Andrew Batchelor retires from Landmark London

Andrew Batchelor has stepped down from his role as general manager at The Lancaster Landmark Hotel Company after 32 years of service. During his eight year tenure at The Landmark London as GM and custodian of the five-star luxury site, the hotel achieved a number of accolades, including an ‘Investors in People’ Platinum Level Accreditation in 2018, the first and only hotel in the world to do so. It was also named the AA Hotel of The Year London 2019-2020 and was placed fourth in The Sunday Times ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ in 2019. During his time at the site, Batchelor oversaw various refurbishment projects, including renovations of its 300 bedrooms, 11 banqueting suites, award winning spa and health club and public facing areas. He also oversaw the company through the pandemic. Batchelor spent 24 years of his career working at the hotel’s sister property, the Royal Lancaster London. He began in 1989 as F&B manager, before progressing to director of events five years later and then being promoted to hotel manager. According to the company, he has led The Landmark London to an “unparalleled level of success, and achieved this by embedding a culture based on the hotel’s four core values, which are respect, integrity, continuous improvement and fun”. It cited one of his greatest achievements as introducing the Dale Carnegie training programme to the hotel, which has been “instrumental in shaping the culture of the organisation”. During this time at The Landmark London, Batchelor achieved the Dale Carnegie Leadership Award in September 2018. Tosaporn Sihanatkathakul, executive director of The Lancaster Landmark Hotel Company said: “Throughout his career, Andrew has been dedicated to excellence and by leading with this example, he has taken The Landmark London to new heights. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Andrew and to see how he has successfully handled the challenges of the last few years. “He has made a huge contribution to the success of the business and can be proud of all the achievements that the hotel has secured under his exceptional leadership.” Brian Hladnik, managing director of The Lancaster Landmark Hotel Company, added: “It is with great regret to see the retirement of Andrew Batchelor from the position as General Manager at The Landmark London. He has been with the company since its inception, with the purchase of Royal Lancaster in early 1994. “We have been very fortunate to work with him over such a long and extended period. I have the utmost gratitude for his tremendous service and contribution and in the recent years, under Andrew’s leadership, The Landmark London has gone from strength to strength, winning many awards and accolades.” Batchelor said: “It’s been an honour and privilege to work for Khun Jatuporn, the Sihanatkathakul family and Brian Hladnik and I’m very proud to have been the General Manager of this exceptional five-star Grande dame hotel. It has been an amazing experience working with the team in shaping its culture and providing exceptional service to our guests.”