Biography
MR. DUNCAN PALMER MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE MURRAY, HONG KONG, A NICCOLO HOTEL
Originating from the United Kingdom, Mr. Palmer is one of Asia and Europe’s most reputable and entrepreneurial luxury hoteliers with over thirty-five years of experience. He has held various senior management roles in luxury hotel groups worldwide including the Mandarin Oriental, The Savoy and The Langham Hotel groups.
Mr. Palmer was appointed as Managing Director of The Murray, Hong Kong, on 1 June 2016. He is inspired to transform The Murray Building to be ‘The Matterhorn of all hotels’ in Hong Kong with the rest of the appointed team in line with the owner’s aspirations.
Throughout his career, Mr. Palmer has spearheaded successfully a number of global luxury hotel repositioning and redevelopment projects, very often in Flagship properties. With the Langham Hospitality Group as Managing Director of The Langham, London, Mr. Palmer orchestrated and managed the handover from a previous hotel management company and redeveloped and repositioned the hotel with a total new inventory of hotel rooms and suites, including extensive internationally acclaimed culinary outlets and facilities, to be one of the Luxury Hotels in London today as Europe’s Original Grand Hotel built in 1865.
During his tenure with Langham Hospitality Group, he spent 4 years back in Hong Kong managing The Langham, Hong Kong and was Vice President Design for the Group Worldwide. The owners then invited him to return to London to oversee the repositioning of The Langham, London with the final phase of work re-designing and launching London’s largest Club Lounge. Most recently Mr. Palmer unveiled The Sterling Suite as the most luxurious suite in London and upon completion of the project, he took up his position as Managing Director of The Murray.
With The Savoy Hotel Group, Mr. Palmer had the exclusive pleasure of being only the sixth appointee as General Manager in over 100 years at The Connaught London. During this appointment, he developed leading strategies to reposition The Connaught at the top of the deluxe hotel market resulting in a successful renovation and positioning the property as a luxury hotel world-wide satisfying even the most discerning clientele. As a result, The Connaught was awarded ‘One of the Top 10 Hotels in Europe for Service 2001’ by Travel and Leisure Magazine. Mr. Palmer was personally awarded ‘The Leaders Award for Excellence’ from Leaders Magazine, USA 2000.
His earlier days with The Savoy Group saw him revitalise The Savoy, London with a restoration programme which resulted in the hotel’s performance significantly improving and celebrating accolades of ‘World Wide Hotel of the Year – Executive Travel magazine 1997’ and ‘Hotel of the Year - Egon Ronay Guides 1997’.
With the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, he spent 12 years accumulatively in Macau, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta. His time spent working at The Oriental, Bangkok re-affirmed his passion working for iconic, historic and luxury properties around the world.
-more-
The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel
The Murray, Hong Kong, opening in late 2017, is a high-profile preservation project led by British international studio for architecture and integrated design Foster + Partners. Part of Hong Kong’s Conserving Central Project, the Hotel which was the stand-alone Murray Building is one of the city's most iconic landmarks. A member of Global Hotel Alliance’s Ultratravel Collection, the US$1 billion contemporary urban chic sanctuary will feature 336 oversized rooms and suites spanning 25 floors. Other facilities include a stunning rooftop bar with breath-taking views of the central business district and the green oasis of Hong Kong Park, a series of signature restaurants and bars, as well as creative meeting and event spaces.
Further details on The Murray, Hong Kong are available at themurrayaniccoloHotel.com
About Niccolo Hotels
Niccolo is a collection of contemporary urban chic hotels with one of the most desirable, highly prized addresses. At heart, as discoverers and re-discoverers of luxury experiences, styles and tastes, the hotels are modern sophisticated spaces that value the timeless pleasures of impeccable hospitality from another golden era in travel. Underpinning everything is the desire to make life effortlessly luxurious. Niccolo Chengdu is the first to open, with an additional 4 Niccolo hotels currently under development in Hong Kong, Chongqing, Changsha and Suzhou.
Further details on Niccolo Hotels are available at niccolohotels.com.
Ultratravel Collection
Ultratravel Collection brings together Hotels of distinction for the discerning traveller. Its membership is reserved for the very best Hotels and resorts in the world – genuinely luxurious and iconic properties that deliver the finest service and personalised guest experiences. Member Hotels share an integrated global platform for guest recognition and loyalty rewards, the DISCOVERY programme from partner Global Hotel Alliance, as well as beneficial relationship with the multi-media brand Ultratravel, the other founding partner of Ultratravel Collection. For more information visit ultratravelcollection.com
* * *
For more information, please contact:
Michelle Miu Public Relations Manager The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel T. (852) 6332 0221 E. [email protected]