Simon McGrath Named Head of Crown Sydney

Crown Resorts has been under a lot of pressure lately. First, the restrictions introduced by several states have left the company with a major hole in its finances, then, investigations into the company’s practices revealed some troubling details. The company operates several resorts around Australia, most of them with casino licenses – but Crown Sydney is not one of them. The resort has recently been refused one after an investigation into the company’s proceedings.

To revitalize the project, Crown brought in renowned hotelier Simon McGrath and has offered him a pretty wide responsibility.

Problems

The land-based hospitality and casino industry has received blow after blow since the pandemic started. Repeated closures have poked serious holes in the operators’ revenues, along with the mask and vaccine mandates. Grand Rush pokies and other operators thrived during the lockdowns, considering that they are not subject to any restrictions – players can head over to them at any time, using a computer or a smartphone, and play any game they can think of.

The problems caused by the repeated restrictions have led to Crown reporting decreased revenues in the last two years.

Crown Sydney: Under new management

Crown Resorts Limited has recently announced its decision to appoint an experienced hotelier and former CEO of Accor’s Pacific operations, Simon McGrath.

McGrath has extensive experience in the tourism and hospitality industry. Some of the most impressive entries on his résumé include Southern Pacific Hotels and Rydges Hotel Groups before he joined Accor as a General Manager at the Sofitel Reef Casino Cairns in 2005. Over the years, he was promoted to the position of VP of operations at Accor’s Australian hotels, then to Chief Operating Officer at the company’s hotels across the Pacific region. Finally, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific, a position he’ll be leaving to continue working with Crown Resorts.

Aside from serving as Chief Executive Officer at Crown Sydney, McGrath will also take over the company-wide Head of Hospitality post.

“Well-timed”

Crown Resorts CEO and managing director Steve McCann called McGarth’s arrival “well-timed”, with the company’s Sydney resort gearing up to “help rebuild international tourism” with an asset designed to attract patrons in the high-end luxury segment of the market.

“Simon’s international credentials means he brings to Crown Sydney an unparalleled understanding of the operation of luxury hotels and global hospitality businesses,” said McCann. “While it’s been incredible to see Sydneysiders embrace Crown Sydney over the last year, it’s now time for the world to experience it, and for us to use this great asset to help market ourselves as a prime destination in a very competitive market.”