Accor has appointed Ronald Dooremalen as Vice President, People and Culture Operations for Asia, effective January 2026. In this strategic role, Dooremalen will oversee the global hospitality group’s people strategies, capability building and culture transformation across its expanding Asian operations.
Dooremalen brings more than two decades of international hospitality experience to the position, spanning luxury, lifestyle and premium properties across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Seychelles. His career has been defined by operational excellence and leadership development across some of the industry’s most prestigious brands.
A graduate of Hotelschool The Hague – one of the world’s oldest and top-ranked hospitality management institutions – Dooremalen began his career in 2003 at The Savoy in London. He progressed through front office and rooms division roles before being appointed Director of Rooms, a position he held from 2009 to 2012. During this period, he also provided pre-opening leadership for Fairmont Yangcheng Lake in Kunshan, China.
His expertise in brand transitions and hotel openings led to his appointment as Rooms Transitions Manager Asia for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, followed by the role of Executive Director of Rooms at Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in Dubai from 2012 to 2013. There, he drove guest satisfaction initiatives and brand standard compliance across the portfolio’s luxury properties.
Dooremalen subsequently held general manager positions at Raffles Seychelles and Raffles Europejski Warsaw before being appointed Hotel Manager at the iconic Raffles Hotel Singapore in February 2016. He later served as Hotel Manager at Raffles The Palm Dubai and General Manager of Orchard Hills Residences Singapore MGallery from 2019 to 2022.
He joined Accor in July 2022 as Director of Operational Support Projects, overseeing key markets including Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, the Philippines and the Maldives. Most recently, he served as Acting General Manager for the opening of Pullman Chennai Anna Salai, the brand’s debut in South India.
The appointment comes as Accor accelerates its Asian expansion. The group has a development pipeline of more than 230 hotels representing nearly 60,000 keys across the region, marking a third consecutive year of record growth. Recent openings include Pullman Hai Phong Grand Hotel in Vietnam, Swissôtel Living Jakarta Mega Kuningan and TRIBE Phuket Patong, while Raffles Sentosa Singapore opened as one of Asia’s most desirable resort destinations.
Accor’s global network now comprises over 5,740 hotels and 854,000 rooms, with more than 60 per cent of planned 2025 openings focused on Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. The group’s diverse portfolio spans 45 brands from luxury to economy, including Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure and ibis.
