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Cork International Hotel and the Metropole Hotel have been jointly awarded the top prize at the Irish Hotels Federation’s inaugural Quality Employer Awards, which was held in Athlone on Tuesday (13 January).
The two Cork hotels received the Exceptional People Management Award, the highest accolade in the programme, recognising what the federation described as strong performance in people development and human resources practices.
The awards, hosted at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Athlone, marked the first national ceremony linked to the federation’s Quality Employer Programme. More than 70 hotels from across the country have certified under the scheme, which assesses employment standards across areas including training, employee engagement and workplace culture.
A further 12 hotels were named Best-in-Class across three certification levels. At certified level, the recipients were Clanard Court Hotel in Kildare, Ballygarry Estate Hotel and Spa in Kerry, Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa Cork, and Conrad Dublin.
At advanced level, awards went to Kilkea Castle Hotel and Golf Resort in Kildare, Dromoland Castle and the Inn at Dromoland in Clare, and Clayton Hotel Cardiff Lane in Dublin.
The expert level awards were presented to Ballykealey House in Carlow, Muckross Park Hotel and Spa in Kerry, Midlands Park Hotel in Laois, and Slieve Russell Hotel in Cavan.
Michael Magner, president of the Irish Hotels Federation, said: “Warmest congratulations to Cork International Hotel and the Metropole Hotel – both hotels exemplify all the hallmarks of a Quality Employer. We are extremely proud to recognise their leadership and commitment to promoting an environment that provides people with opportunities to thrive and flourish through exceptional employment practices.
“It is an honour to be among so many inspiring HR leaders to celebrate the very best of people development across our hotels and guesthouse sector. Each and every property that participates in our Quality Employer Programme is striving for the same goal – to make their hotel a wonderful place to work and build a career.”
Dr Donagh Davern of Munster Technological University, who chaired the judging panel, added: “The judging panel were delighted to see evidence of a people-centric approach and the progress made in elevating the employer brand of the hotel profession,” Davern said. “The increase in support for both the physical and mental health and wellbeing of employees was particularly noteworthy.”
According to the federation, hotels and guesthouses directly support more than 67,000 jobs in Ireland, with a further 270,000 roles linked to the wider tourism industry.
