Taj Cape Town, a luxury hotel in the Mother City, has recently appointed Carmen Rhodes as its Director of Sales and Marketing.

This is not Rhodes’s first stint with the hotel, having first joined the group as Associate Director of Sales, Corporate and MICE, in 2018.

Rhodes took her very step in the hospitality industry at the Best Western Cape Suites Hotel, where she completed training in all areas of operations, from reception to reservations, food and beverage, and housekeeping.

She soon put these skills to work as she started progressing up the ladder, taking on various positions at high profile establishments in her native Cape Town. She gathered experience in other areas of the industry too, including tourism, and gleaned a glimpse of the international industry when she travelled to London.

After several more years spent in a number of different roles, Rhodes and her family immigrated to Australia, returning to South Africa in 2020. She found that she missed the industry and its exciting dynamics during this time, and was overjoyed when a two-month long series of online interviews helped her land a position as Senior Sales Manager at the Cape Grace.

Sadly, this role was cut short by the hotel’s closure due to COVID, but she took up the mantle once more at Newmark Hotels’ Group Head of Sales. During the two years she spent with the company, Rhodes helped to open three hotels (The Rockefeller Hotel, The Catalyst Hotel and The Winchester Hotel).

Rhodes says that the diversity of her 25 years in the industry has helped her build a thorough understanding of how the different teams in a hotel fit together to ensure success.

“After my journey, working through different roles, I discovered my absolute passion for sales and am thrilled to have taken on the challenge of Director of Sales at Taj Cape Town,” she comments.

She adds that one of her greatest joys is working alongside a team, helping them grow their talent, and then watching them succeed.

“We are so excited to see Carmen come on board. Her special brand of talent and extensive network resonates with Taj Hotels’ ethos, and we are looking forward to seeing how she harnesses this to further entrench our brand on the local and international scene to make more special, memorable experiences for our guests,” says Mark Wernich, Cluster GM Africa at Taj Hotels.

New GM for Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel

MORE Family Collection, which owns and manages a collection of luxury safari lodges, boutique hotels, and exclusive-use residences in South Africa and Zimbabwe, has recently appointed Roddy Meiring as the General Manager at Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel in Victoria Falls.

“We are looking forward to Roddy’s contribution to Stanley & Livingstone. His hospitality and sales experience are sure to add value to the hotel and the onsite fine dining restaurant, 1871. We know he will embrace our values and support the growth of our people, enhance our incredible guest-involved Black Rhino Breeding Project, and support More Community Foundation’s Woodlands community projects,” said Robert More, Custodian and CEO, MORE Family Collection.