Todd Handy has been appointed General Manager of East Hotel, Canberra’s highly anticipated four and a half star contemporary design and lifestyle hotel. With it’s focus on providing a memorable Canberra experience and its premium location between the fashionable retail and restaurant hubs of Manuka and Kingston, East Hotel ups the ante for local guests and visitors to the nation’s capital.

A native of the USA, Todd studied Hotel and Restaurant management at Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina before heading to Australia where he graduated from the Australian International Hotel School with a B.Sc in Business Administration (Hotel Management) in conjunction with Cornell University.

Todd began his career in hotels managing the Guest Services department at Four Seasons Resort and Club in Dallas, Texas, where as the youngest department head, he contributed to the resort achieving a AAA 5 diamond rating.

After relocating back to Australia, Todd became Hotel Operations Manager at Hotel Kurrajong, the fully operational training hotel at the Australian International Hotel School. He then moved into a senior management role in privately run University Accommodation, before becoming Business Manager of a boutique residential design and construction company. Todd’s passion for the industry was evident as he also found time to accept invitations to deliver lectures on Service Industry Management at the University of Canberra and Front Office Management at the Australian International Hotel School.

Todd believes that careful selection and professional training of staff is the key to success in the hospitality industry, and he emphasized this with his staff selection for East Hotel. Todd has hired a team that work together to provide standards of service that meet his rigorous criteria. Inclusive service from all members means that there will be no distinct service departments but a cohesive team ready to assist any guest with any request.

“It is about creating a unique experience for every guest. As guests have differing expectations, it is up to us to match our service level to their needs and exceed their expectations in the most subtle ways,” said Todd. “My team at East Hotel know how I feel about creating the ‘East Experience’ - good enough isn’t good enough.”

Todd has worked closely with Dan Bisa, the owner of East Hotel and Director of Bisa Hotels in developing the service model for the hotel. East Hotel will provide a contemporary, cool and vibrant option for visitors to Canberra, whether overnighters, business guests, long stay guests or families. The six-story hotel has 140 rooms in various studio and apartment-style combinations, recognizing the challenges families can face with hotel accommodation by providing specially designated suites, cleverly designed in a modular, fun way specifically to cater for both adults and kids. The hotel has standalone dining and bar facilities, with Ox Eatery and it’s associated Bar and Delicatessen.

East Hotel has been developed by Bisa Hotels and is the first of many future projects for the hotel group.