Paul Jackson announced as general manager of Claridge's
London's Claridge's hotel has announced the appointment of a veteran of Mandarin Oriental as its new general manager.
Paul Jackson, general manager at the Mandarin Oriental Sanya, China, for the past five years, will replace Thomas Kochs, who left Claridge's suddenly two months ago. He will take up his new position at the five-red-AA star, 197-bedroom hotel on 25 January.
A statement from Maybourne Hotel Group, Claridge's owner, said that Jackson brings "an enthusiastic and creative approach to the luxury hotel business".
Jackson has worked for Mandarin Oriental for 10 years, initially as executive assistant manager, food and beverage, in Hong Kong, and then as hotel manager in Bangkok, before moving onto his first general manager role at the 195-bedroom Mandarin Oriental Sanyo, a resort property on the island of Hainan.
He is familiar with the London market, having worked at Claridge's earlier in his career, as well as at the Ritz and within the Royal Household.
Kochs left Claridge's after nearly five years as general manager, in November. During his tenure, he increased the profile of the hotel by welcoming in TV cameras for the first time during its 159-year history for a three-part BBC TV documentary. Inside Claridge's was well received both inside and outside the industry for providing an insight into the exceptional service standards at the property.
The Maybourne Hotel Group, which operates the Berkeley and Connaught hotels as well as Claridge's, was acquired by Constellation Hotels, owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding, in April 2015. The sale marked the end of a four-year legal battle over the three hotels between the Barclay brothers and Northern Irish property investor Paddy McKillen.
