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Premier Inn owner Whitbread has announced the appointment of Emma O’Shiel as its new project and programme manager in the Irish development team to aid in the group’s ambition to deliver its 5,000 bedroom target.
O’Shiel, who has over 15 years of experience in delivering building projects for the Isle of Man government and private clients, will be responsible for leading the construction of Whitbread’s pipeline of secured development sites in Ireland.
In her new role, O’Shiel will report to Matt Gent, Whitbread’s development manager for Ireland.
O’Shiel will initially take on a pipeline of three prime development sites in Dublin and a second location for Premier Inn in Cork to allow Gent to focus on new site acquisitions across Ireland.
Whitbread currently operates a network of six hotels in Dublin and Cork, offering its guests a choice of more than 1,000 bedrooms with a further 1,000 bedrooms in the pipeline.
The group is also aiming to hit a medium-term growth target of 5,000 Premier Inn bedrooms across the country.
Gent said: “Emma comes with the experience we need to take our expansion to the next level in Ireland. She will hit the ground running delivering our secured pipeline of locations and help me and our wider team appraise development opportunities for Premier Inn across Ireland.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with her as we work to achieve our goal of establishing a network of Premier Inn’s in Ireland that matches the quality and depth of our estate in the UK.”
O’Shiel added: “Whitbread’s flexibility as a development partner stood out when applying for the position. The business has a long track record of delivering its hotels itself or in partnership with private and public sector developers, and I’m excited by the opportunity to put my experience working for both types of organisations into practice in Ireland.
“Whitbread’s ambitions are set high in Ireland, and I can’t wait to play a part in supporting the business to achieve its goals.”
Earlier this year in May, Whitbread released a revised network plan strategy for Ireland, which included new target locations for Premier Inn in Dublin City Centre, as well as four Outer-Dublin locations where it is seeking to secure a presence.
