Acorn Awards 2024: Charlotte Shaw, 28, head housekeeper, the Athenaeum Hotel and Residences

Age 28

Position Head housekeeper at the Athenaeum Hotel and Residences, London

Nominator Andi Fletcher, director of people and culture, the Athenaeum Hotel and Residences

Charlotte Shaw graduated from the Edge Hotel School in 2016, setting her career on an immediate upward trajectory. By 2019, she had joined the Athenaeum Hotel and Residences as assistant housekeeping manager, having worked in F&B and front of house at the Capital and the Levin hotels in Knightsbridge.

Once onboard, she proved her leadership qualities, taking the head of department role at the 162-bedroom hotel in 2021 and managing 50 staff – the largest team in the property.

With Shaw’s team comprising 20 nationalities speaking 15 languages, she has had to adapt training and management styles to engage the different cultures. This includes creating ’sayings of the month’, which they translate into their own language and write on a whiteboard.

Tellingly, the Housekeeping Sentiment Score on Trust You has risen from 78 in the first quarter of last year to 94 in the last quarter.

Her success in engaging this diverse team is backed by the numbers. Some six team members have been promoted this year, while retention has increased 18% year-on-year, with 71% of her team with one year’s service or more and 31% with three years or more.

And labour turnover has decreased from 62% to 41% year-on-year, cutting costs in onboarding new starts and contributing to payroll savings of £300,000 against budget with a reduction in agency costs of £133,000 to date – a substantial contribution to overall profit growth.

In addition, Shaw has nurtured good supplier relationships to achieve high quality at the best price, saving £131,000 against budget. And with her commitment to the Net Zero Hero team, recycling has improved by 13.8% year to date.

How do you get the best out of your team?

"By getting to know them on an individual basis and providing a listening ear. I encourage them to learn, develop and practise their skills in an environment they feel safe in. I am able to put myself in their shoes, which allows me to support them where they may need it."

What excites you most about the future of your role?

"I am excited to nurture and teach future leaders to keep the industry growing and adapting to future challenges. Hospitality thrives on constant change and having the support and knowledge to be able to deliver that change will ensure the continuous growth of our industry."