Swiss Markus Kraus will be the new General Manager of the Radisson Blu and Park Inn hotels in Bucharest starting April 1, 2016. He will be in charge of one of Bucharest’s biggest hotel compounds, which includes almost 700 rooms and apartments, 8 bars and restaurants, and a conference center.

Kraus will replace Scotsman Bert Fol, who will move to Istanbul as General Manager of Radisson Blu Bosphorus Hotel and District Director of the Rezidor Group’s operations in Turkey, the group announced. Fol has been in charge of the Radisson Blu hotel in Bucharest since April 2014.

Markus Kraus is a skilled hotelier with over 25 years of experience in well-known international hotel chains such as Hilton and Meliá. He has pre-opening experience in Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region as well as expertise in operations and general management. He is a graduate from the famous Hotel School Lausanne and is fluent in three languages.

Kraus also founded Swiss International Hospitality Consulting, a consulting firm with a wide network of highly experienced hospitality professionals around the world.

“In addition to his position as General Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel, Bucharest, Markus will be responsible for the Park Inn by Radisson Bucharest Hotel & Residence and for the revenue development of both hotels,” reads the group’s press release.

The hotel complex includes 487 rooms at the Radisson Blu five-star hotel on Bucharest’s Calea Victoriei and 210 rooms and apartments at the adjoining Park Inn by Radisson 4-star apart-hotel inaugurated in 2015. The compound also has 8 bars and restaurants, a conference center, and a wide array of leisure facilities operated by World Class Health Academy.

Romanian company Bucuresti Turism, which owns the hotel compound, had revenues of EUR 25.5 million and a net profit of EUR 2.5 million in 2014, according to official data from the Ministry of Finance. The owner of Bucuresti Turism is Israeli group Elbit Imaging, which is listed on NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Park Inn hotel managers unveil expansion plans in Romania

Romanian Radisson Blu hotel owner pays EUR 15 mln for delisting

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com