Here is the latest...
In celebration of the launch of our brand new Brend Careers website, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to bring you up to speed with the latest staff news. 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 Promotions
Across our collection of Brend hotels, restaurants and spas there have been several promotions in recent months.
Daisy, who has been a key asset to 62 The Bank and The Royal & Fortescue Hotel since 2017, has been internally promoted twice and in recognition of her continued hard work and dedication, she is now an Assistant Manager.
Also in North Devon, at The Barnstaple Hotel, we have seen many promotions including Charlotte who has been promoted to Deputy Manager which has allowed Darcie to shine and head up their events department as the Events Manager. Blake [pictured left] has also been promoted at the Barnstaple Hotel from the Health Club to Assistant Manager in June. Jeven has also been promoted to Bar Manager.
At The Royal Hotel in Bideford, Mac has been promoted from waiter to Junior Assistant Manager, Allegra from Restaurant Supervisor to Assistant Manager and Ashley from Barman to Bar Manager.
Spanners to spirits and much more...
From being behind a car bonnet to dreaming of stirring things up behind the bar. Luke, from The Park Hotel, went to college to study mechanics, where he realised mechanics wasn’t where his heart was at and his passion lay behind the bar. Since joining us as a porter in 2019, Luke has recently promoted to be Junior Assistance Manager and we could not be more proud of his achievements.
At Saunton Sands Hotel, Jasmine was recently promoted to Spa Manager. Having joined us as an experienced Therapist 3 years ago she was soon promoted to Head Therapist, then to Assistant Manager, and now Spa Manager. Jasmine [pictured left] does an excellent job at ensuring the Source Spa experience oozes serene spa sophistication. Tia has also been promoted at Saunton Sands Hotel to be our new Guest Relations Manager.
Amongst our South Devon hotels, we’ve seen many promotions including Wade at The Belmont Hotel who has been promoted to Head Waiter, Hillary at The Devon Hotel who has been promoted to Assistant Restaurant Manager and William at The Victoria Hotel who has been promoted to a Junior management role.
At Carlyon Bay Hotel, April 2022 saw the promotion of Jemma Taylor to Head Housekeeper. Starting as a Room Attendant in 2007, Jemma was spotted early on for her exacting standards and exemplary performance and was promoted to a Supervisor position in 2010. In 2015 Jemma was promoted to Deputy Housekeeper, where she continued to excel and assist in the running of this department. The promotion of Jemma has brought new ideas as well as maintaining the extremely high levels of cleanliness that Carlyon Bay is known for.
Good Wishes
Love was a walk in 'The Park' when it came to the newly engaged Mikala and Pete. Having known each other for 7 years, with Mikala who started as a housekeeper with us in 2013 shortly followed by Pete, our groundsman in 2016. The pair decided on a spontaneous date and some would call this fate as this date turned into a romantic connection. Nearly a year into their ‘love story, Pete decided it was time to get down on one knee and on 22nd May 2022 he popped the question. We’re sure this date will always be remembered as the start of a new chapter in their story.
Love was a walk-in ‘The Park’ when it came to the newly engaged Mikala and Pete. Having known each other for 7 years, with Mikala who started as a housekeeper with us in 2013 shortly followed by Pete, our groundsman in 2016. The pair decided on a spontaneous date and some would call this fate as this date turned into a romantic connection. Nearly a year into their ‘love story, Pete decided it was time to get down on one knee and on 22nd May 2022 he popped the question. We’re sure this date will always be remembered as the start of a new chapter in their story.
Love is in the air for both Tony and Sue [pictured below] at The Devon Hotel and Maria and Andrew [pictured below] at the Barnstaple Hotel as both couples have recently announced their engagement.
Employees Nathan and Kirsty have also welcomed beautiful babies to the world this year. Nathan, our Health Club Manager at The Barnstaple Hotel welcomed baby Jacob in November [pictured below]. Kirsty, Assistant Manager at The Royal Hotel also welcomed her baby boy Olly into the world in April and is currently enjoying her maternity leave
Retirements
In recent times, we’ve said many farewells to several long-standing staff due to retirement.
At The Devon Hotel, Simon Parkhouse [pictured below], our General Manager of 42 years recently retired and so we welcomed Ross Hamilton into this role. Head Housekeeper Yvonne and Front Office Manager Jenny [pictured below] also have recently retired with a combined 61 years of service.
After 37 years of working for Brend Hotels, The Royal Duchy’s General Manager Barry Taylor also retired to enjoy spending more time with his family [pictured below].
At Head Office, we also waved goodbye to Dave Marshal who had worked for Brend Hotels for over 35 years! Dave looked after group travel for many years, making lifelong friends throughout and will be dearly missed by all.
Training & Qualifications
From Apprenticeship to promotion, receptionist Kerry is a shining star of the Imperial Hotel! Having recently completed her Level 2 Hospitality Member NVQ with Brend Academy, in partnership with HIT Training, and gaining a distinction, Kerry [Pictured lef] is earning and learning on the job gaining valuable hospitality skills, which in turn has led to a recent promotion to Senior Receptionist!
Alongside many other apprentices, Courtney, Ben, Aaron and Leah at The Devon Hotel are also currently undertaking new qualifications with our Brend Academy.
Apprentice of the year
We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2020/21 Mr Peter Brend Senior Apprentice of the Year Award is Pheonix De-Giorgi. Saunton Sand Hotel’s Junior Sous Chef has completed 2 apprenticeships, both receiving a distinction as well as mentoring our current apprentices.
Credit must go to Phoenix for his continued hard work and dedication. He was one of the first apprentices in the hospitality industry to complete the new Apprenticeship Standards for his Level 2 Commis Chef Apprenticeship before moving on to complete his Level 3 Chef-De-Partie Apprenticeship.
Relocations
With 11 hotels in total, often our employees relocate from hotel to hotel, either because that’s where life takes them or because they are looking to gain further experience.
Christina Brend [Pictured right] recently left her role as Spa Manager at Saunton Sands Hotel to become The Royal Duchy Hotel’s Front of House Manager. Having worked for the business since she was 17, where she had a summer job at 62 The Bank, Christina has gone from strength to strength and has continued to gain more experience and develop key hospitality skills. She said her move to Falmouth feels like ‘a home from home’ and loves working and living in the area.
“When the sun is shining you really could be anywhere and that's what I love about working here. I couldn't think of a more beautiful place to work and working alongside such an enthusiastic team makes it even more enjoyable.”
Adam Crocker has also recently left Saunton briefly to gain further experience at The Royal Duchy Hotel, before returning to Saunton to fulfil his new role as Events Coordinator.
With so much happening across the group, we endeavour to keep you up to date with the latest happenings and staff news moving forward.
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