Sherryn Bates appointed Director of Sales and Marketing for new Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai

The Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai, which will open in March 2003, has appointed Sherryn Bates as director of sales and marketing.

Ms Bates, an Australian national, joined Shangri-La at the beginning of 1997 as director of sales at the Shangri-La Hotel, Surabaya, Indonesia, before being promoted to director of marketing, a post she held until August 2000. She then became area director of sales and marketing for Indonesia and Fiji, based at the Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta.

Before joining Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Ms Bates spent two years in Vietnam, first as director of sales and marketing for the Hotel Equatorial in Ho Chi Minh City and then for the Century Saigon Hotel. Her career began in Western Australia and included four years with Japan Airlines.

In her new role Ms Bates will have overall responsibility for sales and marketing for the Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai, both locally and worldwide. She will be assisted by a team of 27.

Commented Ms Bates, "The Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai is not only our first hotel in the Gulf, it is our first hotel outside Asia Pacific and represents an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the Shangri-La culture and hospitality in an international arena. I am very excited to be joining this particular hotel at such a pivotal moment in Shangri-La's development."

Shangri-La has signed a management agreement with UAE-based Al Jaber Group to operate the deluxe five-star Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai. The 43 storey hotel, which forms part of a twin tower multi-purpose complex, is currently under development and will feature 301 guestrooms and suites, along with 126 service apartments. The complex is located near Dubai's World Trade Centre and the commercial districts.

This is the first of three new Shangri-La properties opening in the Gulf in the next three years and will be followed by Traders Hotel, Dubai, in July 2003 and Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort, Muscat, Oman, in early 2005.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently manages 38 hotels in the Chinese mainland, Fiji, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, with a rooms inventory of almost 20,000.