An Irish and British national with two decades of hospitality experience in Asia and Europe has been named Melia Pattaya Hotel's director of food and beverage.
Peter Laird has joined the 234-room Melia Pattaya to create culinary and beverage concepts and menus and to deliver quality hospitality through training and analysis.
He will also manage the revenue and costs of the hotel's rich culinary landscape, featuring the hotel's rooftop restaurant and bar, Yitong Chinese Restaurant & Sky Bar, that serves Cantonese cuisine with some Sichuan choices, all-day dining restaurant Sanehh Sarae that specialises in fresh, locally sourced seafood, and Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei restaurant Den.
Laird has worked in Thailand since 2018. Before joining Melia Pattaya, Laird was the director of F&B at Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort. Previously, he was the assistant director of F&B at Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit and opened the hotel's Belga Rooftop Bar & Brasserie.
In the early to mid-noughties, he studied at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College in England. Laird went on to become the banquets and events manager at Matfen Hall Golf & Spa Hotel, general manager of All Bar One venues across England and the general manager at Brouge Twickenham before moving to Thailand.
"Peter is a results-driven and versatile professional with a track record of bringing remarkable projects to fruition, pin-pointing sales opportunities and encouraging positive efforts from his entire team," said Melia Pattaya's General Manager Javier Gimeno. "He will undoubtedly thrive in making our F&B landscape Pattaya's most desirable place to dine."
"You're only as good as your team and I have a history of developing my teams and promoting from within," Laird added. "When we hire the right team and nurture their talent effectively, we are in a prime position to promote from within."