Hotel Equatorial Penang Appoints William Hurley As General Manager

Online, June 7, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Hotel Equatorial Penang, the island's only golf and convention resort has appointed Mr. William Hurley as General Manager. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Hurley was operating a private consulting company based in Tokyo and Hawaii.

Having worked in the United States, Hawaii and Japan, Mr. Hurley, an American citizen, has amassed a considerable amount of experience in the service hospitality industry. He brings with him more than 33 years of extensive knowledge as a skilled leader in guiding organizations through periods of rapid growth and expansion, as well as repositioning programmes and strategic business development.

A Bachelor of Science, Business Administration graduate from the University of Denver in the United States, where he majored in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Mr. Hurley commenced his Management Development Program with the Sheraton hotel group at its headquarters in 1972. He worked through the ranks of Front Office Manager to Resident Manager, Hotel Manager and Managing Director at various Sheraton properties in the United States. At his last posting as General Manager at the Monterey Sheraton Hotel in California, Mr. Hurley successfully directed operation of the 350-room resort hotel from construction to its grand opening and led the team for its first four years of operation.

Mr. Hurley then took his professional career to the beautiful island of Hawaii where he led the team at three Sheraton hotels in Honolulu as General Manager and Managing Director. At the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel, he took the reigns as General Manager and steered the hotel's repositioning and renovation programme which subsequently earned a nomination for the ITT "Harold Geneen Award" for its outstanding financial performance. Following that, Mr. Hurley was awarded with the ITT Ring of Quality Award for "Workers Compensation Claims Management Project" in 1995 when he held the position of Managing Director for the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

During his tenure in Hawaii, he served as a member of the Council of Hawaii Hotels and actively engaged in labour contract negotiations with the Hawaii Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. He also designed and implemented a training programme entitled "The Acquisition and Retention of Customers" which is still emphasised and practiced until today.

Mr. Hurley's final posting was to the Sheraton Resorts Phoenix Seagaia in Miyazaki, Japan where he assumed the role of Vice President and Managing Director, a position he held until 2005. While in Japan, he successfully mastered conversational Japanese language as well as adequate reading and writing.

With his wealth of experience, Mr. Hurley had garnered several awards for himself and the properties under his helm. Apart from being honoured the ITT Sheraton Corporation General Manager of the Year several times, the hotels under his leadership also succeeded in becoming Hotel of the Year and Pre-Opening Hotel of the Year respectively.

At the Hotel Equatorial Penang, Mr. Hurley who has vast experiences and expertise in the industry is perfectly poised to lead the hotel to greater heights. Mr. Hurley is excited at his new posting in Malaysia and is looking forward to the rigours and challenges of working in a new environment. "This is indeed one of the most beautiful properties I have been in with the friendliest people. It is team effort that I believe in and I look forward to working together with the Equatorial family to ensure the hotel's advancement from now on."

Hotel Equatorial operates a chain of 7 superior first class hotels in China, Malaysia and Vietnam. With more than 3 decades of experience in offering affordable business-class accommodation in Asia, Hotel Equatorial is also recognized for its high quality food and beverage services, such as its award winning signature restaurants, the Golden Phoenix (Chinese) and Kampachi (Japanese).

Further information on the Equatorial is available at www.equatorial.com

Press Contact:
Adeline Goh
Communications / Public Relations Manager
Hotel Equatorial Penang
1, Jalan Bukit Jambul, Bayan Lepas
11900 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 6327113
Fax: +604 6448998
[email protected]