Montvale (NJ) May 10, 2007 - Dolce International, the global hospitality company specializing in the meetings experience, appoints Michel Prokop (48) Regional Area Director Germany. In addition to Mr. Prokop's position as General Manager of Dolce Bad Nauheim, Dolce's Hotel & Conference Destination near Frankfurt, Germany, Mr. Prokop will manage Dolce's Conference & Event location BallhausForum Munich while at the same time support Dolce International's expansion in Germany.

"We have known Michel Prokop as an excellent General Manager for years. Based on his previous performance and success, we think he is perfectly able to manage several properties at the same time within the scope of the German expansion.” Says Steve Giblin, President & Chief Operating Officer of Dolce International.

Since 2004, Mr. Prokop has been managing Dolce Bad Nauheim. The property near Frankfurt has a conference area of over 27,000 sq. ft., its own 786 seat theatre, 159 guest rooms and a 10,700 sq. ft. spa. Thanks to innovative ideas, a committed team and numerous regional and national partnerships, Mr. Prokop managed to successfully bring the property up to Dolce standards and to position it in the highly competitive conference and event market within two years.

In cooperation with Jan Janssen, Dolce's Director of Acquisitions & Development Europe, Michel Prokop supports the development of new Dolce Destinations in Germany. The most recent German addition is the BallhausForum Munich, managed by Dolce International since March 2007. Right next to the conference, exhibition and event location (107,700 sq. ft.; capacity up to 3,100 people), Dolce will also develop and manage a 246-room Hotel & Conference Destination, named Dolce Munich, in cooperation with an investor. "Munich is only one of the regions we have seriously considered during the course of our Europe expansion. We have already been conducting negotiations regarding further properties across Germany. An especially interesting aspect for our portfolio is the proximity to larger cities and metropolitan areas as well as an excellent economic infrastructure,” Mr. Prokop adds.

Michel Prokop reports to Philippe Attia, Senior Vice President Operations Europe, who heads up Dolce's European operations. Currently Dolce International operates 7 European Hotel, Resort & Conference Destinations in Barcelona, Paris, Provence, Brussels, Frankfurt and Munich.

Biography Michel Prokop

Born an Austrian citizen in 1959 in Manila, he obtained a Bachelor Degree in Tourism from the Salzburg Hotel & Tourism Management Institute at Schloss Klessheim following his A-Levels. He attended specialist courses at Cornell University (Ithaca, New York) and also obtained management diplomas from hotels chains Holiday Inn and Intercontinental, which paved the way for entry into an international hotel career. Michel Prokop started his career as a management trainee at the Intercontinental Hotel in Cologne.

There is hardly a position he did not fill in the following years. Assistant, Front Office Manager, Food & Beverage Manager and Resident Manager in New York, Cairo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Peking, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Munich and Frankfurt – Michel Prokop is at home everywhere in the world. Prestigious hotel chains like Intercontinental, Penta, and Kempinski have been stages of his past career, as well as Crowne Plaza in Wiesbaden, which he headed as General Manager from 1999 to end of 2003. Since September 2004, he has been General Manager of Dolce Bad Nauheim, and since April 2007, also Area Director Germany.

About Dolce International

Dolce International is a global hospitality company specializing in the meetings experience. The company has a portfolio of 23 unique properties in the United States, Canada and Europe.  Each property features a different style ranging from a contemporary conference hotel, to an authentic alpine village, to a modern Spanish resort by the sea, to a traditional corporate learning center. All Dolce Destinations meet the high standards of the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC).  While Dolce International specializes in the meetings niche of the hospitality industry, the company also caters to leisure travellers, individual business travellers and offers a variety of venues for events.  Headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey and Paris, France, the company has approximately 3,000 employees.  For more information, visit the website at www.dolce.com. 

Michael Grossman
Senior Director of Global Distribution
Dolce International
T: 201 505 4400