Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has announced the appointment of Bernhard Haechler as general manager of the Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai.
Opening in March 2003, the five-star hotel will be the group's first property in the Gulf region. Prior to this appointment, Haechler was general manager of Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Shangri-La's Golden Sands Resort in Penang, Malaysia. He joined Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in 1993 as general manager of the Aberdeen Marina Club, located on the south side of Hong Kong Island. This was followed by general manager postings at the Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, Hong Kong; the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, Manila, Philippines; and the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. Haechler, who is a dual Swiss/South African citizen, brings with him more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. A graduate of the Hotel School in Lucerne, Switzerland, he began his career in Switzerland before moving to South Africa in 1978 to join the Southern Sun Hotel Corporation where he worked in several leading hotels.