Here is the latest...
As we approach the end of 2022, we thought it would be a lovely time to round up the last few months of staff news. From engagements, to retirements, to staff promotions and babies, it’s been a busy few months for everyone at Brend Hotels.
Of course, with many brands and more than 1100 employees, we’ve only featured some of the key promotions, retirements and congratulations, but for the latest staff news you can always check out our social media pages for each hotel, restaurant or spa.
Recent Retirements
Early this month at Saunton Sands Hotel, Carol (pictured) retired after 33 years of working with us at Saunton. Carol spent most of her time at Saunton working as Mr Brend Seniors PA and she said she enjoyed every minute of it. To celebrate Carol's retirement, Mr Peter Brend took 16 team members Go Karting in Exeter last week and then they all went for dinner. It was a very fun and emotional day and she'll certainly be missed by all.
One of the kitchen Porters, Rob, also retired this year after more than 10 years of service at The Royal Duchy Hotel.
Weddings & Engagements
In October wedding bells rang for the Carlyon Bay Hotel’s Rob and his now-wife Jade (pictured). Having wed in Newquay the pair returned to St Austell to celebrate at the Carlyon Bay Golf Club where they were joined by their loved ones for a wedding reception. Rob has been an asset in maintaining the Carlyon Championship golf course for 8 years finding his feet with Brend Hotels in 2016. It’s fair to say we hope his marriage prospers as much as our course flourishes under his craftsmanship.
At The Devon Hotel, one of our supervisors, Courtney, has got engaged. Courtney and her partner have chosen The Devon Hotel as the venue for their nuptials, and the team at The Devon Hotel are already working to ensure it's going to be the day they have been dreaming of!
Baby Announcements
In July Megan at The Carlyon Bay Hotel extended her family by welcoming Maeve Grace into the world. Megan has been with the Carlyon Bay Hotel for over 9 years and is currently enjoying her maternity leave as she makes treasured memories as a mum of two.
In August, Sarah from The Park Hotel welcomed a little boy, Leonardo weighing 8lbs. Sarah joined the team in 2017 as a housekeeper before making the move across to reception in 2018, with a short time away she rejoined our extended family in July 2021 before going on maternity leave in July 2022. Sarah is a dedicated and wonderful member of the team and we can’t wait to welcome her back alongside stories of little Leonardo.
The Royal & Fortescue’s Receptionist Victoria also welcomed a beautiful bundle of joy into the world in October.
At Saunton Sands Hotel, team members Mizzie and Emma also welcomed babies into the world As well as The Victoria Hotel who have also been blessed with several bundles of joy this year, so we’re wishing a huge congratulations to Shanice our Head Receptionist, Wayne Blunt our Night Manager, Colin Bull our Head Chef and Lee Arbury our Head Gardener.
Naomi from The Barnstaple Hotel also had some exciting news to announce, with a baby on the way news of her pregnancy was a delight for her colleagues. Naomi is expected to welcome her baby into the world in April. Until then we wish Naomi a joyous pregnancy.
Announcements
There has been so many milestone birthdays and awards celebrated over the last few months.
The Victoria Hotel welcomed many new faces to their team, including Jack who joined management team earlier this year. The Victoria Hotel and The Belmont Hotel also welcomed Caroline Burke who joined as our Interior and Soft Furnishings Co-ordinator. In June, Anne, Sidmouth’s Wages Clerk celebrated her 80th birthday- what an incredible milestone!
In June Jayne Sime, the Head Receptionist at The Barnstaple Hotel also celebrated a milestone birthday, celebrating 50 years of being her wonderful self. Jayne was not the only one to celebrate at The Barnstaple Hotel, with our Pastry Chef Kath (pictured below) also turning 50 in August.
At The Royal & Fortescue, Hotel Manager Alex and Deputy Hotel Manager Jason celebrated their 10 and 15-year service awards for Brend Hotels.
At The Imperial Hotel, we celebrated Eileen (pictured), our in-house florist, 20-year service award! Eileen started back in 2002 as a hotel cleaner before beginning her floristry journey. Working alongside the late Mrs Joanna Brend as her wonderful assistant, Eileen began learning the art of flowers and together they created display after display of incredible floristry. Eileen now works with her own daughter, continuing on the tradition and has become an integral part of the Imperial team.
September also marked the return of The Carlyon Bay’s Assistant Manager from Australia and Dave (pictured), the Front of House Manager at The Imperial Hotel completed his Level 3 NVQ as a Hospitality Supervisor! The Devon Hotel also welcomed Paul Brinicombe (pictured) and Olliver Northcott as Assistant Managers and Chris Skidmore as Deputy General Manager. All three have a wealth of knowledge in the industry and will be integral parts of the team going into 2023 and beyond.
Relocations
In November Charlotte Brend left The Barnstaple Hotel and joined the Head Office team, taking on a new venture within the role of Group Internal Auditor. Charlotte has been a familiar face around the hotels since she was little, taking on her first role as a waitress at The Park Hotel in 2008 at just 13 years old. Over the 14 years Charlotte has left her mark on every role she took on from Events Manager to Deputy Hotel Manager and even took some time away to pursue her education obtaining a degree in Business Management in 2014. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Charlotte.
In November, Assistant Manager Lucy also lent a helping hand to The Royal & Fortescue Hotel where she flourished and is now working between The Imperial Hotel and Royal & Fortescue on a full time basis.
In December, The Park Hotel also said a heartfelt goodbye to their Senior Assistant Manager Katie Watts. Although Katie won’t be straying far, as she takes on the new role of Deputy Manager at The Barnstaple Hotel staying within the Brend family. Katie has been part of The Park Hotel since 2019 joining as a Bar Attendant before completing courses within the Brend Training Academy from there it was clear Katie would take on a more significant role, and we can’t wait to see what she will accomplish in her role.
Promotions
Tiegan at The Barnstaple Hotel has been promotioned to Assistant Restaurant Manager. Tiegan has been a valued member of our extended family since December 2018 and we’re grateful to be a part of her journey, Tiegan was previously promoted to Restaurant supervisor in June 2021 and has continued to progress and show leadership in the restaurant which lead to her most recent achievements. Adam Geall-Winter also joined the team in May 2022, who quickly established his presence and in return was promoted to Restaurant supervisor in just 4 months.
In both restaurant departments, across The Victoria and Belmont Hotel, we have seen new Head Waitor promotions. Wade at the Belmont and Ivan at the Victoria have both been promoted from Restaurant Team Member to Head Waiter - a huge well done to them both!
Sam Hynds at The Devon Hotel has recently been promoted to Senior Assistant Manager as one of the many milestones in his time with Brend hotels, this well-deserved promotion will certainly not be the last for Sam who has a promising career ahead of him. Both Courtney and Arron were sldo appointed supervisors as part of their NVQ development, Arron has even developed our new festive shots menu which has received nothing but praise from our party night guests.
As the end of the year draws closer we want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication our team have shown throughout 2022. There is no doubt that our continued success and the wonderful feedback we receive from guests are down to the wonderful individuals we have in our team.
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