Fact Sheet

Number of Hotels:

Over 40 hotels worldwide (city hotels and resorts) in Austria, Belgium, China, Fiji Islands, France, Bali, Italy, Czech Republic, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Tahiti, Thailand, The Netherlands and Vanuatu. International Hospitality Alliance with Mirvac Hotels & Resorts (43 hotels in Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu) and Gloria Hotels and Resorts (over 17 hotels in China).

President: Richard Chiu

Vice President, Marketing & Sales:

G.Paul LeBlanc
International Sales and Marketing Office
1776 Grant Street, 14F Denver, Colorado 80203
USA
Email: gpleblanc@warwickhotels.com

Director of Sales & Marketing, France/Corporate Sales Europe:

Jean-Marie Pebrel
75 Avenue des Champs-Elysées
75008 Paris
France
Email: jmpebrel@warwickhotels.com  

Number of Hotel Rooms: More than 5,000 worldwide

Sales Offices:

Nine International Sales Offices:

Reservation Number:

GDS Code: WK

History:

Current Hotels:

 
United States:

 
Denver: Warwick Denver Hotel

Dallas: Warwick Melrose Hotel, Dallas

New York: Warwick New York Hotel

San Francisco: Warwick San Francisco Hotel

Seattle: Warwick Seattle Hotel

 
International:

Austria: Altstadt Vienna

Business Expansion:

Warwick International Hotels has continues improving its Collection by refurbishing, renovating, and restoring many of the Warwick Hotels & Resorts worldwide. Warwick continues enhancing the Collection's website www.warwickhotels.com with enhanced booking capabilities and special Meeting Planner and Travel Agents sections. The latest enhancement is the Best Rate Guaranteed programme and additions to the special offers section. The Collection’s e-directory of hotels and resorts worldwide can be accessed through the website or direct on www.warwickdirectory.net. The website is the 2005 WebAward winner for Best Hotel and Lodging Website by the Web Marketing Association. Over the past five years Warwick International Hotels has spent more than $95 million for its worldwide renovations.

For more information on any of our hotels or resorts, please log on to www.warwickhotels.com  

Warwick International Hotels Is Growing Significantly

Prestigious hotel group looks to grow affiliations, continue expansion in Indonesia and in the United States.

The hotel group began in 1980 with the purchase of the Warwick New York Hotel. This historic 33-story luxury hotel, located on 6th Avenue and 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan, was built in 1926 by William Randolph Hearst to give Marion Davies and their Hollywood friends a place to stay near the Ziegfield Theater.

Since its inception with the acquisition of this landmark New York hotel, Warwick International Hotels has expanded quickly over its two and a half decades, acquiring or forming affiliations with hotels located throughout the world, and establishing a reputation for its unique management style and superior accommodations and service in leading business and leisure destinations. Today, the Warwick Collection consists of over 40 hotels, resorts, and spas located on five continents, in 15 countries and 37 destinations throughout Europe, the United States, the South Pacific, Asia, and Africa.

“As we now look beyond our silver anniversary to our next quarter of a century, we see ourselves continuing to refine our successful approach of aligning with or acquiring one-of-a-kind luxury hotels in key city centers, inland resorts and spas, and island resorts and spas,” said G. Paul LeBlanc, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Warwick International Hotels. “It is an approach that has served our company, our hotels, and our customers very well. It’s also an approach that we plan to continue to employ in the near-term throughout Europe, key gateway cities in the United States, and in the South Pacific.”

As part of the anniversary celebration, Warwick International is unveiling a number of recently completed improvements and renovations at hotels located in Denver, Dallas, Geneva, New York, Paris, the Fiji Islands, and others. In addition, Warwick International unveiled the first of its Fashion Rooms® at the Royal Windsor Hotel Grand Place in Brussels September 2004. Warwick International Hotels commissioned notable Belgian fashion designers to redesign 12 rooms in the Royal Windsor Hotel.

