Vice-chancellor spent £400 on ONE NIGHT in Dubai and took luxury trips to Florida, Tel Aviv and Rio
City’s vice-chancellor has claimed thousands of pounds on luxury hotel stays around the world, The Square can reveal.
Paul Curran’s priciest trip was in Dubai’s Jumeirah Emirates Towers, costing more than £400 for just one night.
He stayed at the five-star hotel – which has hosted celebrities including Eva Longoria and Ricky Martin – while attending a graduation ceremony for Cass students in May last year.
The expenses documents, released as part of The Square’s investigation into the vice-chancellor’s lavish expenses, describe Curran’s room as an “executive double”.
But the closest match on the hotel’s website for that rate is a Club Suite – just a level below the Presidential Suite – one of the best rooms in the hotel.
The Club Suite is described as “a sophisticated and flexible choice for the seasoned traveller,” providing “sweeping panoramic views of the Dubai cityscape.”
A City spokesman admitted that the vice-chancellor was in Dubai “for a very short amount of time” and revealed that the luxurious hideaway is also used by academic staff visiting the Middle East emirate for weekends.
In a further development that will cause anger among City students, it was last night revealed that the vice-chancellor is allowed to fly business class for long-haul flights.
Curran, who receives a salary of £280,000 per year, also jetted into Rio de Janeiro in July last year for the International Vice-Chancellors’ Meeting, spending four nights at the acclaimed Sofitel.
The Sofitel in Rio de Janeiro overlooks the city’s Copacabana Beach
Billing itself as “magnifique in every way,” the hotel – a winner at the latest World Luxury Hotel Awards – boasts a prime spot on the Copacabana Beach.
Santander, which hosted the conference, paid for three of the nights; the other cost City students over £250.
In April, Curran stayed in the Embassy Suites in downtown Tampa, Florida for the Association of American Geographers’ annual conference.
The plush palm tree-lined hotel is connected to the Tampa Convention Centre via a sky bridge and overlooks the Hillsborough River.
But Curran, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, is not named in the conference’s 358-page programme – and it does not appear to be relevant to his work as vice-chancellor.
A City official admitted that the conference visit was combined with “a period of annual leave”.
In March, he checked into Tel Aviv’s Dan Panorama for a government trade delegation at a cost of £328.82.
The five-star hotel has sweeping views of the Mediterranean.
A City spokesman said: “The vice-chancellor’s booking [in Dubai] was for between 6am in the morning until 6am the next day – more than one night but less than two.
“It is common practice for hotels in this region to offer this for people who require extended room access, but who do not need two full nights of accommodation.
This week, The Square is exclusively revealing the details of vice-chancellor Paul Curran’s luxury lifestyle.
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Sickening really to see students struggle to make ends meet, especially considering the extortionate rates of living in London, while those in the highest pay brackets embezzle funds entrusted to them to fulfil a life of luxury…
We demand that the Vice-Chancellor and the committee involved should be expelled. We, the students, need to unite and act against this injustice. International students suffer every year as FEES keep increasing. It is time that the University should release their detailed financial statements/accounts and be held accountable to students.