Starwood pays tribute to late GM John Pelling

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has paid tribute to John Pelling, general manager of The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi, who was tragically killed in a car crash on April 25.

Pelling had managed the luxury St Regis hotel since September 2010, opening the property in December 2011 and leading a team of nearly 700 at the resort.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Middle East senior vice president, regional director, Guido de Wilde said the group would “miss a dear friend”.

“We have lost a fantastic colleague in John, who was loved and respected by all his associates and certainly touched the lives of many at Starwood,” said de Wilde.

“As we get through this difficult time, we cannot help but reflect on John’s time with us and the impact he has had on his team. John had all the qualities of a great general manager — he was a strong leader, a father figure and mentor to all his associates, and above all, he was a friend to all.

"He possessed enthusiasm and energy which motivated all those around him. It is thanks to John’s leadership, passion and commitment, that The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort has positioned itself as one of the finest destinations in the region.

“We will miss his smile and his sense of humour. We will miss a dear friend,” de Wilde said.

Pelling began his career in 1980 in London, UK, working his way through some of the capital’s more famous venues including The Dorchester, The Park Lane Hotel The Café Royal. In 1991, he moved to Hong Kong with the Peninsular Group and then remained in Asia with Hilton in Indonesia, China and South Korea.

In 1999, Pelling arrived in the UAE, and was involved in the successful openings of several high-profile projects in Dubai, including the Jumeirah Emirates Towers and the Madinat Jumeirah. Following his move to China as a regional vice president for Swissotel Hotels and Resorts, he transferred back to Dubai as GM of the newly-opened Raffles Dubai, before joining Starwood.

Pelling was a regular contributor to Hotelier Middle East, through which he documented the pre-opening of The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi via a series of diary entries in the magazine and online.

Through this, he revealed not only his dedication to his team but the sense of humour that many will remember him for.

“We have also held a St. Regis immersion for the team. We are very proud of the St. Regis name, so it is essential that everyone fully understands the history, values and style of the brand,” wrote Pelling in July 2011.

“This was also an opportunity for us to enjoy a team dinner, our first real chance to do this. In the sincere interests of team bonding, I’m ashamed to reveal that I told the team a small ‘white lie’. They were led to believe that it was a recently established tradition at the hotel for newly arrived executives to sing a song in their mother tongue to their colleagues at the first possible social gathering.

"I have a team consisting of people from Albania, Holland, Portugal, Lebanon and India to name just a few, and I can confirm that the Eurovision Song Contest is like an amateur night compared to the talents of the St. Regis management.”

Pelling is survived by his wife, Fiona, and his children Amy and Charlie.

In lieu of flowers, his family requested donations go to the charity Operation Smile, a cause close to Pelling's heart.