Key Warwick International Hotels Milestones

The 1980's
• European entry - Soon after the purchase of the Warwick New York hotel, Warwick International established a foothold in Europe with the acquisition of the Hôtel Warwick Champs-Elysées in Paris, just off the famous Parisian avenue. Other acquisitions quickly followed: the Royal Windsor Hotel Grand Place in Brussels, a member of “The Leading Hotels of the World”, located very near the Grand Place; the Hôtel Westminster in Paris located on the prestigious Rue de la Paix between Place Vendôme and Opéra, and the Hotel Warwick Geneva located near Lake Geneva.
• U.S. expansion - During the 1980’s, additional expansion began in the United States with the acquisitions of hotels that are now the Warwick Seattle Hotel and the Warwick Denver Hotel, both ideally located in city centres.
• Leisure market - From a solid base in North America and Western Europe, Warwick expanded into the leisure market. A modern resort on the Coral Coast of Fiji was acquired and became the Warwick Fiji Resort & Spa. The success of this project spawned further expansion in Fiji and the nearby Naviti Resort was acquired in the early 1990’s.

The 1990's
• San Francisco - In the early 1990's, the Warwick San Francisco Hotel in San Francisco was added. It is centrally located just off the newly restored Union Square. The hotel was fully renovated in 2002, featuring wonderful English antiques
• Affiliate Member Program -- The 1990's also marked a new direction for Warwick with the introduction of an Affiliate Member Program. Numerous independent hotels throughout the world have embraced this concept. The number of affiliate hotels, resorts, and spas, now more than 25, grew threefold in just a four-year period. Warwick International Hotels provides marketing & sales support, a private label reservation service to qualified independent hotels seeking worldwide recognition under the private label code, WK. The ability to effectively market independent hotels on a worldwide basis has contributed to the rapid growth of the program, with hotels, resorts, and spas in Belgium, China, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Czech Republic and the United States

2000 and beyond
• Introducing Lyon - In 2000, Warwick International Hotels acquired La Reine Astrid in Lyon, located in the “chic” residential area of Lyon, France. This all-suites, four-star hotel has panoramic views of the Tête d'Or park and is within walking distance of the Cité Internationale Congress Centre.
• Vanuatu - Le Lagon Resort in Vanuatu, South Pacific, is nestled on 75 acres of exotic tropical gardens fronting the shores of the beautiful crystal waters of Erakor Lagoon. The resort features 141 guest rooms, a golf course, and extensive sports and leisure facilities.
• Eight new affiliates - Other notable additions to the Warwick collection are five newly affiliated hotels situated in much-in-demand destinations: the Splendid Hotel in Nice, France; The Leonard Hotel & Residence in central London, the Hotel d’Inghilterra in Rome, the Hotel Helvetia & Bristol in Florence, the Hotel Molina Lario in Málaga, Spain, the Mirasierra Suites Hotel in Madrid, Spain, the Hotel Saturnia & Bristol in Venice, the Hôtel Les Roches in Lavandou, France, the Central Plaza Hotel in Zurich and the Kedar Country Hotel in Boshoek and the Riverside Hotel in Czech Republic.
• Warwick International Hotels is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Warwick Barsey Hotel in Brussels, formerly the Hyatt Regency Barsey Hotel. With 4 hotels in Belgium already, the “Warwick Collection” is growing and is now offering two prestigious addresses in the heart of Brussels.
• Luxury in Australia, New Zealand, and in China - Along with the Warwick International locations, the hotel group launched the International Hospitality Alliance (IHA), entering into two sales and marketing alliances with Mirvac Hotels and Resorts, a collection of 4-star and 5-star hotels located throughout Australia and in Auckland, New Zealand, as well as with Gloria International Hotels, a collection of 4-star and 5-star hotels in various cities in China.
• December 2006: A long term lease agreement has been signed between Tjokorda Raka & Asri Kerthyasa, prominent members of the Royal Family of Ubud Bali, and owners of Ibah Luxury Villas & Spa, and Warwick International Hotels. Renamed as Warwick Ibah Luxury Villas & Spa, this resort consists of some 18 uniquely designed villas, each with a spectacular view on the gently sloping valley of the Ayung River, a bar and restaurant, a spa, and other related facilities. The resort is known for its adherence to and respect of the Balinese heritage and festivals are celebrated in a style perfected over generations.
• January 2007: Warwick International Hotels is pleased to announce the acquisition of the former Melrose Hotel Dallas renamed ‘Warwick Melrose Hotel’ in Dallas, USA. The hotel offers 184 luxury rooms and suites. With 5 hotels in the USA, the ‘Warwick Collection’ is growing significantly. 
 • In February 2008, WIH signed a management contract with a french Company: Gregori International. Gregori International is currently building a Golf & Spa Resort in Moorea (Tahiti) - French Polynesia. The Warwick Moorea Golf & Spa Resort will consist of some 154 uniquely designed villas & rooms, each with a spectacular view over lagoons and beaches. (Opening early 2010).
  • In  June 2008, a new Affiliate Member Hotel in Yasmine-Hammamet, Tunisia has joined the Warwick International Hotels Collection. The Hôtel Alhambra Thalasso, an exquisite resort hotel with an elaborately equipped thalasso therapy, is about 45 minutes from the international airport in Tunis and about one hour from the centre of capital. Inspired by the famous Alhambra Palace in Grenada, the elegant and superbly designed Hotel Alhambra Thalasso is an architectural masterpiece. This 5* spa resort has 168 luxuriously appointed air conditionned rooms and 15 suites, outdoor swimming-pool, children pool and a Thalassotherapy centre. The hotel also has a private white sand beach and a beach restaurant.
  • In  August 2008, a new Affiliate Member Hotel in Amsterdam joined the Warwick International Hotels Collection.  At the hub of Amsterdam's best city centre location, Park Hotel combines stylish looks and cosseting service with a contemporary mindset. A fabulous location, being in the middle of one of Europe's most exciting cities between the famous Leidseplein, the Museumplein and the luxury fashion district. It is a quietly sophisticated hotel with 184 guest rooms including stunning suites, full service meeting rooms and a bustling lounge and restaurant.
  • In  September 2008, La Grand Hôtel du Parc in Villars-sur-Ollon, in the Swiss Alps joined the Collection of hotels &  resorts as an Affiliated Member Hotel. It is the third Warwick hotel in Switzerland and the first ski resort of the Collection. The only 5* facility in the 'Vaudoise' Alps, the resort offers 55 rooms & suites in the heart of a magnificient park, five minutes away by foot from the centre of the station. The Grand Hôtel du Parc offers a cozy and elegant atmosphere, three different restaurants (gastronomic food at the Mazarin, a traditional and mountain ambiance at La Taverne and at the 4 Seasons), three meeting rooms which welcome up to 100 people, swimming-pool, sauna, fitness room, wellness centre, game room and three tennis court during the summer.

