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Ritz-Carlton takeover sees return of old hand
In a novel twist, the takeover of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Bali has brought back an old face to manage the luxurious beachside property
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I
n a novel twist, the takeover of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Bali has brought back an old face to manage the luxurious beachside property.
Horst Schulze, currently CEO of West Paces Hotel Group and formerly the Ritz-Carlton Bali's first chief operating officer, has been tapped to manage the hotel after it becomes the Ayana Resort and Spa. The property will shed its Ritz-Carlton brand by April 1.
The takeover marks a historic turn for the Ritz-Carlton, which opened 12 years ago under Schulze, then COO and president of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. After his retirement, he went on to found the West Paces Hotel Group.
"When *hotel owner* Rudy *Suliawan* called me to talk about a solution, it was an exciting moment because I got the chance to give the hotel a unique rebirth," Schulze said. The change of management and brand comes after a legal dispute between Suliawan, managing partner of PT Karang Mas Sejahtera (KMS), and the Ritz-Carlton management.
KMS sued the Ritz-Carlton management and were awarded US$10 million in damages and given the right to terminate the contract, after a US federal jury found the Ritz-Carlton had violated a non-competition exclusivity agreement by participating in the development of a second hotel in Bali, the nearby Bulgari Resort.
"We could not accept the coexistence of the Bulgari, which applied the same operating standards as the Ritz, so we took action" Suliawan said. KMS charged the hotel operators with using names, assets and resources from the Ritz-Carlton in opening and operating the Bulgari property. Although the property will shed the world-renowned Ritz-Carlton brand, Schulze remains convinced the Ayana will have a bright future.
"Bali is such a strong destination, it will take the resort no more than a year to establish its new identity", the hotelier said.
The new management reportedly has big plans for the hotel.
"We want to take the Ayana to a new dimension. Our employees will reach the next level of excellence," Schulze said.
All the restaurants and a great part of the rooms will undergo a renovation. Last week, the hotel opened a new 1000-capacity outdoor wedding venue built in response to a surging Indian market in Bali.
