The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is moving forward with its strategic plan to develop an Asia Pacific headquarters, based in Sydney, and could fill two regional roles before Christmas, LATTE can reveal.
This week, Seb Seward, Vice President and General Manager, APAC for The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, shared details of the first two positions the luxury cruise operator is now recruiting for. Those being an Australia-based Manager Strategic Accounts – Australia & New Zealand; and a Singapore-based Director, Travel Partnerships – Asian Markets.
The Australia-based position (which could be based in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane) will be the first new recruit in Australia of up to a dozen roles Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has in its sight for Down Under by the end of 2025. That is in addition to Seward’s own role.
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In July, LATTE exclusively revealed Seward’s appointment with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and the planned establishment of a Sydney office.
Taking a brief break yesterday to speak with LATTE between sales calls (and as he acclimatises to Sydney’s humidity), Seward said he was quite overwhelmed with the level of interest in the promoted roles. As of Thursday night there had been 61 applicants for the Australia role and more than 100 for the Asia position.”Lots of people have been reaching out,” Seward said. On the candidate side, people with past experience in hospitality, cruising and the broader luxury sector are raising their hands.
He admits these first APAC roles have been “a while coming”, but the Englishman is becoming more and more familiar with the lay of the land in Australia, taking feedback from local luxury cruise specialists to ensure the operation will meet expectations.
“For The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection as a premium brand, we need to take the time, do this properly and in a way that will keep advisors happy,” he said.
In addition to the strategic account positions, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will enlist a sales coordination type role and a marketing manager, along with a dedicated reservations team with a manager, and potentially up to six agents. That team will likely be a phased start-up, comprised of two agency support staff, two B2C agents and two air specialists.
“We’ll be making more of a splash in market next year,” he confirmed.
But before then, Seward explains he is eager to recruit for the APAC strategic account roles “as soon as possible” to capitalise on a ‘sales kick-off’ event being held at the start of January in the cruise line’s global HQ in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, conducted by Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Kristian Anderson.”Having the local recruits signed up by the ‘kick-off’ will add a huge amount of value, while also enabling the newcomers to see the product firsthand in the Caribbean, and familiarise themselves with the brand’s teams, from groups to inventory control.
“It’s not a deal breaker , but it is a great opportunity.”
View the Australia-based role here. And view the Singapore-based role here.