In January 2009, The Rembrandt Hotel & Towers have joined the Collection as an Affiliated Hotel Member. The Rembrandt Hotel & Towers features 407 luxurious guest rooms and suites.  The hotel is centrally located and is just 25 kilometres away from the Bangkok International Airport and just a 5-minute drive away from the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre. The Hotel's prime location also makes it easily accessible via various modes of transport and hence, the ideal choice for business and leisure travellers. The Hotel also features 5 restaurants, the “Señor Pico” Mexican Restaurant and Bar, the “Rang Mahal” Indian Restaurant, the "Red Pepper" Thai Restaurant, the “da Vinci” Italian Restaurant and “The Café” 24-hours International Restaurant. These restaurants dish out hundreds of gastronomic delights in a variety of cuisines daily.

The Rembrandt Hotel & Towers offers a fully equipped Business Centre, wireless and wired broadband Internet connectivity and a choice of meeting rooms for up to 750 participants that make it the preferred choice among business travelers. It also offers a swimming pool, a fully equipped gymnasium and a Spa. 

In May 2009, Warwick International Hotels is delighted to announce a new affiliate member hotel, the Altstadt Vienna in Austria. IN 1991, Otto E. Wiesenthal rebuilt the house into the Altstadt Vienna with originally 24 rooms and suites. During the last ten years, the house has been enlarged with apartments and is today a meeting point for artists, musicians and individual travelers looking for a characteristic hotel with good service. Each of the 42 exquisitely decorated rooms and suites has been a touch of the past. All rooms have been designed to meet individual needs, none of them are alike! Easy chairs, plumpfloral sofas, classic and design furniture, high ceilings, honey-coloured parquet floors, unusual light objects and contemporary art transform each and every room to your personal living room.

