Quest Apartment Hotels’ Chief Operations Officer, David Mansfield, has been elevated to the role of Australian Managing Director for Ascott by owners CapitaLand.
The veteran hotelier joined Quest in July 2019, two years after Ascott’s 80% stake purchase in the serviced apartment operator. CapitaLand says the move is in alignment with the merging of business operations in Australia.
Mansfield will be responsible for overseeing The Ascott Limited’s managed operations throughout Australia, in addition to ongoing global operations for Quest Apartment Hotels, which has over 170 properties in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the United Kingdom.
“As a unified group, we will be able to drive operational efficiencies, and reap greater synergies through cross marketing and sharing of business intelligence to deliver greater value for our customers and business partners,” Mansfield said.
“We will leverage our greater breadth of expertise to continue to grow our presence and navigate this challenging time together with tenacity to bring Ascott to greater heights,” he said.
Ascott has five hotels in operation in Australia – Somerset on the Pier Hobart, Citadines on Bourke Melbourne, Somerset on Elizabeth Melbourne, Citadines St Georges Terrace Perth and Citadines Connect Sydney Airport – with two more in the development pipleline, including Citadines Walker North Sydney and lyf Collingwood Melbourne.
The latter will mark the debut of the millennial-minded lyf co-living brand in Australia, while growth is also afoot for Quest across the Tasman, with a further five properties scheduled to open in New Zealand during 2021.
Mansfield moves into the new role with more than 30 years’ experience in hospitality and asset management. Prior to joining Quest, he was in leadership positions with InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt International across Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.
He graduated from the University of Newcastle, Australia with an MBA and is certified in Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management from Cornell University.
Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the National Advisory Board of Employment and National Board Director with the Accommodation Association of Australia and is a certified member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.