The Banyan Tree Group Unveils New MarCom Trio For Three Maldives Properties
Monday 15th of May 2023
The Banyan Tree Group, one of the world’s leading independent & multi-branded hospitality groups has announced the appointment of a new MarCom trio for three of its properties in the Maldives. The trio will be responsible for driving the marketing communications initiatives at the Maldives properties through the development of effective campaigns.
The new team will work to ensure wider reach in various sources by focusing on purpose-driven stewardship and well-being while offering exceptional design-led experiences. This will ultimately help to capture more market segments and increase overall revenues at all properties in the Maldives. Thus, together, they will contribute to the strengthening of the offline and online presence of Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru, Dhawa Ihuru and Angsana Velavaru worldwide.
Ronalaine Fernandez Sato – MarCom & PR Manager
Ronalaine Fernandez Sato brings over 13 years of extensive experience in the hospitality and travel & tourism industries, having worked both in the Maldives and her home country Philippines. Before joining the team at Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, Rona was serving as the Assistant Manager – PR & Communications at Finolhu Baa Atoll Maldives, a property of the German-owned Seaside Collection.
She is particularly reputed for her creativity, keen attention to the finer details and her ‘can-do attitude’. Moreover, her versatility, flexibility and ability to work under pressure are valued assets to the role. These talents combined with her saviour-faire and cordiality led to her successful navigation at the property during the resort’s major transformation and reopening in 2020. Having worked in the Maldives since 2014, Rona is now an expert on the market and destination as well.
Her previous roles in the Maldivian hospitality scene include serving as Sales Executive at Finolhu in 2019 before being promoted to Sales and Marketing Executive and then to Assistant Manager. Rona has also done stints in Contracting and Sales at Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts and Alpha Maldives, a local tour operator. During her time in the Philippines, she was the Area Communications Manager of two distinct properties in Bohol and Mactan – two tourist hotspots in her homeland. During her free time, Rona enjoys self-learning a new language and playing the ukulele.
Riri Anggraheni Eka Rimandasari – Ecommerce Manager
Riri Anggraheni Eka Rimandasari has added 9 years of international experience in marketing to her resume’, having served multiple roles at home before landing a spot in the Maldives. For the past 3 years, she worked as a Customer Relationship Management, Ecommerce and Digital Marketing Manager for Cornerstone Retail Management – a sister company of Sheraton Hotel Group Indonesia.
Riri has taken up roles as a journalist for national TV (tvOne and Trans TV) and hosted online shows in her home country. In 2019, she became Indonesia’s official delegate to the World Journalism Conference held at Thomson Reuters in London. In the following year, she partnered with private and business sectors to build Peduli ODGJ Indonesia, a community that strives to raise awareness and care for people with mental illness, echoing her beliefs that good mental health at work increases productivity.
Her first time in the Maldives, Riri is enthusiastic about having fun in the sun and beyond and hopes to explore the mesmerizing seascapes that the Maldives is revered for. She holds a certificate in PADI Open Water Diving as well.
Khaled Jarrah – Assistant Digital Marketing Manager
Khaled Jarrah is a familiar face in the Banyan Tree Group, having served as the Marketing Executive of Banyan Tree Doha for almost two years now. During his time in Doha, he successfully led the hotel’s digital marketing, managed its website and optimized content on all social media platforms with increased reach by 267.7% on Facebook and 339.7% on Instagram within a year.
Hailing from Jordan, Khaled initiated his hospitality career as a chef, working in prestigious properties based in Qatar such as Crown Plaza® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn – The Business Park and IHG Hotels and Resorts. Once he reached the Sous Chef position, he was selected to participate in the IHG future leader programme through which he discovered an interest in the Sales & Marketing sphere. This led him to unleash his creativity on this path, ultimately switching over to a digital marketing role.
Khaled is a strong believer in the ethos ‘love what you do and do what you love’. As per his beliefs, he continuously strives to enhance his digital marketing skills by finding the time to complete online courses and training. During his leisure time, as a connoisseur of good food, Khaled relishes checking out delectable new dishes or cooking for himself and his loved ones.