“After more than 27 years, travel agents, event planners and our customers know that the name ‘Warwick International Hotels’ is the mark of distinction that signifies only first-class and deluxe categories of hotels, resorts, and spas,” LeBlanc added. “We’ve built a reputation for unparalleled service, prime city centre and resort locations, impressive appointed hotel rooms and suites with the latest in modern conveniences, and an extra touch of quality to differentiate our hotels and resorts from any others in the market. It is a model that has worked very well for us and our affiliate member hotels, and we look forward to the opportunity to apply that model to other opportunities as we chart our growth over the next 25 years.”

Warwick International Hotels launched its next worldwide directory in September 2007. It will showcase the unique facilities and design features of 40 international hotels, resorts, and spas and their more than 5,000 guest rooms and suites. A cutting-edge e-Directory was updated in July 2009. It is available for viewing and/or download on our award-winning web site: www.warwickhotels.com or by accessing the directory itself on www.warwickdirectory.net. To upload high resolution pictures of our Hotels, please visit our Private Digital Library: http://www.leonardo.com/warwickhotels/. Registration is free.

Key Personalities

Richard Chiu - President

Mr. Richard Chiu was born in Hong Kong and founded WIH in 1980. Richard Chiu was educated in Great Britain where he graduated with Honors from Cambridge University in 1974. Subsequently, he returned to Asia and immediately assumed important responsibilities in the family-controlled business in Indonesia. In 1977 he decided to build up his own business, investing his time and capital in the development and operation of hotels. WIH is a privately owned company and has a blue-chip portfolio of hotels and resorts. Mr. Chiu is now a Fellow of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, a member of the Oxford and Cambridge Society in London, a member of Inter-Allie’ in Paris and is actively involved in the further development expansion of WIH.

Tammie Tam – Senior Vice President

Tammie Tam joined Warwick International Hotels in 1979 based in Hong Kong, after graduating from Hong Kong Polytechnic and working for Deacons, a legal firm in Hong Kong for 2 years. She has been an Associate of Chartered Institute of Company Secretaries and Administrators since 1981. She assisted Mr. Richard Chiu in the establishment of the Holding Company in Europe and the relocation of the Corporate Office from Hong Kong to Paris in 1981. For ten years she had been traveling from one country to another where there is a Warwick hotel to look after the company secretarial and administration work and also involved with all legal and administration work in the acquisition of new hotels. Tammie Tam moved to Fiji in 1988 and is currently the Senior Vice President of the group and the Executive Director for Fiji and Pacific. Venturing into new opportunities is her priority in expanding Warwick International Hotels’ presence in the South Pacific.

Ulla Schneider – Senior Vice President

After graduating from Hotel Management School in 1978, Ulla Schneider started her career with Hilton International Hotels in Munich and was then transferred to London. In 1981, she moved to Paris where she joined Warwick International Hotels two years later to set up the group’s project and corporate office in Europe. She was then promoted to Administrative Co-Ordinator followed by Vice President – Administration. She has since been appointed Senior Vice President in charge of administration and she also oversees the European hotel operations.

G.Paul LeBlanc - Vice President, Marketing and Sales

Responsible for all aspects of global sales, marketing and the positioning of the brand, G. Paul LeBlanc oversees the sales and marketing efforts of the hotels and resorts owned by the Group, and provides the marketing direction for the affiliate members of Warwick International Hotels.

He has an impressive background in the hospitality industry with many significant achievements in the fields of strategic planning, developing and implementing sales promotions, revenue management, directing numerous advertising campaigns and oversees the Group's web site development. GPaul LeBlanc joined Warwick International Hotels in 2003 from Regal Hotels International Holdings Limited based in Hong Kong, where he was Vice President of Sales overseeing the local and global sales efforts of the Asian based hotel company.

Stephen Linch - Vice President-Finance

Stephen Linch joined Warwick International Hotels in 1991 as Group Accountant and was named Vice President - Finance in December 2003 handling the corporate accounting, tax and treasury operations of the group. Stephen Linch began his career in the UK in the group tax department of Beecham Group plc, now part of GlaxoSmithKline, before moving into auditing with a firm of Chartered Accountants managing audits and tax compliance for a range of small and medium sized companies. Stephen Linch qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant in 1989.

