As we continue our Career Champions campaign, the team were excited to sit down with Ellie, Area Revenue Manager at the Lace Market Hotel to find out more about what life is like at one of Nottingham city centre’s wonderful accommodation providers.
How did you first enter the industry? Can you share your professional journey?
“I first entered hospitality after just turning 16 and about 1 month before even getting my GCSE results where I began in housekeeping at the Hilton. At that time in my life, I was facing my own personal challenges which motivated me to get into the working world. I had studied Hospitality & Catering at GCSE and loved the theory side (but not so much the cooking!)
Fast forward 15 years and I am married to a chef (so that worked out well!) I was accepted onto a college course at that time, but it was cancelled due to low numbers. I then worked for a year before starting a new course in business studies.
I continued to work whilst studying and went from housekeeping to food & beverage then left the Hilton to move to reception at Lace Market Hotel. The hotel unfortunately closed, and I then moved to Harts Hotel whilst finishing my degree in Service Sector Management. When I had completed my degree, I returned to the newly reopening Lace Market Hotel as Reservations & Events Sales Manager and have now been here for 9 years where I am currently Area Revenue Manager overseeing rate management and group reservations for both Lace Market Hotel & Makeney Hall”.
Could you describe your current role, including your day-to-day responsibilities?
“In my current role as Area Revenue Manager, I analyse and change the hotel room rates daily and look after the relationships between the hotels and 3rd party agents. Monitoring demand, forecasting revenue and picking up and identifying new opportunities in the market whilst regularly reporting to the Managing Directors and General Managers to keep them updated on revenue being generated. I quote and book for the many VIP groups we have the pleasure of welcoming at Lace Market Hotel and for our corporate clients, meetings and events.
As part of my role, I also maintain local relationships, plan and implement annual promotions for rooms and food & beverage, arranging press trips and FAM trips with the local tourist office and other businesses, make general bookings and implementing new software systems”.
What aspects of your current role do you find the most rewarding?
“The most rewarding part of my role is the feedback and recognition I receive from happy guests as well as helping to grow the business and achieve targets. Working in a customer service industry the focus of our job is always customer satisfaction and going above and beyond to give the best experience”.
What advice would you give to someone aspiring to join the industry?
“Get stuck in, learn what you love and don’t love by exploring as many various departments and roles as possible. There is so much you can do in hospitality and just getting started is the best step you can make”.
In your opinion, what makes hospitality and tourism an exciting career path?
“The world is your oyster in hospitality! You could find your passion in housekeeping, food & beverage, front desk operations, maintenance, accounts, revenue, sales, events and so many other departments. There is truly something for everyone and every day is a brand new one of rewarding hard work”.
What are your goals and aspirations for the future?
“I would like to continue in the industry and grow into more wider roles regionally, nationally, and maybe one day internationally.
Hospitality is all I really know but I have seen so much that I can’t see myself doing anything too drastically different however there are so many transferrable skills learnt in the industry that you can easily cross over to others and be just as knowledgeable”.
What advice would you give to anyone starting out in the industry?
“Don’t ask anyone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. Be an active member in the team always willing to go the extra step for your colleagues and customers. It not only helps others but teaches you so much about yourself and how resilient you can be and how much you can learn by being willing to do more”.
We loved hearing about Ellie’s journey and how she has grown within her career over the years by working with some of Nottingham’s wonderful venues and alongside their brilliant teams.
If you or someone you know works within the hospitality industry and would like to talk to us about their journey, then get in touch with our team by emailing georgia.cowdrey@visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk.
We are proud to be working alongside Futures on this campaign. Futures provide career advice, mentoring, training, and employment support to those looking to get a head start in their chosen industry or make their next career move.
To get in touch with the team at futures, please email hello@futuresadvice.org or visit www.futuresadvice.org to find out more.
Posted on 04 February 2025