Manchester's Leading Hotel Welcomes Two New Appointments

The Rocco Forte Collection’s Lowry Hotel has recently appointed Peter Kienast as General Manager and Melanie Cash as Director of Sales and Marketing.

German-born Mr Kienast has an impressive 20 years experience in some of the most exclusive five star hotels across the world.  Ms Cash is an expert in her field and brings with her an in-depth knowledge of sales and marketing in the luxury hotel market.   

Overseeing all aspects of Manchester’s most talked about hotel, Mr Kienast will be responsible for day to day operations and strategic direction of the hotel, River Restaurant and River Bar, The Lowy Spa and its Conferencing and Banqueting product.

Mr Kienast has held many varying roles within the hotel industry, beginning his career with the Kempinski Group with roles in Dallas, Munich, Budapest and Istanbul, focusing mainly on Food and Beverage.  Following which he then held several senior roles across Western Europe including Food and Beverage Manager at The Langham in London; Food and Beverage Director of the renowned Reid’s Palace Hotel in Madeira and Executive Assistant of Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St Moritz, where he oversaw a major renovation of the hotel and introduced new food and beverage concepts.

In 2002, Mr Kienast took up his first General Manager position at the Grand Hotel Park, Gstaad where he repositioned the hotel in the Swiss market securing an award for best hotel in Switzerland in the Conde Nast Traveller Gold list.  After the hotel was sold Peter moved to Portugal to manage the Le Meridien Hotel Dona Filipa & San Lorenzo Golf Course.

In 2006 Mr Kienast was appointed General Manager of the luxurious and innovative Schloss Elmau in Germany. He led the pre-opening strategy and development of the hotel including planning, interior design and marketing. During his tenure at the hotel it won numerous awards and accolades including the Best Resort Hotel in Germany and winner of the best Spa in Europe.

On his appointment at The Lowry Hotel Mr Kienast comments:

 “I am very pleased to join both the Rocco Forte Collection and The Lowry Hotel.  We have an excellent team of colleagues working at the hotel and I am looking forward to helping them further develop. As a team we will continue to bring guests the high level of service and attention to detail that makes The Lowry Hotel the North West of England’s leading hotel.”

Melanie Cash joins The Lowry Hotel as  Director of Sales and Marketing, managing a team of eight people across sales, PR, conference, revenue, groups and VIPs.  Ms Cash has extensive industry knowledge, gained over her 25 years of experience in the hospitality business.

Previous roles include Director of Sales at The Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club;  Training Manager for Marriott Hotels and UK and Ireland Sales Training Manager for The Hilton Group.  In 2004 Ms Cash founded her own company providing consultancy and training for the hospitality industry.  Key clients included The Grove, Hertfordshire; Millennium Copthorne; Alton Towers; Visit Cheshire and Chester and The Brewery in London.  Most recently Melanie was working with The Belfry, where she maximised revenue and introduced new key accounts.

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For more information/images, please contact:
Anna Martin/Natasha Berg
The Rocco Forte Collection
Tel. 020 7766 3137
Email. nberg@roccofortecollection.com

The Rocco Forte Collection
The Rocco Forte Collection was established in 1996 to create a group of luxury hotels in Europe.
The hotels have individual styles, with each hotel reflecting its nationality and location. The
properties are inked together under The Rocco Forte Collection, which guarantees attention to
detail, quality and service delivery.

The Rocco Forte Collection comprises: Hotel de Russie, Rome; Hotel Savoy, Florence; The Balmoral,
Edinburgh; The Lowry Hotel, Manchester; Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg; Hotel Amigo, Brussels;
Brown’s Hotel, London; Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt; Hotel de Rome, Berlin; The Charles Hotel, Munich; The Augustine, Prague; Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily

Future openings: Abu Dhabi – 2010; Jeddah – 2012; Marrakech – 2012;