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Can you tell me about your career so far?
I started my career a long time ago with Marriott, where I worked my way up through the ranks. My most recent ventures have been as pre-opening director for a company called Ginseng Hotels over in Asia where I opened Royal Tulip Hotel in January 2021. Then I had a short stint with the easyHotel Group and now I’m with YOTEL.
What attracted you to the role of general manager of the hotel?
It was more about the brand, because as a brand it excited me; it’s something that’s a little bit different, it’s driven by technology. It’s a forward-thinking brand that fits my personality and my vision of how I think hospitality is going. The brand is also bright, colourful, full of excitement and it’s just something that pulled me towards it.
As the new general manager, what are your plans for the hotel and what do you hope to achieve in the role?
We want to bring something fresh to the city of Manchester, trying to think outside the box of something that the city hasn’t seen before. Over the next couple of years, I really want to try to get YOTEL involved in the conversation with other people within the hospitality and catering industry.
As the only UK city to feature in Lonely Planet’s ‘Best in Travel 2023’ list, what makes the hotel stand out as quintessentially Mancunian?
Our food and beverage has a very strong Mancunian focus, as we use a lot of ingredients local to our region. It’s real Northern food with Northern soul, as we are trying to drive the use of local produce in our area.
What trends does YOTEL anticipate for the coming year?
There’s a lot going on with the brand itself, trying to create a lot of exciting stuff such as introducing brunches at the Manchester YOTEL. We are trying to create interest through marketing and social media, but ultimately we are also following trends to see where they take us.
What new things has the hotel planned in the near future?
The hotel is driven by its food and beverage offering. We’re also trying to do things like live music events at the venue, as well as a lot of speed dating events. In regards to working with brands like Whitley Neill and whatnot, we also hope to do more of those sorts of sponsored events. We are doing event brunches every month, as well as setting up our weekly bottomless brunches. That’s most of the stuff we have planned, in addition to a new menu that is being released this February.
