Leonardo Baiocchi has been appointed general manager of the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach.
Baiocchi said: “My background is in the rooms division but my hospitality interests vary widely. I love the creativity behind marketing. Being Italian, I’m volcanic: I erupt with ideas.”
Baiocchi replaces Simon Casson as the hotel's GM, following Casson's promotion to the role of president, hotel operations, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
He began his Four Seasons career in 1993, when he was appointed to work at the front desk in the Four Seasons Hotel Milano.
Since then, Baiocchi has worked at the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus and Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet; Palazzo Tornabuoni Private Club and Residences; Four Seasons Hotel Firenze; Four Seasons Hotel Budapest; Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh; Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf; Four Seasons Hotel Chicago; Four Seasons Hotel Milano; Regent Chiang Mai, Thailand.
As general manager of Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach he will also have additional responsibility for oversight of the sister property Four Seasons Hotel Dubai International Financial Centre.
“I like to stick close to the operations, establish my presence, encourage the talent to correct themselves when they do something wrong, and praise them when they do a good job,” he said.
Baiocchi arrived in Dubai from Istanbul, where he led both Four Seasons properties as general manager for five years. “I was one of the pioneers at clustering Four Seasons hotels under the same management,” he says. “There are a lot of benefits and cost efficiencies to synergising management of hotels under the same ownership. It makes a lot of sense.”
He added: “My personal challenge is to look at the competition and make sure Four Seasons stays above it.”
The Kenyan-born Italian national holds a degree in Hotel Management, from Glion Hotel School, Clarens, Switzerland.
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