Guy Hensley, senior vice president of premium brands for Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts, has announced the appointment of Ken D. Dittrich as the new area vice president of Gran Meliá Hotels and Resorts in the Americas and Caribbean for Sol Meliá Hotels and Resorts.Dittrich, who will be based in Puerto Rico, is responsible for directing, supporting, and overseeing all aspects of the Gran Meliá hotel portfolio in the Caribbean and the Americas, as well as assist with and oversee openings and conversions.

Executive and operational matters for Gran Meliá Puerto Rico Golf Resort & Villas will remain under Dittrich’s jurisdiction.

“I am very excited about this opportunity, which opens up a new chapter for the company on a positive, global scale,” said Dittrich. “Our main objective is to define the value of the brand and its attributes while increasing its presence and profitability in the Americas and Caribbean.”

Prior to his appointment, Dittrich was the managing director of Paradisus Puerto Rico, which was re-flagged into Sol Meliá‘s most luxurious EP brand—-Gran Meliá Puerto Rico Golf Resort & Villas in May 2007. He was also the managing director of Paradisus Rivera Cancun in Mexico, a deluxe all-inclusive that established a new era in the five-star resort segment.

At Paradisus Riviera Cancun, Dittrich introduced programs of international, five-star resort excellence, superior service, The Leading Hotels of the World distinction and an innovative and progressive management style.

Dittrich’s 28 years of international hotel experience includes the position of opening general manager of the 320-room Blue Tree Park Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and managing director of Gran Meliá Sao Paulo, Brazil. Prior, he held the position of vice president of operations for Regent International based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was responsible for implementing quality, procurement, reservation and service standards. He also managed the 450-room Westin Caesar Park Hotel in Panama City, Panama, a five-star business hotel, after working with Westin and Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts in several top management positions in France, Germany, England, Indonesia, North Africa, Singapore and South Korea.

Dittrich graduated in Hotel Management from the Hotel and Catering School in Germany. He obtained a hotel business administration degree at the Frankfurt and Heidelberg Hotel School in Germany. He is a member of the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association.
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