NIKI
LEONDAKIS
CEO , COMMUNE HOTELS & RESORTS , SAN FRANCISCO
The long-time Kimpton executive jumped across town last year to build up the infrastructure in support of the planned global growth of the Thompson Hotels-Joie de Vivre mash-up .
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Leondakis is working on organizational charts for the next three years and augmenting the Commune team with new talent , as well as developing people within the organization . She is also finalizing training and development workshop outlines designed for GMs to share sales and revenue management best practices , creating Commune University to train and develop future managers in support of the global growth strategy and developing individual hotel guest satisfaction and RevPAR penetration goals . If that is not enough , Commune is developing two new brands , so website architecture plans are prominent in her inbox .
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Leondakis is working on global growth strategies for each brand , targeting specific primary and secondary markets within North America and gateway cities throughout Asia , Europe and South America . She is designing a Commune customer loyalty program that will leverage the customer base , and with the help of new CIO Mike Blake , she is working on an integrated in-room entertainment system that also serves as a virtual concierge .
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Fattal is planning to invest € 30 million ( US $ 39 million ) over the next two years to renovate and redesign the newly acquired hotels and bring them to the level of the Leonardo brand . The former Holiday Inn Düsseldorf City Centre-Königsallee , as well as the former Best Western Queens Hotel Baden-Baden , will be re-branded to the 4-star Leonardo Royal Hotels . This summer , Leonardo will open its sixth hotel in Berlin — the Leonardo Hotel Berlin Mitte , located at Friedrichstrasse and part of a mixed-use zone designed by Philippe Starck .
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Fattal wants to continuously negotiate projects in major European cities and eventually expand to the United States and Africa . In Israel , he is about to open a luxury spa hotel on the Dead Sea under the Herods brand . In 2014 , the company will open the Leonardo Plaza in Natanya , Israel , and plans to renovate the mythological “ Goldar ” hotel in the city and turn it into a 170-room luxury hotel . In addition , Fattal is investing ILS20 million ( US $ 5.5 million ) to turn the Leonardo Plaza Jerusalem to a Herods hotel , and in Herzlia , Israel , he is building a 230-room Herods hotel at the marina .
DAVID FATTAL
CEO , FATTAL HOTELS & RESORTS , TEL AVIV , ISRAEL
The biggest hotel operator in Israel has been spreading his wings and is now among the more influential owner-operators in Germany , especially after his recent acquisition of 20 hotels from Queens Moat Houses ( Germany ) Holding GmbH . Many of the hotels have already been rebranded to his Leonardo Hotels group . Fattal now has 85 hotels , of which 54 are in Europe . www . hotelsmag . com June 2013 HOTELS 23