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Clermont Hotel Group (CHG) has announced its next key step in its people-first strategy with the internal appointment of five General Managers, showcasing the hotel group’s continued commitment to invest, train and develop its colleagues across its 14-hotel portfolio.
Natasha Ludlow has been appointed to lead the group’s historic The Royal Horseguards Hotel after seven years as General Manager at The Clermont Victoria. Stepping into the General Manager role at The Clermont Victoria is Michael Hedges, bringing his expertise of the Clermont brand to the hotel having previously held the position of General Manager at The Clermont Charing Cross. Parik Zala also moves from his role as Cluster General Manager within CHG’s Thistle hotels brand to take post as General Manager at The Clermont Charing Cross.
Dries Gadeyne and Akhilesh Gupta have both been promoted from Hotel Manager to General Manager, with Dries now set to oversee both Thistle Holborn and Thistle Bloomsbury Park, while Akhilesh will manage Thistle London Heathrow Terminal 5 and Thistle Express Luton.
The internal appointments come as part of a continued focus for CHG to support colleagues through its unique learning and development centre, ‘The Academy’. Designed to upskill and develop employees for long term careers within the Clermont Hotel Group, it provides tailored programmes, masterclasses and on-the-job training to staff across the group’s entire portfolio. Last year saw The Academy provide 48,000 hours of training to employees, an increase of 140% compared to the previous year.
The hotel group’s work has also been reflected in its certification under the Great Places to Work Scheme, which has seen CHG secure several wins at its Best Workplace Awards across five different categories, including Super Large Organisation, Development, Wellbeing, Women and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure. CHG has also recently announced Company Sponsored Membership of the Institute of Hospitality, seeing employees benefit from its on demand learning, practical resources and global networking opportunities.
Speaking on the announcement, CHG’s Chief Operating Officer, Paul Knightley, said: “We operate within a people-first industry, and our people are at the heart of our business. Ensuring our teams feel supported, empowered and valued forms the core of everything we do. At CHG, we have so many talented colleagues and it’s crucial for our people to continue to develop and take on new challenges across our diverse portfolio. Natasha, Michael, Parik, Dries and Akhilesh all demonstrate on a daily basis what it means to lead a CHG property, and they are all playing a key role in helping us in our journey to becoming the leading hotel operator in London. I look forward to seeing what’s next for our General Managers and the hotels they manage as each property enters its new chapter.”
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