Cycas welcomes four senior recruits

Cycas Hospitality, a hotel management specialist, has welcomed four senior recruits to support its growth across 12 European countries.

It has appointed its fourth vice president of operations, Donovan Sumner, to oversee the new 11-hotel addition to the Cycas portfolio, following its recent partnership with InterGlobe Enterprises. 

Sumner joins from Hotel Co 51 as regional operations director where he oversaw the management of 14 hotels across the UK, Italy and Norway. He brings over 18 years of hotel management experience across a wide range of brands, accommodation styles and countries, and previously worked for Belvar, where he was responsible for all UK Moxy hotels. 

Georg Bailer has been appointed the general manager of Hotel Darmstadt; the 194-room property which became Accor’s first greet-branded hotel when it rebranded last summer after a year of renovation. 

Over the last 28 years Bailer has built up his operational expertise working across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and brings extensive knowledge of the Frankfurt market. He managed several Marriott-branded hotels and was also responsible for all 60 H-Hotels in his capacity as director of operations. 

In addition, Nicolette Korstanje has joined the Cycas team as it prepares for the European debut of the Motto by Hilton brand this September, with Motto Rotterdam Blaak becoming the operator’s first property in the Dutch city. 

Korstanje is a specialist in the Rotterdam and Amsterdam markets with 12 years’ operational and commercial experience. She previously spent two and a half years as general manager of the Urban Residences in Rotterdam.

Zac Pearse joins Cycas as general manager of the design-led Bankside Hotel, a 161-room five-star property which forms part of Marriott International’s Autograph Collection and which Cycas took over the management of in June. 

His 19 years of hospitality expertise includes managing Malmaison’s flagship property, Charterhouse Square, London, and, most recently, working as area manager for Criterion Hospitality where he was responsible for developing four new hotel sites across London while overseeing the group’s 25 commercial and apartment buildings.

Apurva Pratap, managing director of Cycas Hospitality, said: “Having doubled our portfolio over the last year, it’s essential that we attract talented senior leaders to ensure we can continue delivering Cycas’s trademark positively outrageous service as we move into new markets. 

“We’re therefore delighted to welcome Donovan, Georg, Nicolette and Zac to the team, and are confident their deep-market knowledge will prove invaluable as we continue driving superior guest experience and outstanding investor returns.”