When did your career start in hotels and was it always a goal of yours?
I started in hotels when I was 18 as a trainee manager for a company called English Lake Hotels, a group of hotels in the late district. I did a training management programme with them for two years and stayed in the leisure trade for about nine years then went into pubs, clubs and bars for a period then went back to hotels.
Around 12 years ago I went back to the same company, English Lakes in various roles and then I got the job as deputy GM with Another Place before it opened in 2017. I then got promoted to General Manager and then where I am now as Hotels Director.
What do you enjoy most about your industry?
It's the probably the variety. Every day is different, there's always something new. You meet different guests from all walks of life. At a wedding you meet a bride and groom for the first time and see that day through for them. That's the most special thing, working with them and delivering that for them ensuring that they have the best experience.
What’s your biggest achievement to date?
Delivering the outside project at Another Place, we started it two and a half years ago. The project consisted of the tree house, the shepherd huts, the Glass House which was the new concept restaurant for doing wood fired pizzas, and rebuilding the sheep shed to create a more welcome experience. We refurbed the den which is a new space for older children to enjoy. It’s been a huge project.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start working in a hotel?
Again, I think there's so much opportunity in hotels and so much variety and lots of transferable skills. Whether you're just finishing coming out of school and you’re not sure what to do, it's trying to do as much as you can within a hotel. If you're doing food and beverage then try and do something else, work in housekeeping, work in reception and just gain as much experience as you can and see what you enjoy most. Be open minded, there's so much potential for progression.
Hospitality is just crying out for people that want to commit and work in that business, and I think anyone that's showing that they want to work there will do really well.
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What is something that makes Another Place stand out from other hotels?
I don't think there's many hotels which match what we offer.
In the UK, I think every hotel has a restaurant and bedrooms with breakfast dinners and things. I think for us…we're not stuffy, we have a relaxed professional standard. Key to our brand is that we want to make amazing places come alive, so come to the lake. Yes, you can spend time in the building, but actually we encourage you to get onto the lake, go out on walks and use the grounds as much as possible.
It's vital that the teams are empowered to be themselves as well and not robotic, just be yourself and welcome the guests and just try and elevate their experience.
What’s something you pride yourself on at Another Place?
It's offering a complete experience. I think we've achieved that now with what we've done with the outside project and most recently The Brackenrigg Inn, our pub.
There are four restaurants on site, you've got more formal dining, and the relaxed dining in the Living Space, you've got pizzas from the Glass House and now you have the country pub as well. Added to that, we have a kid’s zone which not many people do in the UK, we'll look after your children during supervised sessions. Then there’s a sheep shed offering all the activities, kayaking, paddle boarding, archery and open water swimming with Colin Hill.
We grow our own vegetables as much as we can, if you go into the Glass House at the moment there's tomato plants growing and they'll be used on the pizzas and fresh basil.
It's a complete experience whether you want to come and relax or whether you want to come and be active, there's something for everyone.
Who’s your biggest influence?
I'm fortunate enough to work with a very strong exec team. The directors of the business are really hands on and very open minded. But for me it's probably Judi Blakeburn who is our CCO. I’ve learned a lot from her and her whole attitude in general and day-to-day working. It's a real privilege to work alongside her.
What can we expect to see from Another Place in the future?
Growth. we've purchased our second site, the Machrie on Islay in Scotland. We’ve been working hard on that to give it the same sort of style as Another Place. It’s along seven miles of beach front so guests can go paddle boarding and sea swimming.
We're creating areas where you can enjoy as a family, social golf is part of that. The scenery is fantastic, and the setting is really good, it’s by Links golf course.
