Dorchester Group puts Obertelli in charge of global expansion plan

The five-strong Dorchester Group plans to add one hotel a year over the next 10 years in gateway cities across the world and has promoted Ricci Obertelli to oversee the expansion.

Obertelli, currently chief operations officer of London's Dorchester hotel, becomes global development director of the group, reporting directly to the board of directors based in Brunei.

Obertelli said that the acquisition of the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan last year was the catalyst for the group to expand globally. Provided the right hotels came along, expansion could be rapid, with North America a key area to target. As now, all hotels will be owned and managed by the group.

François Delahaye, currently general manager of the Hotel Plaza Athenée in Paris, will become group operations director as well as retaining his role at the Plaza Athenée.

There is still no general manager at the Dorchester hotel following the departure of David Wilkinson last year. (Caterer, 2 October 2003, page 7). Wilkinson is thought to be setting up his own hotel.

The Dorchester Group consists of the Dorchester hotel in London, the Beverly Hills hotel in Beverly Hills, USA, the Hôtel Meurice and the Hotel Plaza Athenée in Paris and the Hotel Principe di Savoia. It is wholly owned by the Brunei Investment Agency.