Cordis Auckland has new boss: Craig Bonnor succeeds Franz Mascarenhas

The country’s biggest hotel has a new boss with Craig Bonnor appointed managing director of Cordis, Auckland.

He will succeed Franz Mascarenhas - who has been in the hotel industry for more than 35 years and head of Cordis in the city for the past 11 years.

At a packed tribute function last night, Mascarenhas described his time at the top as a roller coaster ride.

‘‘I had my best years here, and really enjoyed doing what we’ve done in this hotel.’'

Former Prime Minister Sir John Key and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown were among those who paid tribute to Mascarenhas for building up the Cordis and for his work in the wider hotel and tourism industry.

Mascarenhas will act as a consultant to the Cordis, owned by the Langham Hotel Group, and will now scope opportunities to expand it in this country.

He said the 500 staff at the Cordis had been responsible for the success of the hotel and the biggest supporters in his life had been his wife Lena, who he described as a rock, and his two children .

Cordis Auckland is New Zealand’s largest hotel with 640 rooms.

Mascarenhas said he had welcomed more than a dozen world leaders to the hotel, including now King Charles and Queen Camilla (twice) and Joe Biden when he was vice president of the United States in 2016.

He said King Charles was ‘’such a kind gentleman’' who insisted on meeting all staff who had looked after him and he gave them books. Biden asked his three grandchildren to introduce themselves and thank their hosts at the hotel.

Hosting pop group, One Direction, was not such a happy experience. The hotel was surrounded by thousands of screaming teenage girls and some young fans had also had rooms booked for them by their parents in the hope they’d meet the band.

‘‘They went running all around the corridors in the hope of meeting one of these young fellows and screaming away. In those two days we had more guest complaints than in my entire career,’' said Mascarenhas.

Bonnor brings more than 30 years of industry experience in rooms divisions, business development and general management.

He has spent time in properties across Japan, Thailand and Australia, working for brands including Hilton and Carlton Hotels.

He has been a general manager with the Hilton group for more than 12 years, and until last year, had been managing the Hilton, Petaling Jaya in Malaysia, a 547 room hotel.

He has been in the role of general manager at Cordis Auckland since last December.

“I am committed to continuing to deliver exceptional, heartfelt, service to our guests, fostering a positive work environment for our employees, and driving further success for the hotel.”

The Langham Hotel Group, (LHG) takes its name from its 159-year-old property in London - recognised as Europe’s first grand hotel.

Franz Mascarenhas, managing director of Cordis Auckland with then Prince Charles and Camilla. Photo / Supplied

It has about 30 hotels worldwide and is looking to expand globally and in this country.

Mascarenhas’ contribution to hotels was recognised with the Ashley Spencer Service to Industry award at the HM Awards in Sydney last year.

He navigated the hotel through the pandemic (when it didn’t take MIQ guests) and the building of a luxury tower on the site at a time the city was hit by multiple lockdowns.

He has held senior leadership positions across three global hotel companies - ITT Sheraton Hotels, Hyatt Hotels Corporation and LHG.

In last month’s Herald Infrastructure Auckland report, Mascarenhas said he wanted the importance of the tourism sector to Auckland and NZ to be taken seriously by local and central government.

“We are a large contributor to the government’s GST intake, a large employer given we are a people-related business, a large foreign exchange earner, and the conduit to much more economic activity, such as shopping, eating out and entertainment.”

He says there is not enough ability for the tourism industry to effectively market Auckland or NZ as a destination.

“Every major event - be it business, sport, entertainment or cultural - needs significant funding to secure them to the city or country.”

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.