Thistle Hotels Announces General Manager to Relocate to Kent

LONDON, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Thistle Hotels has announced the appointment of Alan Whiteley as general manager of Thistle Brands Hatch hotel. Already a respected general manager within the company, Whiteley makes the move from Thistle Middlesbrough, where he was responsible for significantly raising the profile of the hotel in the region and helping it become the star performer of the group.

Starting his hotel career as a kitchen porter when he left school, Whiteley has built up a wealth of experience over the 17 years he has worked in the hotel industry. Not content with being a porter for long, he quickly worked his way up to take on a number of senior roles, including regional head chef and operations manager, before taking on his current role as general manager.

In his new role, Whiteley will oversee the day-to-day management of the hotel and its staff, along with the overall direction of the hotel. Overlooking the Brands Hatch motorsport race circuit, an immediate focus for him is to build on the ideal position of the hotel and help drive occupancy rates amongst the leisure and business markets.

Commenting on his move, Alan Whiteley said: "Coming from Thistle Middlesbrough, a high performing hotel with a fantastic profile in the region, I certainly knew I had a challenge ahead of me, but it was one I just couldn't turn down. Having undergone a recent refurbishment, Thistle Brands Hatch has huge potential and this is a great opportunity for me to really put my mark on it. I've got lots of ideas and I aim to quickly make Thistle Brands Hatch the flagship hotel of the group."

Darren Patt, regional operations director, Thistle Hotels, commented: "A great deal of effort is being put into raising the profile of Thistle Brands Hatch, particularly amongst motorsport fans, as its location is second-to-none. Alan is a fantastic general manager with a proven track record and we're confident he's up to the challenge of putting the hotel back on the map."

Whiteley lives in North London with his wife and three children.

About Thistle

Thistle Hotels is part of Guoman Hotel Management (UK) Limited, which operates several UK hotels. Thistle has 33 hotels across the country, many in superb city centre locations, including eleven London hotels and Hotels near Dartford.

Thistle Hotels also offer wedding venues near Dartford. With a selection of restaurants and a choice of excellent health and leisure facilities, Thistle has something to offer everyone.

Thistle Hotels is the first hotel group to achieve Hospitality Assured accreditation, across its entire UK portfolio. Created by the Institute of Hospitality, the Hospitality Assured standard measures the quality within customer facing businesses across the hospitality, tourism and leisure industry.

SOURCE Thistle Hotels