2023 Year End Review

As 2023 draws to a close, we wish to extend the warmest of Season’s Greetings to all our guests, colleagues, suppliers, shareholders and supporters over the past year – without your support we would not be where we are today - THANK YOU.

Take a break to reminisce about our 2023 highlights.

PREM Group Ireland awarded Great Place to Work® Certification

Awarded in year one of participating in Failte Ireland’s Employer Excellence Programme – we achieved an outstanding 80% Trust Index © score.

The Great Place to Work® survey measures both employee trust in management and employees’ feelings about their jobs and colleagues. In an innovative move Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s National Tourism Development Authority, has teamed up with Great Place to Work®, to establish a three year ‘Employer Excellence Programme’. This programme will spotlight excellent employers within the hospitality and tourism sector and help to reposition the industry as a rewarding and attractive place to work.

This certificate is awarded to our Irish hotels, serviced apartments and PREM Group companies.

Ending 2023 on a high, we are delighted to announce that our Irish division we has achieved Great Place to Work® Certification for the second year in a row (November 2023 - November 2024).

 

Over €17k raised for our Nominated Charity - Beyond the Moon

Trinity Purchasing and PREM Group’s annual golf charity event was another great success in 2023.

For the 18th year in a row, excluding 2020, we supported our nominated charity, Beyond the Moon - who offer families with a seriously ill child the opportunity to enjoy a memorable, cost-free vacation in a child-friendly environment and to spend carefree quality time together, far away from hospitals and treatments.

21 teams braved the yellow thunderstorm warnings on the day to raise over €17k.

New Openings

It is a busy and exciting time for PREM Group, as we continue growing our portfolio of hotels and serviced apartments across Europe. We are delighted with our recent expansion including:

  • voco™ Brussels City North: 92 rooms just a ten-minute drive to Brussels Airport and to the city centre of Brussels. Offering all the state-of-the-art equipment and latest technology (from robotic dogs to robotic luggage carriers) to ensure a premium stay.

  • Holiday Inn Express® Antwerp – City Centre: 102 sustainable rooms with the Flanders Meeting and Convention Centre and the campus of the University of Antwerp are a short walk away.

  • PREMIER SUITES Edinburgh Fountain Court: 81 apartments designed with the medium to long-stay traveller in mind, boasting a prime location in Edinburgh’s West End, near Haymarket and the Financial District.

Fáilte Ireland’s Employer Excellence Accredited

A collective achievement of all properties in the PREM Group Ireland portfolio – successfully completing Fáilte Ireland’s Employer Excellence Programme.

The Awards received include:

  • Aspect Hotel Park West – Outstanding Employer and Best Medium-Sized Employer

  • Cahernane House Hotel – Outstanding Employer and Best Small-Sized Employer

  • Osprey Hotel – Excellent Employer

  • PREM Group – Outstanding Employer and Best Hotel Group Employer

  • PREMIER SUITES Ireland – Outstanding Employer

  • The Hoban Hotel – Outstanding Employer and Best Ireland’s Ancient East Employer

  • Viking Hotel – Outstanding Employer

 

UK and Irish Properties Officially Accredited by Green Tourism

Green Tourism accreditation achieved across our Irish and UK properties including PREMIER SUITES UK and Ireland (11 properties), Leopold Hotel Sheffield, Aspect Hotel Park West, Cahernane House Hotel, Osprey Hotel, The Hoban Hotel, and Viking Hotel Waterford.

Green Tourism operates a globally recognised certification programme that audits the commitment of tourism businesses who are actively working to become more sustainable. Their environmental assessors give professional advice on areas such as reducing energy use, saving water, ethical buying, staying local and promoting biodiversity.

Properties in Continental Europe joined Green Key, a “leading standard for excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry. This prestigious certificate represents a commitment by businesses that their premises adhere to the strict criteria set by the Foundation for Environmental Education.” We are delighted our properties including Leopold Hotel Oudenaarde, Hotel Indigo Antwerp, PREMIER SUITES Rotterdam, PREMIER SUITES Amsterdam, Holiday Inn Brussels-Schuman, Holiday Inn Express Mechelen City Centre achieved Green Key.

The Hoban Hotel Kilkenny are awarded Fáilte Ireland 4-star status

Since purchasing the hotel in 2018, PREM Group have invested over €2.2 million to completely refurbish the Hoban Hotel Kilkenny. In 2019, the lobby, bar and restaurant were completely redesigned by architect Hugh Wallace with an investment of over €1 million. A further investment of €1.2 million included the renovation of all guest rooms, bathrooms, meeting rooms and corridors.

The Hoban Hotel joined Aspect Hotel Park West in their celebrations, who also achieved 4-star status at the end of 2022. Aspect Hotel Park West underwent an investment of €450,000 to completely reimagine the lobby, bar and restaurant, now offering more modern, stylish surroundings.

 

PREM Group wins at Fáilte Ireland’s Employer Excellence Awards

Fáilte Ireland hosted their inaugural Employer Excellence Awards - to acknowledge and celebrate the commitment to making the hospitality industry an appealing and rewarding place to work.

We were delighted to bring back the phenomenal news of four great successes. Starting with Best Employer for Ireland’s Ancient East which was awarded to The Hoban Hotel Kilkenny, followed by best medium business and small business awarded respectively to Aspect Hotel Park West, Dublin 12 and Cahernane House Hotel, Killarney. The fourth win was for Best Employer in the hotel group category which the attending team accepted on behalf of every single person working in PREM Group Ireland.

 

PREM Group Receive Diversity & Inclusion Accreditation

We successfully achieved ‘Investors in Diversity - Bronze’ Award from the Irish Centre for Diversity, in conjunction with Waterford Skillnet.

This Award recognises our efforts to foster equality, diversity and inclusion in our organisation.

Additionally, it provides us with a framework to put in place a strong foundation to embed employment diversity into our wider organisational systems.

Irish Hotels Federation Annual Employee of the Year Awards

Sonia Smith, Reception Supervisor at Cahernane House Hotel, represented the Kerry Branch of the Irish Hotels Federation and was awarded National Employee of the Year.


 

Irish Hospitality Institute (IHI) Employee of the Year Award

A huge congratulations are in order to PJ Browne, Night Porter at Cahernane House Hotel, who won Employee of the Year Award 2023.

 

Lifetime Achievement Award

Our Colleague Teresa Bradshaw, Hoban Hotel Kilkenny, celebrated won a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Teresa, one of 18 finalists, attended the IHF Southeast Branch employee of the year awards, hosted by the Talbot Hotel in Carlow and took home her Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

Employee of the year - Kilkenny Chamber Commerce Business Awards

Another huge congratulations due to Catherine Lane, Accommodation Manager in the Hoban Hotel Kilkenny, who won Employee of the Year at the Kilkenny Chamber Commerce Business Awards 2023.

 

Irish Hotel Awards

Josh Murphy from the Osprey Hotel won both the Leinster and Overall Award for ‘Receptionist of the Year’.

The Osprey Hotel also won the ‘Spa Experience of the Year’ for Leinster.

Meanwhile, Isaacs’s Cask won both the Munster ‘Bar of the Year’ as well as the overall award in the same category.

The Osprey Hotel was also shortlisted in 6 categories - Business & Conference Hotel of the Year, Hotel Bar of the Year, Wedding Hotel of the Year, Four star hotel of the Year, Abhishek Tiwari - Chef of the Year, Martina Nolan - Event Manager of the year.

 
 
 

PREM Ovation Awards 2023

PREM Group held its annual PREM Ovation Awards events in Ireland and the UK.

The events celebrated the many successes of the last 12 months and recognised the great contribution of teams and individuals across PREM Group businesses and divisions.

2023 ASAP Awards

We are over the moon that our PREMIER SUITES brand was shortlisted in 5 categories in the 2023 ASAP Awards.

This year’s awards focused on three pillars – People, Planet and Principles, with each of the shortlisted nominations having a positive impact on the serviced apartment industry, and/ or colleagues, guests and peers, with these pillars front and foremost.

And even happier with a win on the night for Vicky Snook, General Manager at PREMIER SUITES Bristol, winning ‘Champion of the Year’, pictured.

 

PREMIER SUITES Proudly wins Star Fish ESG Award

Announced at the SITU (Global Serviced Accommodation Specialists) “Be More Star Fish” Bristol Roadshow - PREMIER SUITES was acknowledged for their dedication to decreasing pollution, minimising waste, conserving energy, assessing environmental performance within their regions and earning Green Tourism certification!

 

TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award

TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2023 – an international recognition based on the reviews, ratings and feedback from guests – was awarded 7 of our properties in 2023. The award is given to properties that consistently earn great reviews from travellers, based on reviews and ratings collected over the past 12 months – real opinions, real experiences and real travellers.

Other Notable Achievements/Group Updates:

  • PREM Group properties fundraised in World Down Syndrome Day in March.

  • We continue training LiFT (Leading Irelands Future Together) facilitators and sharing their training throughout our group.

  • We were honoured to participate in the Irish Hotels Federation conference 'Shaping Brighter Futures'. Louise Barry, HR Manager, presented a ‘Spotlight on Excellence’ on our partnership with LiFT (Leading Irelands Future Together). The afternoon session saw Emer Corridan, General Manager at Cahernane House Hotel speak passionately about the importance of Recognition in a panel discussion with Great Place to Work® Ireland and Fáilte Ireland.

  • Osprey Hotel, Naas fundraised for Cancer Charities in October in the Big Pink Breakfast.

  • We expanded our apartment portfolio at Hotel Issacs, now with 20 apartments consisting of one, two and three bedrooms available for short, medium and long term lets.

  • We introduced newly refurbished bedrooms at the Rochestown Lodge Hotel.

  • Represented by Louise Barry from our central office HR team, we were pleased to be invited to participate in the group discussion on Employee Engagement initiatives at the first Failte Ireland Employer Excellence Exchange in Croke Park on November 14th.

  • Aspect Hotel Park West continued support for Aoibheann's Pink Tie in association with the families of children diagnosed with cancer and who are attending St John's Oncology Ward in Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin.

  • We are proud to partner with REM Group Waterford Chamber Skillnet who support us in a range of learning and development opportunities we offer our team, including the Graduate Accelerator Programme. The team on the Graduate Programme gained a range of critical skills for managers including Emotional Intelligence, Resilience and Effective Communication skills, amongst others. It also allowed participants to network with peers from a range of different industries.

 

Graduate Accelerator Programme 2023

 
Edel Hall