Holtmann, Franka

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This native of Essen, Germany graduated from the hotel school in Munich and arrived in France some 24 years ago. Holtmann knows better than most how to steward a top Paris hotel. She has honed her managerial talents at some of the finest addresses in town: from the Meridian - where her hotel career began back in 1981 and where she ´learnt everything´- to the Ritz and most recently the Plaza Athénée and the Hotel de Crillon (September 2003 - May 2006 In June 2006 the Dorchester Group announced the appointment of Franka Holtmann as General Manager of Le Meurice, from 1st June 2006. 'For the second time in her distinguished career, Ms Holtmann achieves a first, as the only female GM to run two of Paris’ six Palace hotels. She joins Le Meurice after two and a half years steering the Crillon as its General Manager, responsible not only for a highly successful and sympathetic revamp of the hotel but also for dramatically increasing its sales and profits as the result of an ambitious sales and marketing drive. A native of Essen, Germany and mother to an eighteen-year old daughter, she graduated from hotel school in Munich and arrived in France some 26 years ago. She is also a graduate of literature from the University of Nice. Her experience in the Paris luxury hotel sector is second to none: she is more qualified than most to run a top Paris hotel, having acquired her managerial talents at some of the finest addresses in town: from Le Meridien Etoile, to The Ritz where she was director of sales and marketing, and most recently before the Crillon, the Hotel Plaza Athénée, also a Dorchester Group property, where she was the Hotel Manager and was key in the repositioning of that property. Innovative and creative in her approach, her plans for Le Meurice are to revitalize and strengthen the image and renown of this much loved hotel. With a strong focus on communication, she intends to make much of its stupendous location opposite the famous Tuileries Gardens and the vibrant neighbourhood behind the hotel, as well as rejuvenating its jewel-like ambience. “I am delighted to return to the Dorchester Group at a time when its stated goal is to grow its brand and it is poised to expand. I very much look forward to contributing to the development of the synergy between the Hotel Plaza Athénée and Le Meurice, which will strengthen the impact of the Dorchester Group on the Parisian market.”