Acorn Awards 2024: Andrew Muir, 29, head of rooms, the Hoxton, London

Age 29

Position Director of rooms, the Hoxton, London

Nominator Murray Scott, general manager, the Hoxton

In a decade, Andrew Muir has progressed from the role of duty manager to head of rooms within the international hotel scene.

He was selected at 18 to join Red Carnation’s prestigious Management Programme, from which he worked through front office roles to cement his knowledge.

Under his watch as guest experience manager at the group’s 30-bed Hotel 41, he maintained the boutique property’s top position on TripAdvisor for seven years running and also gained a Forbes five-star rating with a then-record 96.6% assessment for guest experience. With accolades stacking up, he was promoted to head housekeeper.

His move to a larger lifestyle hotel in 2022 as director of rooms saw him achieve excellent financial results within the year, demonstrating what a financially astute professional he is. He had joined the Hoxton to oversee the launch of the £50m, 237-bedroom Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush. Thanks to Muir, in the first year of opening, the property achieved a £37.68 growth in the average daily rate, year-on-year and £9.1m in rooms revenue.

In terms of profit, his ability to help create memorable experiences and attract returning guests, while balancing labour cost-control within the department at 19.2% in year one has resulted in a £6.25m departmental profit and a net income for the hotel at £5.2m.

Muir’s team is 70-strong across front office, housekeeping, maintenance and security. Under his leadership, he has overseen nine internal promotions and attracted 21 people into their first hospitality jobs.

Eager to continue to strengthen the Hoxton as a sustainable brand, he has become leader of the ESG group and is steering the hotel towards achieving the Green Key award.

Who has been your biggest champion in the industry?

"When starting my career at Red Carnation Hotels, I was managed by former 2011 Acorn winner Ben Seager, who set a great standard for me at a pivotal moment. Then at 21, Malcolm Hendry gave me the opportunity to become a manager at Hotel 41 London at such a young age. At the Hoxton, my general manager Stavros 

Packeiser has shared his extensive knowledge from around the world. Last, my nominator Murray Scott, another previous Acorn winner, has been an inspiration by demonstrating that showing genuine warmth towards staff as well as guests is important to enable them to excel."

How do you get the best out of your team?

"Taking time to get to know them personally helps me understand how to bring out the best in them and I do this while setting clear expectations so that everyone knows their objectives. I like my team to feel empowered and try to do this by delegating tasks fairly. By showing my trust in them, it creates an environment where they can shine and have a sense of purpose and belonging. Our latest Leading Quality Assurance inspection, which saw us ranked as the highest of the four Hoxton hotels in London, was a nice reflection that my team is flourishing."

What excites you most about the future of hospitality?

"The continuous evolution of technology within hotels and how we integrate technology into our day-to-day lives while making it personal with our guests. We have recently introduced Easyway at the Hoxton, a messaging system for guests via WhatsApp which has been extremely well received by guests."