Oakwood®, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mapletree Investments, has promoted Lina Abdullah to the role of Regional General Manager to complement her current position as General Manager of Oakwood Hotel & Residence Sri Racha in Chonburi, Thailand. Lina’s promotion is a strategic move to streamline Oakwood’s operations, revenue and business development plans for Asia Pacific. In her dual capacity, Lina will oversee a cluster of six operating properties in Thailand as well as pre-opening projects in Cambodia and Myanmar while maintaining the growth of Oakwood’s portfolio in these countries.
On 12 March 2020, Lina was recognized as the Rising Star of 2020 during the annual Serviced Apartment Awards in London. The Serviced Apartment Awards are the first and only dedicated awards created for the international serviced apartment industry. While most awards are conferred by a panel of industry experts, the Rising Star Award is a vote of confidence by industry peers and readers of Serviced Apartment News. In addition, Lina was Thailand’s Best General Manager for Hospitality Category conferred by CMO Asia in 2018.
Lina began her Oakwood journey in March 2015. Tasked to manage the former Oakwood Residence Garden Towers Bangna, Bangkok, her remit included the Bangna Convention Center and Food Camp by Oakwood. Lina went on to open Oakwood Hotel & Residence Sri Racha with great success in 2017. As a result of Lina’s strong background in hospitality operations and yield management, the property was awarded with a five star credential and ranked number one on Tripadvisor by its guests. Under Lina’s leadership, the property garnered numerous awards and accolades over the past three years, including notable recognitions by the World Travel Awards and Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards.
“To sustain Oakwood’s expansion plans in Asia Pacific, we recognize the need to provide strategic leadership on a regional basis. Lina’s new role follows a recent appointment for Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. With our target of achieving over 100 operating Oakwood properties within the next three years, we are committed to nurturing internal talents who personify our brand of hospitality excellence,” said Paul Stocker, Vice President Operations of Oakwood Asia Pacific. “Over the past five years, Lina has achieved remarkable success both on the professional and personal front. We have no doubt that she will continue to deliver exceptional results for Oakwood and our business partners in Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.”
Lina began her hospitality career with an eight-year tenure at Marriott properties in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. While in the United Kingdom, she joined Thistle City Barbican in London as Hotel Manager before being promoted to Acting General Manager. Lina accepted her first General Manager role at Holiday Inn Northampton West in Northampton. She ventured to the Middle East to open the Holiday Villa in Bahrain in the same capacity. Prior to Oakwood, Lina worked at Onyx Hospitality Group where she was the General Manager responsible for opening the Amari Dhaka in Bangladesh in 2014.
