Kai Behrens has been appointed cluster general manager of Kempinski Palace Portoroz in Slovenia and Kempinski Hotel Adriatic in Croatia.

Behrens has been appointed with the aim of further positioning the two properties as the leading luxury hotels in the region.

A German national, he graduated from the school of management in Dortmund, and holds an executive MBA in hospitality and tourism from NEOMA Business School.

Having started his career in rooms division at the Hyatt Regency in Cologne, in 2007, he joined Kempinski as resident manager at Hotel Baltschug Kempinski Moscow.

He acquired extensive experience within the company through managing hotels in Thailand, Bulgaria; Azerbaijan and China over the past 12 years.

Behrens returns to Europe from his recent position as General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Chengdu China.

Following his new appointment, Behrens commented: “I feel extremely honoured for my new appointment at this wonderful destination of Istria.

“The two Kempinski hotels are both exceptional properties and true market leaders.

“I am excited for the great opportunity to clusterise the two properties and to further position their market shares as the luxury leaders in the region.

“Together with the experienced team on site, I will strive towards achieving high guest satisfaction through remarkable luxury activities and experiences, always embracing Kempinski’s tradition of European Luxury, combined with the traditional local Istrian flair for hospitality.”

The former general manager of Kempinski Palace Portorož, Thies Bruhn, has made a personal decision to return to native Germany after being at the helm of the hotel for more than ten years.