SUMMIT HOTELS & RESORTS APPOINTS FIVE HOTELIERS TO NEW BRAND ADVISORY BOARD

Summit Hotels & Resorts has announced the appointment of five hoteliers, one of whom will act as Board Chairman, to its newly-established Advisory Board. The eight-member Advisory Board, set up following Summit Hotels & Resorts’ acquisition by Indecorp Corporation earlier this year, is designed to give independent hotel members a strong voice within the structure of the brand, as part of Summit’s aggressive strategy to challenge the chains in the global market place.

The new Board Chairman is David J. Colella, Managing Director and Vice President of The Colonnade Hotel, Boston. Like the other four hotelier board members, he is from a long-standing hotel member in Summit Hotels & Resorts’ 160-strong independent hotel portfolio, and represents one of the world regions where Summit’s hotels and resorts are located. The hotelier board members’ role is to guide Summit on a variety of brand issues ranging from quality assurance to building hotel revenues through the development and implementation of tailored marketing programmes and approval of new members.

The board also comprises three non-hotelier representatives: Summit’s managing director Geoff Andrew, together with Indecorp Corporation’s Chairman Peter Aeby and President & Chief Executive Officer Peter Cass.

Geoff Andrew said “The Advisory Board enables Summit to communicate directly with our principal stakeholders - our independent hotel members - and to capitalize on their wealth of expertise and the cultural breadth of our international portfolio. At the same time the board offers added value to our hotel members by ensuring Summit brand activities that reflect their needs in their individual markets. ”

David J. Colella commented: "It's an exciting opportunity for me to represent Summit Hotels & Resorts in this new capacity. As Chairman, I look forward to working with the board and member hotels to build the Summit brand worldwide, initiate strategic marketing programs and extend valuable reservation benefits. The new advisory board provides all member hotels with the ability to voice our opinions in determining the future direction of the Summit brand."

The five hoteliers elected to the Advisory Board are:

N America and Chairman of the Advisory Board: David J. Colella, Managing Director and Vice President of The Colonnade Hotel, Boston;

Latin America: Luz Maria Calvo, General Manager, Los Tajibos Hotel & Convention Center, Santa Cruz, Bolivia;

Asia Pacific: Frank Clovyn, General Manager, The Landmark Bangkok, Thailand;

N Europe: Lorenzo Cattaneo, General Manager, Hotel Excelsior, Munich, Germany;

S Europe: Lars Hansen, General Manager, Savoy Hotel, Madeira.