SH Group Makes Four Executive Hires to Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels.

. October 09, 2014

New York, NY - October 9, 2014 - SH Group, Starwood Capital's hotel brand management company, is pleased to announce the appointments of four executive hires to its two highly-anticipated new brands, Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels.

Andrew Turner has been named General Manager of Baccarat Hotel & Residences in New York, opening December 2014. Turner will directly oversee the launch and day-to-day operations of the brand's dazzling flagship hotel, located just off Fifth Avenue on 53rd Street, directly across the street from the Museum of Modern Art.

Turner brings more than 20 years of luxury hospitality experience to this exciting new role. Prior to joining the Baccarat Hotel team, he was General Manager of Anantara Villas, in Phuket, Thailand, where his leadership was recognized with the company chairman's Award of Excellence for outstanding contribution to service and financial results. Turner began his career at The Inter-Continental Sydney in his native Australia and proceeded to work his way up The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. ladder, holding management positions in Sydney, Australia; Atlanta, Georgia; Washington, DC; Shanghai, China; Doha, Qatar; and Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

As an extension of the legendary French crystal brand, which for 250 years has been synonymous with the highest level of artisanship and perfection, Turner is carefully curating an in-house team of passionate and committed individuals who can deliver an overall guest experience that is perfect on every level.

Shan Kanagasingham has been named New York City Area General Manager for 1 Hotels, a new luxury mission-driven brand debuting in early 2015 at the corner of Sixth Avenue and 58th Street. Kanagasingham brings 20 years of luxury experience to 1 Hotels where she will oversee leadership and direct daily operations for 1 Hotel Central Park, and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park, opening late 2015, located on the water just south of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Prior to joining the 1 Hotels team, Kanagasingham served as the General Manager of The Surrey Hotel, a Relais & Chateaux property located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. During her tenure at the hotel she increased both top line revenue, as well as average daily rate year-over-year, and successfully created a guest-centric service culture that impacted the overall guest experience. Before moving to New York, Kanagasingham served as Area General Manager for Viceroy Hotel Group in Miami, and has previously worked with the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, Raffles L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills, California and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC.

SH Group has also tapped two stellar directors of sales and marketing to join the teams at Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and 1 Hotels. Jennifer Rutkowski has been named Area Director of Sales & Marketing for Baccarat Hotels & Resorts, 1 Hotel Central Park and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park. Zachary Felter has been named Director of Sales & Marketing for 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, which opens in early 2015.

Jennifer Rutkowski joins 1 Hotels from The London Hotels where she most recently served as Vice President, Sales & Marketing, for the brand's hotels and restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. During her tenure, Rutkowski was responsible for consolidating and restructuring all sales, marketing and communication efforts to strengthen cross-promotion of the properties, resulting in a significant increase in room, and food and beverage sales. In addition to consulting for The Blackstone Group, Rutkowski has held various sales and marketing positions with Morgans Hotel Group, New Castle Hotels, Winfair Hospitality Management, and Renaissance Hotels & Resorts.

Zachary Felter brings extensive knowledge of the Miami hospitality market to 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach. Prior to 1 Hotels, he quickly accelerated from national sales manager to director of sales at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel where he managed a team of 11, established new programming that successfully met and surpassed sales goals, and created and executed the hotel's sales budget and plan, adjusting as necessary to meet goals. Felter began his career as a member of the sales team at the iconic Eden Roc Miami Beach Hotel.

"Each of these entrepreneurial minded, dynamic and passionate individuals has been chosen for their expertise and contributions to the industry," said Scott Rohm, President of SH Group. "They will each play an integral role in launching these two very distinct brands in their respective cities and we look forward to celebrating their successes as they champion the vision and philosophies of Baccarat and 1 Hotels."

For more information about the hotels, please visit www.baccarathotels.com or www.1hotels.com.

About SH Group

SH Group, an affiliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group, is a hotel brand management company that operates 1 Hotels, a nature-inspired lifestyle brand that will launch in 2015 with the opening of exclusive properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Miami's South Beach. The group also operates Baccarat Hotels & Resorts, a luxury brand set to debut in December 2014 with the opening of its flagship property in New York, followed by Rabat, Morocco in 2015 and projects under development in Dubai and Doha. Leveraging its marketing, design, operational and technological expertise, SH Group is the force behind some of the most groundbreaking and dynamic hotel brands in the world. Additional information can be found at 1hotels.com and baccarathotels.com.

About Baccarat Hotels & Resorts

Drawing upon the 250-year history of the iconic French crystal maker, Baccarat Hotels & Resorts delivers a distinctive, personalized experience in the world's most illustrious locales. Baccarat Hotels & Resorts will launch in 2014 with the opening of its flagship property in New York, followed by Rabat, Morocco in 2015. Distinguished by a singular sense of glamour and celebration, as well as a groundbreaking vision of modern luxury, Baccarat Hotels & Resorts sets a new standard for the ultimate lifestyle experience-reimagining excellence through impeccable service and inspired artistry. Additional information can be found at baccarathotels.com

About 1 Hotels

As a lifestyle hotel brand inspired by nature, 1 Hotels has a wild spirit and a lofty vision: to capture the beauty of nature in a hotel experience while creating a platform for social-conscience hospitality. 1 hotels bring together the best of eco-conscious design and sustainable architecture together with extraordinary comfort and an unrivalled level of service. 1 Hotels, which will launch in 2015 with the opening of exclusive properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Miami's South Beach, was developed with the simple idea that nature is beautiful and we all need to work to keep it that way. Each 1 Hotel upholds this vision by focusing on being more than a brand, but a cause. The hotels channel nature through design, culinary partnerships, and philanthropy. Additional information can be found at 1hotels.com.

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