Acorns 2021: Freya Morton, 29

House manager, the Pig at Bridge Place, Canterbury, Kent

Nominator Darryl Harris, F&B manager, the Pig at Bridge Place

Since joining Home Grown Hotels in 2016 as part of its Budding Entrepreneur scheme, Freya Morton has gained skills as a restaurant supervisor, receptionist, bartender and sommelier.

All this rich experience makes her a well-rounded member of staff and culminated in her promotion to opening house manager for the Pig at Bridge Place in 2019. Here, she manages a team of six and the running of the house, bedrooms, housekeeping and maintenance, reservations and duty manager shifts.

The hotel’s average occupancy is usually 96%, which she has maximised through waitlist management and guest communications. She also oversees staff training and can boast staff retention of 88%, which heavily contributed to the hotel being listed in The Caterer’s Best Places to Work in Hospitality in 2021.

Under her guidance, several junior receptionists have progressed to management positions in the company. Ever-ambitious, she also seeks opportunities for self-growth and, in 2018, took a placement at the Stafford London’s American Bar, where she learned mixology skills and a different service style that she brought back to the Pig.

During lockdown, she helped create a self-contained accommodation action plan and converted existing bookings to the new package, which represented £42,000 revenue.

Her dedication to the industry is underlined by the fact she helped to set up the Seat at the Table campaign to lobby government for a minister for hospitality.

What is the most positive people change you see for your sector post-restrictions?

“The current recruitment crisis has highlighted the importance of nourishing our homegrown talent by identifying strong individuals in the organisation and developing them.”

Photography: Hospitality Media/Adrian Franklin

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