Hilton London Metropole appoints Bill Fisher as GM

Hilton London Metropole has appointed new general manager Bill Fisher to head up the largest Hilton outside of the US, following its multimillion-pound refurbishment earlier this year. He brings 22 years’ experience with 14 years’ working within Hilton in a number of hotels worldwide, and in his new role will head up an over 300 strong team. Having worked with over 18 hotels worldwide in locations spanning the US, Singapore, China and Thailand, Fisher will “apply his strategic knowledge” of operating in several markets to operations at Hilton London Metropole. Fisher joins Hilton London Metropole following its multi million-pound refurbishment that has “radically transformed and upgraded the guest experience”. The 1,100 guestrooms and suites have all been fully re-designed with a “contemporary and bold aesthetic”. The venue’s four restaurants and bars have also been relaunched with new drinking and dining concepts, including a neighbourhood restaurant, serving locally sourced ingredients and a new “suitably relaxed” market-style dining outlet, that will celebrate London’s street food scene. The hotel also features a new destination bar, Bow Bar, which is described as a “vibrant space” serving late-afternoon and night-time drinks, including quality spirits and East London crafted beers, and shareable small plates made with British ingredients and featuring the East End’s iconic Jellied Eels. A key focus of Fisher’s role will be maintaining the hotel’s high commitment to sustainability, investing in its people and continuing to provide an “exceptional” corporate events, conference, MICE and leisure experiences for guests. Fisher began his career in 1994, working up to acting general manager of Hilton Dali Resort and Spa in the Cangshan Mountains, China. He later moved on to director of operations at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, launching a new restaurant concept. His first general manager role was at the Hilton Chengdu in 2015 where he was appointed to open the hotel. He then moved onto area general manager roles, overseeing a number of Hilton hotels in China including Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and Urumqi. His latest role saw him responsible for five additional area hotels totalling 2,000 rooms and operating budgets. He said: “It’s such an honour to be appointed as general manager of Hilton London Metropole. The hotel is a flagship of style, quality and design. I’m incredibly passionate about building on the already positive culture and amazing guest experience, and levelling it up to reach our new goals. “I love getting to know our team members, remaining hands-on and look forward to working with the team to elevate every element of the hotel to reflect the beautiful refurbishment. With experience in some of the world’s most dynamic markets, I’m looking forward to bringing this energetic thinking to the London hotel, which already boasts some impressively diverse client relationships.”