TUI Group announced on 2 September 2026 the appointment of Louise Bates as Managing Director of TUI Blue Hotel. Previously Director of Brand & Products at TUI Hotels & Resorts, she will formally take up the role on 1st October 2026, at the start of the group’s new financial year.
Louise Bates will also join the hotel subsidiary’s management board. Alongside Bernd Mäser, Managing Director of TUI Hotels & Resorts since 1st May 2026, she will take joint responsibility for the division, which brings together the group’s own hotel and club brands, including Robinson, TUI Magic Life, TUI Blue and The Mora.
Eleven years of development for Artur Gerber
Artur Gerber, 61, is leaving the group at his own request but will remain closely associated with TUI in an advisory role. Following his departure from the management board, he intends to pursue new projects. Having joined TUI Group in 2015, he played a decisive role in the development and international growth of TUI Blue as a new hotel brand.
Under his leadership, the brand was built into an international portfolio. Artur Gerber also brought his experience to the development and launch of The Mora, the group’s luxury brand. Milestones of his career include entry into the Chinese market, the successful development of operations there, and the establishment of new hotel hubs on the African continent.
Continuity upheld by Marco Ciomperlik
Marco Ciomperlik, Chief Operating Officer of TUI, has noted that Artur Gerber played a decisive role in shaping the group’s hotel business in recent years. He has said that with TUI Blue, Artur Gerber built a strong international hotel brand and actively contributed to its growth, while also helping to build the luxury brand The Mora. Marco Ciomperlik has thanked him on behalf of the entire TUI team for his commitment and wished him well for the future, both personally and professionally.
He has also said he is pleased to see Louise Bates, an executive with international experience gained within the group, take over the management of the TUI Blue and TUI Hotel brand. He has noted that she has successfully managed and developed hotel concepts such as TUI Sensatori and TUI Sensimar, and that she has an extensive network of international hotel partners.
A hotel division in full expansion
This appointment comes as TUI Hotels & Resorts continues the expansion of its hotel portfolio worldwide, with more than 460 hotels and resorts operated under brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson. The group draws on a customer base of more than 34.7 million and covers the entire tourism value chain, from hotels to cruises, airlines and travel agencies.
The leadership of TUI Hotels & Resorts has thus been renewed within the space of a few months, with the arrival of Bernd Mäser at its head in May 2026 and, now, that of Louise Bates as Managing Director of TUI Blue. This configuration places two executives at the joint helm of a portfolio of brands undergoing continuous development.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
TUI Blue announces leadership transition ahead of new financial year
Louise Bates appointed Managing Director of TUI Blue, effective 1 October 2026
She succeeds Artur Gerber, who joined TUI Group in 2015 and led TUI Blue’s international growth
Bates joins the TUI Hotel Betriebsgesellschaft management board, working alongside Bernd Mäser, CEO of TUI Hotels & Resorts since May 2026
Previously Director of Brand & Products at TUI Hotels & Resorts, she has led hotel concepts including TUI Sensatori and TUI Sensimar
TUI Hotels & Resorts oversees more than 460 hotels and resorts under brands including RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson
