Stacy Samuel Vanchippara

Corporate Head of IT for 8 franchised IHG hotels across UAE, overseeing a portfolio of 2, 147 rooms and 10+ F&B outlets spanning Crowne Plaza,
Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Staybridge Suites brands.
Leadership & Governance
• Own enterprise-wide technology strategy, governance, and execution across franchised and third-party-managed assets
• Lead a multi-tier cluster IT organization (9-member team) driving performance, standardization, operational resilience and service delivery.
• Manage AED 600K+ annual OPEX and AED 3-4Mannual CAPEX, optimizing investments across infrastructure, guest-facing technology, and
digital transformation initiatives.
• Delivered new guest experiences including upgraded high-speed Wi-Fi, centralized guest management solutions, and AI-driven digital
initiatives, supporting ~500, 000 annual guest visits with exceptionally lowescalation rates.
• Contributed to 7%year-over-year profit growth through disciplined spend control, vendor optimization, and technology standardization.
• Drove portfolio-wide cost efficiencies (2023 - present), including renegotiated vendor contracts and lifecycle standardization.
Operations, Transformation and Board Engagement
• Directing end-to-end IT operations covering PMS, POS, networks, infrastructure, cybersecurity, guest Wi-Fi, AV, and back-of-house systems,
supporting high-occupancy, high-volume hotel environments.
• Primary technology advisor to owners and boards, driving executive decision-making on technology risk, CAPEX planning, cybersecurity,
IT compliance, pre-openings, acquisitions, and portfolio transitions.
• Elevated cybersecurity and compliance maturity through policy enforcement, access governance, and continuous monitoring, while
supporting both Internal and external audits end-to-end - no major IT audit findings recorded during tenure.
Expansion & International Growth
• Leading new openings and takeovers in Georgia (2 properties; CAPEX: USD 1.83M, OPEX: ~USD 0.5M) and Egypt (2 properties) -
overseeing technology due diligence, vendor onboarding, brand transitions, system deployments, and go-live readiness.

• Led the re-opening and rebranding of Raffles the Palm Dubai (389 ultra-luxury suites & villas) from a legacy brand into Accor standards
within an accelerated 90 days timeline, maintaining existing infrastructure with near-zero operational downtime.
• Simultaneously spearheaded the pre-opening of Hyde Dubai Business Bay (276 keys) - Accor/Ennismores first 5★ Hyde hotel outside
the U.S., achieving two major go-lives within one month.
• Owned end-to-end technology strategy, governance, and execution, covering PMS, POS, networks, data security, guest Wi-Fi, AV,
back-of-house systems, and vendor ecosystems under extreme timelines ensuring uninterrupted guest experience from Day One.
• Managed ~AED 2M+ technology CAPEX and AED 600K+ annual OPEX, driving cost control while meeting ultra-luxury performance,
security, and reliability benchmarks.

• Head of Technology for two iconic luxury assets: Raffles Dubai and the pre-opening of Sofitel Dubai The Obelisk, the largest Sofitel in MEA.
• Oversaw technology for 847 keys, 9 restaurants, 2, 500+ sqm of meeting space, supporting luxury guest journeys and high-volume events.
• Delivered MEAs Best Guest Wi-Fi Performance Award (2019) across Accor, achieving a top score of 83.6%, directly impacting guest
satisfaction and brand rankings.
• Led modernization toward a centralized data centre with DR architecture, enabling shared services, and cost efficiency across properties.

● In-charge for the entire IT & AV Operations and Support for a Cluster Combo of 3 hotels consisting of 1146 rooms. Pre-Opening of the Premium Deluxe 201 room Adagio Service Apartments, 9 Restaurants with 11 Meeting Rooms in Novotel and 2 meeting facilities in Ibis.
● Owned complete IT & AV operations for a 3-property cluster, including the pre-opening of Adagio Serviced Apartments, supporting large-scale F&B and MICE operations.

• Pre-Opening IT Manager for two properties, in-charge for the entire IT Operations and Support Systems for 641 room Business/Leisure
Hotel with 7 world-class restaurants and 7 Meeting rooms plus a 1000 Sq. Mtr Ballroom.

Functional
 Second in Charge for an 8 Hotel Cluster IT Setup managed from a Central Data Centre and a Central Office that employ 90+ users.
 Second level Support to all IT related technical issues which is escalated by the local support teams at the respective hotels.
 Managing and leading team members, allocating resources among team members and guide team members during their tasks and daily technical issues.

 Manage and support the DR setup for all the PMS systems and also efficient in managing and running images for all critical servers and have done restoration of the images as a part of the IT audit requirements of the company using the Symantec Backup Exec 12.5
Customer Relationship Management

 Actively involved in the transitioning of processes in adherence with the client’s requirements.
 Undertaking responsibilities of removing unnecessary procedures in process for efficient functioning.
 Ensuring uniformity in the process understanding at the client’s and the organization’s end.
 Representing the process before the Higher Level Management and the client.

