HAMILTON, BERMUDA Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. has appointed Roy Paul as chief development officer. Paul previously served in a similar capacity with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
“Roy’s appointment to this newly-created role signals our clear commitment to the considered and strategic long-term growth of the company,” says Paul White, president and CEO of Orient-Express. “Roy’s brief is to source acquisitions and management deals for Orient-Express Hotels as it continues to position itself as the market leader in luxury experience-based tourism.”
In a hospitality career spanning 30 years, Paul has been involved in conceiving, evaluating, structuring, planning, development, operations and asset managing hotels and resorts on a global scale. He joins Orient-Express from Cedar Capital Partners, an independent hotel investment firm, where he participated in a number of transactions, including the sale of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Prague and the purchase of Richemond Hotel in Geneva.
Before that, Paul led the development function at Four Seasons for more than 20 years. When Paul joined Four Seasons, his mandate was to transition the North America-focused operator with 19 properties to a global player with a mixed portfolio of resorts and urban properties. By 2007, the company operated 74 hotels in 31 countries. More than 50% of the properties were located outside of North America, and 30% of the portfolio was resort-oriented. His development leadership led to the establishment of over 50 Four Seasons properties and entry into 24 new countries.
“Orient-Express is a wonderfully evocative brand encompassing an intriguing and well-crafted portfolio of unique properties and leisure experiences in outstanding locations,” Paul says. “I am looking forward to the challenge of developing this collection and working with the management team to create a road-map for the company’s future growth.”