Karen Wang | August 31, 2021
InterContinental Hotel Group is pleased to announce Mr. Daniel Arbenz as the Director of Operations South China and General Manager of InterContinental Shenzhen. Effective from 1st September, Mr. Arbenz will also oversee other IHG properties in South China.
As Switzerland national, Mr Arbenz graduated with a Bachelor of Management in Hotel Management from Swiss Hotel Management School Montana and Higher Institute of Hotel Management Lucerne and then started his career in Switzerland. During his more than 30 years in the hospitality industry, he has been involved in many hotel openings and operations with his vast experience and leadership abilities. He held numerous senior management positions in Australia, Indonesia, Hongkong and Mainland China.
As a leader who believes in continuous learning and development, Mr. Arbenz completed the General Manager’s Programme Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and holds a Diploma in Advanced Management and Business Administration of The University of Hong Kong & Poon Kam Kai Institute of Management.
Mr. Arbenz is with IHG for 20 years and is a very well respected member of the team. He started in China at the Holiday Inn Beijing Lido, lead Crowne Plaza Wangfujing through a renovation and opened Crowne Plaza Beijing Sun Palace for the Olympic Games. He then assumed his first InterContinental hotel with InterContinental Beijing Beichen and after the Olympics laid a solid performance foundation among luxury the hotels in Beijing. During this time, Mr Arbenz served also as the Regional General Manager of North-East China of IHG leading the teams and operation performance in this part of China. Then Arbenz transferred to Shanghai as General Manager of InterContinental Shanghai Pudong and Regional General Manager for Shanghai. The two years prior to his appointment in Shenzhen he was appointed Head of Operations East China working out of the IHG Greater China Corporate Office in Shanghai.
Mr. Arbenz has been repeatedly recognized for his enormous contributions to IHG, his hotels and the hospitality industry. During the last two year at IHG corporate support center, he lead and inspired operation teams and General Managers in East China and drove hotel performance and talent development of his multi-branded hotel portfolio to success. He has just been award the Operation Leader Hotelier of 2017 by IHG.
Arbenz brings 30-year of hospitality experience to his new role. Mr. Arbenz’s wealth of operational and managerial experience in Europe, Asia and China, will be an important strength to further develop InterContinental Shenzhen’s products and services and enhance the hotel’s existing prestigious image. His mission is not only to ensure InterContinental Shenzhen to be the city’s top luxury business resort hotel but also to expand the IHG operation equity as one of the most important assets in this competitive market around the Pearl River Delta.