The chief operating officer of Atlantis Resorts and Residences Serge Zaalof has died.
Described as a “world-class hotelier and a friend of the UK travel industry”, Zaalof is understood to have had a terminal illness. He passed away on Friday.
Zaalof was head of operations for all Atlantis Resorts and Residences worldwide, including Atlantis, The Palm and Atlantis, Sanya Hainan in China.
He was also overseeing the developments of The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences in Dubai and Atlantis, Ko Olina in Hawaii.
In a message top staff, Kerzner International chief executive officer Michael P Wale said: “There are many examples of distinguished hoteliers around the world whose careers have been positively impacted by Serge.”
On Twitter Andrew Botterill, Former chief executive of dnata Travel Europe and now chairman of Travelcorp Holdings, wrote:
“So very sad to hear of the passing of Serge Zaalof from @ATLANTIS – he was a world class hotelier and a friend of the UK travel industry.”
So very sad to hear of the passing of Serge Zaalof from @ATLANTIS – he was a World class hotelier and a friend of the UK travel industry #RIP#Dubai
— Andrew Botterill (@AndrewBotterill) July 31, 2018
Zaalof joined Atlantis, The Palm as president and managing director in September 2009, before being made chief operating officer in September 2016.
He previously spent a decade with the Jumeirah Group as general manager at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Madinat Jumeirah and as well as senior vice president for Asia Pacific.
Prior to that, he spent a year as general manager for resorts in the Caribbean and Tunisia with Allegro International.
In a career that took all over the world, he began with the Ritz-Carlton in Paris in 1978 with whom he held various positions in the UK and US.
He went on to work for Hyatt International in Mexico, Morocco and the UK before being made general manager of the Hyatt Regency in Casablanca in 1995.