Edward RichesI joined the AICR in January 2008 and is an Association that I very much enjoy playing a part in and strongly believe is of benefit to the industry.
I have been working in the hotel industry for 14 years and working in Front Office positions for the last 11 years. I have worked predominantly for Thistle and Hilton throughout my career based with Thistle at the Tower Hotel in London now a Guoman Hotel and with Hilton both the Caledonian in Edinburgh and their hotel at Heathrow Airport. I am currently working at the Crowne Plaza London St James Hotel which is a franchised Taj Hotel in the capacity of Hotel Manager having previously held the position of Rooms Division Manager.
I hope to have the opportunity of welcoming you to an event in the future.
Susan CraigSusan joined the AICR in 1997 and has been on the committee since 2005. She is responsible for sponsorship and after a stint as 'Acting President', she is currently Vice-President of the Association.
After starting in the Industry over 20 years ago as a Breakfast Waitress whilst at school, Susan got hooked (although realized early on that 'Rooms' was where her heart was!).
After finishing her Management Training in a country manor hotel, she moved through the ranks of Reception (although she did stop her rise to help with the opening of Disneyland Paris!!) until she reached the position of Hotel Manager at Seaham Hall, Co. Durham and Operations Manager for the opening of Riverbank Park Plaza when she decided she wanted to get back to the more specialist level and now, although she has left the hotel industry, is Front of House Services Manager for a corporate Reception Company where she looks after the Receptions in 15 buildings in London's West End.
Contact me at admin@aicr.co.uk should you have any questions regarding the AICR or sponsorship.
Corinne BellabyI joined the AICR in 1992 and became a committee member in 1999. I volunteered to be Membership Secretary a role I have carried out since then.
Having worked in the Hospitality Industry for over thirty years in Hotel Operations, both Front Office and Reservations, I now work part-time for Hotel Telephone Maintenance Limited as Systems Trainer.
The company installs and maintains Mitel telephone systems, call logging systems and guests High speed solutions in Hotels throughout the UK and Ireland. I provide training on these systems and back-up support.
Contact me on Membership@aicr.co.uk
Andrew ThomsonAndrew joined the London hotel scene in 1998 at the Intercontinental London as a Guest Service Agent. He progressed to Reception Manager before transferring into Sales at the same hotel in 2001. Upon closure for the refurbishment in 2005 Andrew moved to The Landmark London before joining COMO Hotels & Resorts as Account Director Corporate Sales in 2006. Following his longer term goals Andrew moved back into operations in summer 2008 and is currently Front of House Manager at the Metropolitan London.
I look forward to either welcoming you to the next event of happy to speak to anyone who is interested in hosting an event in the future.
Contact me on Events@aicr.co.uk should you require any further information on hosting and event.
Marc SandfortThe AICR has been a great networking forum for me since I joined in 2006. I am therefore very exited to be a member of the committee since the beginning of 2008 and look forward to many new members and hotels joining us this year. As the organiser of the Receptionist of the Year Competition I look forward to be baffled by the great talent we have in this Industry.
I started my hotel career with Hilton International in Munich and London. After successfully completing my apprenticeship training at the Munich Park Hilton, I transferred to the London Hilton Park Lane where I worked in several front office roles. I then joined the Crowne Plaza London St. James Hotel, starting as a Night Manager and growing through the ranks to Front Office Manager. In 2008 I moved to the Crowne Plaza Marlow as Deputy General Manager and joined the Holiday Inn London Kingston South as General Manager in 2011.
Contact me on ROTY@aicr.co.uk if you need any further information about the Receptionist of the Year Competition.
Helen Morris After joining the association back in 2001 I was delighted to join the committee in 2007 taking on the task of Webmaster and my induction was thrown in at the deep end to work along side other committee members in the launch of our new look website. 2009 saw me take on the role of Treasurer, fingers cross I can follow in the footsteps of Duncan Couper who moved to take on the role within the International Committee.
Currently I work with Portfolio and recruit at a senior and corporate level both in London and throughout the UK. Prior to this I spent 12 years with Hilton in various operational and management roles in the UK and Northern Ireland.
Joseph WarrenI joined the association in 2009 and have been an active member. I am delighted to be part of the committee as social media/website coordinator.
Having studied Politics at University I naturally progressed into hospitality! I worked as a Sales and Marketing Manager for a Best Western property for two years before moving to Dorset Square Hotel, a Small Luxury Hotel of the World, as Front of House Manager and then Revenue Manager. After almost three years of achieving record revenue at Dorset Square Hotel, I now work for Imperial College London as a Business Development Manager, growing the University's ever expanding accommodation sector. In 2011 we increased revenue by 34% and we look forward to a vibrant season in 2012.
Do you have any ideas for our website? Do you have any news about you or your hotel and would like it featured on our social network pages? Let me know at j.warren@imperial.ac.uk
Ben SeagerI was recruited from South Africa after graduating to work for Red Carnation Hotels which is a family owned collection of 4 and 5 star boutique hotels. Over the past several years I have worked in various hotels of theirs, first as management programme participant.
Then as the Reservations Manager for The Chesterfield Mayfair Hotel, later I was promoted to Front of House Manager and recently I have joined our sister property The Montague on the Gardens as Rooms Division Manager. I joined the AICR in 2008 to network and share best practices with like minded people and was voted onto the committee in 2011.
Katarina BurikovaKatarina joined the Hospitality industry 6 years ago as a Food and Beverage Assistant at The Cavendish Hotel. After working in most of the Food and Beverage outlets she moved to Front Office as Front Desk Assistant.
To expand her knowledge and understanding of the industry, she started a hospitality management course at Thames Valley University, which was sponsored by The Cavendish. During the years she has also had a chance to work as an Income Auditor for the hotels and then rejoined the front Desk as a Duty Manager. She has now completed her studies and holds a Bachelors degree, she works with Springboard Charity as their Ambassador and her current role is Front Office Manager at The Cavendish.
