Graham Bamford to step down as GM of London's Royal Garden hotel

12 March 2014 by
Graham Bamford to step down as GM of London's Royal Garden hotel

Graham Bamford is to stand down as general manager of the five-red-star, 394-bedroom Royal Garden hotel, London, after 18 years.

He has decided that at the age of 62, now is the right time to leave the property. "I intend to remain in the industry, but will give myself some time to consider what to do in the future," he said.

After being appointed general manager in September 1992, Bamford re-opened the hotel the following April following a two year closure for extensive renovations. He had previously been resident manager of the Hyde Park hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental) for two years.

One of Bamford's key achievements was in establishing the hotel as the base for the Euro 1996 football tournament. "I think our success in winning that business was due to the fact that we asked the client what they needed rather than telling them what we had available," he explained. "That has been the way we have continued to operate and has helped us to become known for our flexibility within the five star London market."

Bamford, who will leave the hotel at the end of March, said that he had helped to establish the Royal Garden as a solid five-star hotel by bringing together an executive team with solid five-star experience, which has remained consistent for 18 years. It includes deputy general manager Jonathan Lowery, executive chef Steve Munkley, and executive housekeeper Nicole Davies.

Growing challenges over the past 18 years for London five-star hotels, said Bamford, have included an increasingly discerning clientele, alongside eroding margins from online travel agents and the loss of telephone revenue.

Bamford was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of West London in 2011 for his services to the hospitality industry and for eight years sat on the executive committee of the Master Innholders, acting as chairman from 2003-2005.

Steve Munkley and Graham Bamford honoured for their contribution to the hospitality industry >>

Bamford to run Royal Garden >>

TagsHotels and Careers
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking