The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)has announced the appointment of Kirsten Parkins as its new director of sales and marketing.
Parkins has worked in wide variety of progressive roles, including food and beverage, conference and catering, and sales and marketing. She brings a wealth of luxury hotel experience, of which 13 years have been within the region.
She began her hotel career with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and relocated from Toronto to Abu Dhabi in 2009. Her career with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts spans more than a decade, working across multiple properties, including the Fairmont Royal York, Fairmont Bab al Bahr and Fairmont Dubai. In addition, she worked at Raffles Dubai for nearly six years and assisted during the pre-opening of Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk.
Parkins joined the Marriott family in 2020 at the Sheraton Mall of the Emirates as director of sales and marketing. During her tenure, the hotel recorded several great achievements including reaching one of the third highest RGI results for the year since opening, the highest quarterly revenue in five years, and becoming the sales team of the quarter for the UAE in Q3 2021.
In her new role, she will focus on creating strategic marketing to reinforce The Ritz Carlton DIFC’s position as the leading luxury business hotel in Dubai.
