders in their specialized fields, took part in the conference, ensuring that the program was as interesting and diverse as possible.

ABOUT CORINTHIA HOTELS

Corinthia Hotels is an internationally-acclaimed brand of luxury hotels in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Libya, Malta, Portugal, and Russia. Founded by the Pisani family of Malta in the 1960s, the Corinthia brand stands in that proud tradition of Mediterranean hospitality, and its signature services communicate the “Warm smiles, Inspired Flavors and Pleasant Surprises” of its Maltese heritage. All Corinthia hotels feature state-of-the-art conference areas, extensive leisure and business traveler facilities, and are each renowned for their uniqueness of character. Corinthia Hotels’ portfolio includes two award-winning properties: The Corinthia Hotel Budapest, Hungary – winner of Europe’s “Best Hotel Architecture Award” and member of “The Most Famous Hotels in the World” and The Corinthia Hotel Prague in the Czech Republic – the first hotel ever to win “Best Gastronomy Concept” in the Czech Republic and a recipient of the “5 stars and 6 stripes” designation from renowned US reviewer Seven Stars and Stripes. The Corinthia Hotels portfolio also features the elegant Corinthia Palace Hotel and Spa and the splendid Corinthia Hotel St. Georges Bay in Malta; the superior five-star Corinthia Hotel Tripoli, Libya; the modern Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in Portugal; and the renowned Corinthia Hotel St. Petersburg, Russia. The latest addition to the Corinthia Hotels portfolio is the Corinthia Hotel, Whitehall Place, London – due to open at the end of 2010.

ABOUT CHI HOTELS & RESORTS

Based in Malta, CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI) is a leading hands-on hotel management company that provides the full range of technical assistance and management services to hotel owners worldwide. CHI is the exclusive operator and developer for the luxury Corinthia Hotels brand, as well as the Wyndham and Ramada Plaza brands in Europe, Africa, and The Middle East. CHI draws on a heritage of over 45 years in delivering high-quality services to hotel guests and an optimum rate of return to owners and investors in diverse business environments. Our experience across our three brands extends to management of luxury and upscale properties in city and resort locations and products ranging from boutique to conference and spa hotels.

ABOUT ISHC

The International Society of Hospitality Consultants is truly the world’s greatest source for hospitality expertise and counsel, represented by some two hundred of the industry’s most respected professionals from across six continents. Collectively, ISHC members have experience and expertise in over fifty different areas of specialty in the industry. Specialty areas include appraisals, arbitration, architectural and engineering services, asset management, construction and project management, feasibility, executive search, food service, franchise expertise, legal services, operational reviews, marketing and sales, organizational development, research, training, strategic planning, and technology.