For many, a job abroad is one of the great temptations for a career in the hospitality industry. In our series, hospitality professionals share their remote experiences. This time: Katharina Döhler, General Manager of Riu Plaza Manhattan Times Square.
Katharina Döhler stands in the lobby of the Riu Plaza Manhattan Times Square and is beaming: “I fit Riu and Riu satisfies me,” says the general manager of the 656-room hotel open in February. Her plans once seemed very different: “I wanted to study law and stay in the Ore Mountains,” says the 40-year-old. “I was very attached to my homeland and was active in clubs.”
It all started with a disco vacation
Her family enjoyed spending their holidays in Riu Hotels and Katharina’s 18th birthday present was a Club break in what was then the Riu Taino in the Dominican Republic. “The night before the return trip, I thought you could actually do it here work until you start your studiesShe then applied and then worked in entertainment and guest relations at the hotel for eight months, learning Spanish fluently in the process. From then on it was clear: it shouldn’t be the Jura, but tourism.
Katharina Döhler studied al Breitenbrunn State Academy of Studies tourism in the Ore Mountains and completed his internship in a small hotel in Dresden. “In this way, I got to know many processes very well and changed my view of the industry,” she says in retrospect.
She returned to Riu Taino as a temporary during her semester break and received a job offer as an assistant after graduation Director and Host Manager in Jamaica, in what was then the Clubhotel Riu Ocho Rio with 856 rooms. “Anyone who showed a lot of initiative and interest was encouraged,” says Döhler. GM’s top spot followed in 2010 at the 671-room Riu Montego Bay, followed by the latter at the Riu Ocho Rios. “Instead of becoming a mother in the Ore Mountains at 25, I was general manager at 27. That’s exactly what happened.”
All hotels in Jamaica were of comparable standard. “Therefore, it was easy to change inside these houses,” says Döhler. “I love Jamaica, but in my early 30s I felt too young to staySo she moved to Riu Plaza Miami Beach, a mix of resort and city hotels, as General Manager. She met new working conditions and challenges there: “Different standards apply in the United States and the laws, the search for employees is more complex, “says Döhler.” In Jamaica, on the other hand, people were queuing up to work for us. “
The pre-opening was on the wish list
After all, New York beckons, where Döhler ran the Riu Plaza New York Times Square for five years. When the Riu Plaza Manhattan Times Square is under construction just five minutes away, it acts as a point of contact during the construction phase and will take on the role of General Manager in October 2021 Pre-Opening. “I really wanted to do it once,” says Döhler, who likes it in New York.
However, it won’t be the end of your career: “Me I would like to live on the beach again. ” But Riu’s openings in Chicago or Toronto also attract them. “I let myself be surprised. So far it has always worked for me with the decision across the universe.”
Susanne Stauss
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