Staycity makes three senior appointments
European serviced apartment operator Staycity has made three senior appointments, as the company continues to expand.
Former Accor chief operating officer and member of Accor's global executive committee, Michael Flaxman (pictured), has been appointed to the board as a non-executive director.
Flaxman spent 27 years with Accor working across its hotel portfolio, which includes brands such as Sofitel, Adagio, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis. He left Accor in 2011 and has since been working as a consultant to the hotel industry.
Keith Freeman becomes Staycity's chief operating officer. Freeman, previously operations manager with Whitbread's budget brand Premier Inn, was closely involved in the successful launch of the brand in Ireland.
The appointment of Michael Flaxman and Keith Freeman follows that of Anthony Carragher as Staycity's chief commercial and development officer.
Carragher has served on the board of Staycity since 2007 having previously been partner/chief financial and investment officer for Irelandia, the investment vehicle of the Ryan family, founders of Ryanair, in which capacity Carragher served on several high-growth airline boards.
"Recruiting high calibre, experienced hospitality professionals is a vital part of our strategy and will help us in our aim to develop and expand. I admire Premier Inn for its award-winning customer service and am delighted to welcome Keith on board to drive our own customer service to new highs," said Staycity co-founder and CEO Tom Walsh.
Staycity, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary, has more than 1,000 apartments across eight European cities with plans to expand to 5,000 over the next five years.
Later this month the company will open 161 purpose-built apartments across two properties in Greenwich, London, with further apartments to follow in Venice and Lyon.