Jean-François Garnier – Director of Group Development

Jean-François Garnier began his career in the banking sector with BNP and Chase Manhattan followed by Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Paris, as Vice President and Product Director. He then joined Pullmann International Hotels and subsequently became Director of Development in charge of Eastern Europe for Accor. In 1995 he joined Marriott International with responsibilities including international long-term investment and project financing for Europe, Middle East and Africa. In 1999 Jean-François Garnier joined Warwick International Hotels as Director of Group Development.

Jamal Serhan - Vice President / Regional General Manager South Pacific

Jamal Serhan started his career in Food & Beverage in 1980 and joined the Marriott Corporation in 1983 until 1990. During that period, he undertook culinary training in Napa Valley at the Berringer House and Hotel Management in Newport Beach. In 1992 he joined Warwick International Hotels as an Executive Sous Chef based at the Warwick Denver Hotel.

For seven years he worked in various positions as an Executive Chef, Food & Beverage Director, Assistant General Manager, Acting General Manager in Jamaica, New York, Denver and Seattle. He was transferred to Fiji in 1998 after being appointed as a General Manager of the Warwick Fiji. He is currently the Vice President / Regional General Manager - Fiji and the Pacific and oversees the operations, sales & marketing and all aspects of Warwick Fiji Resort & Spa, The Naviti Resort and Le Lagon Resort Vanuatu. In addition to resort operations, he also has responsibility to look after all renovations, new construction projects that also includes the development of new resorts in the South Pacific Region.

Warren Chiu – Director of Projects Development

Trained as an architect in the United States, Warren Chiu joined Warwick International Hotels in January 2006, responsible for matters relating to design, renovation and construction of Warwick International Hotels. He has established Project Offices in New York and Bali, providing services exclusively for the company’s ongoing hotel and resort developments.

Prior to joining his family’s hotel business, Warren Chiu gained his experience in practicing architecture at P&T Architects and Engineers (Palmer and Turner) Hong Kong, focusing on designing and developing commercial buildings in China. He also spent two years with Ria Group.

Alan Gonzalez - Director, Distribution and E-Commerce

Alan Gonzalez joined Warwick International Hotels in June 2003 as Group Director for Distribution and E-Commerce overseeing E-Commerce, Revenue and Reservations Management, Electronic Distribution and over-all management of the Warwick Corporate website. He is part of the team that directed and strategized the design and over-all functionality of their website which won it the “Best Hotel and Lodging Website” award from the Web Marketing Association in 2005. The Webby Awards likewise cited the same website as “Webby-worthy” in the same year. Alan also manages the relationship with their strategic partnership with Pegasus Solutions, Warwick International’s CRS/GDS/IDS provider. In his current role, he has had the opportunity to apply best practices in Revenue, Reservations Management and Electronic Marketing for increased revenues and room nights as demonstrated by growth that has been seen year on year not only for Warwick International’s US hotels, but globally since he joined the company.

Prior to his appointment at Warwick International Hotels, Alan was Account Director overseeing sales and account management in the Northeastern USA region for Utell Hotels and Resorts, a Pegasus Solutions company. Before Utell, Alan was with the Leading Hotels of the World from 1993 to 2000, rising through the ranks from Reservations, GDS operations and eventually Account Management where he handled strategic accounts such as Swissotel, Kempinski, Orient Express, Four Seasons, and Rosewood Hotels and Resorts among others.

Jean-Marie Pebrel, Director of Sales & Marketing – France / Corporate Sales - Europe

Jean-Marie Pebrel joined Warwick International Hotels in March 2005 as Sales Director for the Hôtel Warwick Champs-Elysées in Paris having formally worked in sales positions responsible for sales account development in Spain, Portugal, the UK and Ireland. In February 2007, he was appointed Regional Sales Director for the two Warwick Hotels in Paris, the Hotel Westminster and the Hotel Warwick Champs-Elysées. He was a major team member in positioning both of these hotels as two of the most successful and well known hotels in Paris. In January 2009, Jean-Marie Pebrel was appointed Director of Sales & Marketing – France / Corporate sales - Europe where he is responsible to oversee and direct the sales activities of the French hotels owned by the Group and directs the European sales activities of the Group’s corporate sales offices.