The Lake District Hotels Association has appointed a new chair.
Michael Coletta, 57, has been managing director of Langdale Leisure Limited since 2020. He was a serving non-executive director of Langdale Owners plc since 2007.
He takes over from Ben Mayou, formerly of the Lakeside Hotel who is now general manager of Ulverston Golf Club.
The association represents around 50 of the top independent and branded properties and tourist attractions in Cumbria, with a direct and indirect economic impact of £459 million.
They employ more than 2,000 people, offering over 2,000 bedrooms a night and spend £40 million a year on local goods and services, investing £9 million on capital expenditure programmes.
Michael worked for Hilton for 27 years, finishing his career with them as the UK general manager for Hilton Grand Vacations, and has a background in accounting.
He has worked in the hospitality sector for 32 years, specialising in timeshare management for 23 years and was a board member of the timeshare industry body for Europe, Resort Development Organisation.
He is a former trustee of the Hilton Hotels UK Pension Scheme and as a chartered manager himself, was a member of the Chartered Management Institute for Scotland’s main board.
In addition to being the new chair of the association, he is also the vice chair of the European Resort Owners Coalition, which exists to represents timeshare owners across the UK and Europe.
Michael said he strongly believed that the hospitality sector, particularly in Cumbria, needed to work closely together to give guests the best possible experience.
He added: “By doing so the entire sector thrives bringing benefits to every business, employee and community.”