Service Operations
 Supervising customer service operations for rendering and achieving quality services; providing customer support by answering queries & resolving their issues, ensuring minimum TAT.
 Setting out quality standards for various operational areas & conducting regular quality audits, ensuring a high-quality customer experience, while adhering to the SLAs and work processes.
IT Infrastructure Management
 Developing and negotiating with vendors for timely supply of computer peripherals and hardware devices to facilitate smooth project activities, ensuring compliance with SLA.
 Overseeing development and implementation of Business Application Packages.
 Maintaining updated documentation for current hardware and software configurations, and also for proposed future installations & modifications to the current environment for Depts.

 A technology driven professional with over 7 years of extensive cross-cultural experience in Project Management, IT Infrastructure & Network, Service Delivery, Technical Support Service & Customer Relationship Management in reputed organizations in India and Dubai.
 Most recently have worked with Dubai Festival City Shopping Centres Hotels LLC, Dubai as Asst. IT Manager - Intercontinental Hotels Dubai Festival City Cluster (4 properties - 1026 rooms, 33 F&B Outlets, 18 Meeting Rooms and 2 Banquet Halls).
 Proficient in managing & leading teams for running successful process operations & experience of developing procedures, service standards for business excellence.
 Hands on expertise in Configuration, Administration and Technical/Service Support of IT Infrastructure, Network, System & Applications in Hospitality sector, Real Estate, IT Solutions Management Companies.
 Holds the distinction of achieving successful track record of Management/Participation in Network Implementation/Migration Projects in International environment.
 A project planner with expertise in spearheading the IT system implementation initiatives, ensuring delivery of projects within the time and cost parameters.
 Possess in depth experience & expertise in Diagnosis of Application Conflicts, System Bugs, Network Performance Tuning, Disk-space Management, Configuration/Support of MS Active Directory etc
 Adept in IT Infrastructure Management with experience in configuring and troubleshooting various hardware and software related issues.
 Proficient in setting up and managing Network Computing Environment entailing Local Area / Wide Area Networks and Networking Devices Administration.
 Excellent communication & interpersonal skills with proven abilities in customer relationship management & Team Management.

Role
 Functioning as Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for all Network related activities for entire Food & Beverage department of the company.
 Responsible for maintaining & upgrading the Micros 3700 v.3 Point of Sales system to the 9700 (ongoing project) and ensuring direct and second level support to the clients.
 Monitoring and administering Windows 2003 system for a base of 250 users (F&B dept) and over 1000 users in the entire group.
 Ensuring support to HP network systems in respect to fixed line access using the HP Procure Switches & Access Points.
 Provide technical support during Oracle ERP Apps roll out for all the 32 Companies in the organization.
 Overseeing proper functioning of software widely used in Hotel Industry entailing OPERA, MICROS, FCS, Sun System, Novell GroupWise, VDA etc
 Managing the Customer Loyalty Kiosks which works on a Central Customer Loyalty Rewards software which while purchasing goods from the mall outlets, the customer is entitled to loyalty points and rewards.
 Managing back up activities of the network server ensuring safety of data in the event of network problems.
 Setting up user accounts, regulating and monitoring file access to ensure confidentiality and proper use.
 Handling maintenance of the peripherals including printers and up gradation of equipments entailing user PC, printers, telephones etc.
 Holds the credit of handling wide gamut of IT Operations including:
• Micros - Point of Sales Systems - 3700 ver.3 & EM, Res 4, & 9700 Ver. 3.2sp8 with NetVuPoint
• Fidelio Materials control (FMC - purchasing, requisitioning & inventory control)
• Property Management Software - OPERA (Raffles Dubai & APH- Dubai)
Significant Achievement:
 Holds the distinction of representing IT department from the owner’s side as pre opening team member for Raffles Hotel- Dubai.

 Supervising Installation, Programming & Deployment of the entire PABX Telecommunications System in coordination with Siemens, the supplier of the system.
 Monitoring proper functioning of various software widely used in Hotel Industry including OPERA, MICROS, FCS, Sun System, Novell GroupWise, VDA (HITV) etc
 Ensuring customization of existing software to meet specific business process requirement.

Major Project Handled

 Project: All Property Management Systems
Client: Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, Dubai
Duration: 24 Months
Team Size: 3
Role: Team Member

 Project: All Property Management Systems (IT Infrastructure Design & SOP’s)
Client: Kempinski Hotel, Djibouti & Zanzibar
Duration: 4 Months
Team Size: 3
Role: Projects Team Member (Task Force)

Career Graph
Assistant Team Manager Aug’04-Feb’05
Customer Support Specialist Aug’03-Jul’04 Role:
 Managing all technical issues related to McAfee Virus Scan & Firewall and ensuring resolution within minimum turn around time.
 Functioning as a subject matter expert of McAfee and accountable for virus removal.
 Rendering support to all functions of business and ensuring smooth operation.
 Effectively handling escalated service request and mentoring and training new resources.

Significant Achievement:
 Holds the distinction of being ranked 7 in the world and best in India among 250 senior technicians.
 Prestige of being nominated for taking charge of 20 technicians on technical and managerial issues.