Justin Kim has been appointed as general manager for Bahrain’s upcoming The Merchant House, and has joined the property as part of the opening team for the Campbell Gray hotel property.
Kim's previous role was as the hotel manager of the W Dubai, Al Habtoor City, where he also formed part of the opening team. Prior to this, he held the position of director of operations for the W Retreat & Spa in The Maldives.
He fell into the industry by accident; he was meant to do a language course in university but three months in, transferred to a six-month certificate hospitality course.
Following on from his Bachelor of Business degree in Restaurant Business Management, a certificate in Hospitality as well as higher management training at Le Cordon Bleu Adelaide, South Korean-born Kim first entered the hotel world as part of Sheraton on the Park, Sydney’s hospitality team.
Staying in Asia, his next step took him to South Korea where he was part of the pre-opening team of the W Seoul Walkerhill, Korea as restaurant and bar manager. He then moved to The Westin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Still within the Starwood Hotel Group, Kim took up the role of F&B manager task force at Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa, before branching out to InterContinental Hotels Group as F&B manager for Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives. Returning to Korea, Kim joined Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul as director of food and beverage before going back to the Maldives to take up the position of director of operations for W Retreat & Spa Maldives. After two years, he made the move to the GCC with the W in Al Habtoor City.
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Aug 16, 2018 , Czech Republic
Hello there, allow me to add a short comment and a few words to such a highly honored person as Mr Kim. Because I had the honor to recognize him not only as an incredibly hardworking person and a professional in the field hospitality, but also as a very sensitive and receptive person. I had the o...