Claus Sendlinger,CEO of Design Hotels ™ AG,has announced a change in the roles of the executive
management in the company. “Some of the responsibilities have been amended to better suit the
structures of our Sales, Distribution and Revenue Management. We have extended the spectrum of our
services in the past few years so that we can be an effective provider and partner for our member hotels,”
he explains.
Arno Schwalie (38) takes on the role of Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer, and will continue to be responsible for the Commercial Operations unit including Portfolio Development, Distribution Management, Global Sales, Revenue and Distribution Management, Membership Services and Business Intelligence.
As Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Sascha Wolff (40) will continue to head up the Finance & Administration unit . In addition to managing all legal matters for Design Hotels™,Wolff will further be responsible for Investor Relations.
The Brand, Marketing & Communications Department led by Bernd Neff (48) will remain unchanged. Neff is
responsible for the management of Corporate Marketing, Creative Services, Digital Marketing and PR &
Communications.
THE EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM
CLAUS SENDLINGER, FOUNDER AND CEO DESIGN HOTELS™
Sendlinger (49) began his career in the travel industry in 1987 with the founding of an agency specializing in sport and music events. Only four years later Travel Trends, a tour organizer for high end, authentic travel experiences, followed.
In 1993, Sendlinger established Design Hotels Inc. in Sausalito, California. What began a s a small hotel cooperation with 10 iconic members, focused on communications strategies that went beyond traditional tourism marketing. With the growth of its worldwide creative network,lebensart global networks AG was born in Augsburg, Germany in 1998 and went public in 1999. In 2003, the company was renamed Design Hotels AG and in 2004 the headquarters was moved to Berlin. Today, Design Hotels™ represents and markets a hand picked collection of 250 hotels in 46 countries. Sendlinger leads the company with an Executive Management Team. In November 2012, Sendlinger was honored at the European Hotel Design Awards for outstanding contributions to the industry. In January 2013, Design Hotels AG received the
Special Award from one of the top German hospitality publications AHGZ (Allgemeine Hotel-und Gastronomie
-Zeitung).
ARNO SCHWALIE, VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
Schwalie (38) joined Design Hotels™ in 2006 as head of Strategy & Development.In November 2010, he was
promoted to Vice President Business Development & Corporate Strategy, as well as a member of the Executive Management Team with commercial power of representation. Schwalie has a background in strategy, marketing, and sales in national and international companies. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration, a degree in International Business Administration from the European Management Academy,a degree as Real Estate Business Economist and Hotel Real Estate Investment and Asset Management from Cornell University.
SASCHA WOLFF , VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Wolff (40) trained and worked as a tax consultant at Epple, Hörmann & Kollegen in Augsburg , advising private and business clients on all aspects of accountancy practice, including auditing, comp any law, trusts and tax declaration. He joined Design Hotels™ in February 2000 to direct the finance department, managing
the company’s book keeping and later controlling and IT. Wolff was named Director of Finance in 2004, thus becoming a member of the Executive Management Team with commercial power of representation.
In 2009, he was promoted to Vice President of Finance.
BERND NEFF,VICE PRESIDENT BRAND, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Neff (48) started with Design Hotels™ in January 2007 as Director of Brand Management.In March 2009,
Neff joined the Executive Management Team as Vice President Brand, Marketing & Communications
with commercial power of representation. Neff spearheads Design Hotels™brand building and digital marketing efforts, which are vital to the company’s vision of creating an unrivaled community for design, architecture and culture. He is also responsible for communications and the company’s creative services department.
Neff has an extensive background in the film, music, fashion and advertising industries as creative producer of TV shows, commercials, music videos, and major events.
Design Hotels™ represents and markets a curated selection of 250 independent hotels in over 40 countries
across the globe.More than a collection of hotels, the company is a collection of stories. Each property reflects the ideas of a visionary hotelier, an “Original,” someone with a passion for genuine hospitality, cultural authenticity, thought provoking design and architecture. Each “Original” stands for the individual, aesthetic and service – driven experience that his or her hotel provides.
Founded by Claus Sendlinger in 1993, Design Hotels™ offers its members insightful travel industry
knowledge, from market trend consultancy to international sales representation. The company has its
headquarters in Berlin and branches in London, Barcelona, New York, Singapore and Perth.
