ASAP appoints Oakwood’s Richard Whittaker as new chair

Richard Whittaker, of Oakwood Worldwide, is joining the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) as its new chairman. He succeeds Don James, managing director of Berkshire Rooms.

ASAP appoints Richard Whittaker of Oakwood Worldwide as new Chairman of the Association

Relocate Editorial

20 February 2017

Not-for-profit trade body the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP) has appointed Richard Whittaker, director of supplier management (EMEA) at Oakwood Worldwide, as chairman.Mr Whittaker has been deputy chairman of the association since September 2016. He succeeds Don James, managing director of Berkshire Rooms, who has held the position for the last two years.

Driving growth

“I am honoured to be taking over as chairman of the ASAP,” said Richard Whittaker, “and very much look forward to continuing Don’s excellent work by driving forward the further growth of the association and, in particular, expanding our ASAP Quality Accreditation programme to new overseas markets."We also have exciting plans to extend our global reach by partnering with other trade associations to strengthen awareness of our sector internationally.”Said Don James, “It’s been very rewarding to lead the association at this time of rapid growth of our sector, and, in particular, to see us deliver on our objective for our membership to double in size to the 170 members we represent today. I am especially pleased to have seen our membership expand beyond the UK to 13 countries, and for us to have quality accredited operators in 130 cities across the world.”

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James Foice, chief executive of the ASAP, said, “Richard’s passion for our serviced apartment sector along with his very considerable experience, having held senior positions in the industry for the last 17 years, will be a tremendous asset to the ASAP. Richard’s leadership will be particularly instrumental to the association at this time as we continue our global expansion, with the further rollout of our Quality Accreditation Programme internationally.” For related news and features, visit our Serviced Apartments section.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online Directory Get access to our free Global Mobility Toolkit