The current General Manager of Rydges Tradewinds Cairns, Matthew Hurley has been appointed Area General Manager for all three Rydges hotels in the Cairns region.

This announcement follows the recent departure of former Area General Manager, Simon White last month.  After three years in the tropical north, Simon and his family have relocated to New Zealand for him to take up the position of General Manager for Rydges Wellington.

Mr Hurley is delighted to take on the increased responsibility of overseeing all three Rydges hotels in Cairns while retaining his position as General Manager for Rydges Tradewinds Cairns – a position he has held since the beginning of March 2009.

In Cairns, Rydges Hotels and Resorts operates Rydges Esplanade Resort (240 rooms), Rydges Tradewinds Cairns (233 rooms and 12 suites) and Rydges Plaza Cairns (101 rooms).  That is a total of 586 rooms in addition to extensive conference facilities and food and beverage operations.

“This is an exciting and challenging time for Rydges in Cairns. I am really looking forward to working with the young an enthusiastic team of managers that we have in this region.”

Prior to his appointment at Rydges Tradewinds Cairns in 2009, Matt spent nearly five years as General Manager of Operations for the Quicksilver Group of Companies comprising Quicksilver, Great Adventures and Green Island Resort.

Interestingly, Matt was an original member of the Rydges team when the company started in 1988.  He went on to manage the Wentworth in Sydney from 1998 to 2000, then leaving after the excitement of the Olympics to be General Manager of Rydges Port Douglas until 2004.

During his career with Rydges, Mr Hurley opened Rydges in Perth and was awarded Rydges General Manager of the Year twice after his time in Melbourne and then Perth.

Mr Hurley kindled a love for Cairns from early on in his career – when at the age of 23,  was appointed General Manager of Lake Central Lodge.  

Mr Hurley has been a pro-active player in the tourism industry, sitting on the Australian Hotels Association NSW Executive in Sydney, was chairman of the AHA Accommodation in Perth and most recently was vice-chair of Port Douglas and Daintree Tourism.