Home About Us Our Hotels Careers News Home About Us Our Team Our Team The success of Somerston Hotels is built upon the strength of the dedicated and professional people it employs. From senior management and right across all of our UK hotels, there exists a commitment to delivering genuine hospitality, profitability and quality at every level. Somerston Hotels' senior management team comprises a wealth of experience across job functions, specialities and industries, ensuring that we are well placed to respond to and proactively address changes in the business environment. Board Members Keith Griffiths Managing Director keithgriffiths@somerstonhotels.co.uk Keith Griffiths Managing Director keithgriffiths@somerstonhotels.co.uk Keith has over 25 years in the hotel industry including significant operational experience with Crest Hotels, Queens Moat House, Corus and Regal. Keith joined Somerston Hotels in 1999 as Operations Director with the remit to develop an in-house operating company for Somerston. Keith's initial role was to open three hotels which were being developed by the group, and to manage seven hotels which were previously subject to IHG management contracts. In 2003 Keith was promoted to Managing Director and has been responsible for the operational business during its major growth period which saw the group increase in size, through a combination of piece-meal acquisitions and 'green field' developments. During this growth phase, Keith successfully and smoothly, integrated four different portfolios of hotels and opened a number of new developments. Keith leads a highly regarded team of hotel professionals with strong operational and commercial focus. Somerston Hotels and its employees have won numerous IHG awards. In addition, Keith has been a European Board Member of the IHG Owners Association since 2003. The IHG Owners Association is the Global organisation responsible for representing owner's views in discussion with senior IHG executives and acting as a consultative body for IHG strategy and future activities. Keith was elected by the European Board to Chair the influential IHG Owners Association Sales and Marketing Subcommittee where he is currently serving his third two year term. Keith also represents the European Owners on IHG's Global Revenue and Distribution Committee. Shaun Robinson Managing Director - Somerston Capital Ltd Shaun.Robinson@somerstoncapital.com Shaun Robinson on LinkedIn Shaun Robinson Managing Director - Somerston Capital Ltd Shaun.Robinson@somerstoncapital.com Shaun Robinson on LinkedIn Shaun has nearly 20 years corporate finance, restructuring and active asset management experience, focusing on operational real estate with key specialities in hotels and healthcare. A chartered certified accountant, Shaun joined Somerston in 2004 and is responsible for the group’s business development, M&A and tax/corporate structuring. Shaun is also executive director of Richmount Management Limited, Somerston Health, Somerston Hotels and St James’s Hotels. Shaun was instrumental in the piece-meal acquisition, development and financing of Somerston’s hotel business, which had gross assets of nearly £500m, and cumulated in the sale of a highly structured and tax efficient majority stake in 2007, to a group of high net worth investors. Prior to joining Somerston, Shaun was M&A director at CBRE, and acquired businesses in Hong Kong, India, Thailand, China, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and several businesses in the UK. In 1991, after graduating with a BA (Hons) in Finance, Shaun was recruited onto Grant Thornton’s fast-track partner trainee scheme and spent 5 years in corporate restructuring, transaction management and corporate finance and worked on a number of high profile projects including the flotation of Pet City (now part of PetsMart Inc), and several bank driven business reviews including Queens Moat House Hotel Group (1994: £1.4bn of bank debt) and the Signet Group (1994: the high street Jewellery group with £500m of bank debt and £850m of preference shares). Shaun is authorised by the FCA to provide investment and investment management advice. Senior Team Andrew Thombs Group IT & Systems Manager andrewthombs@somerstonhotels.co.uk Andrew Thombs on LinkedIn Andrew Thombs Group IT & Systems Manager andrewthombs@somerstonhotels.co.uk Andrew Thombs on LinkedIn Andrew has over 20 years of hotel experience, initially with Whitbread Hotels as a Trainee Manager moving to Country Club Hotels, Resort Hotels, Forte and Marston Hotels/Q Hotels. Andrew gained front of house operational experience in various roles before joining Marston Hotels to set up and implement an in-house central reservation system for the company's full service hotels. Between 2000 and 2006 Marston Hotels enjoyed a period of growth from seven to sixteen hotels with Andrew successfully managing the company's expanding IT requirements. After a brief contract with a telecommunications company specialising in guest internet, in-room entertainment and telephony for the Hotel Industry, Andrew returned to hotels, joining Somerston in February 2008 as IT & Systems Development Manager. Andrew manages and administers the IT function for all 45 hotels and the general day to day support of over 250 users. Andrew has successfully implemented a new guest Wi-Fi solution across the business, overseen the replacement of all guestroom televisions and completed a companywide refresh of hardware to standardise the operating systems and applications used. Andrew is a member of the IHG Owners Association IT Sub Committee influencing IHG's decisions concerning all aspects of technology affecting the franchisees. Through the diligence of Andrew and his team, Somerston Hotels was one of the first IHG franchisees to achieve the Payment Card Industry (PCI) DSS Compliance standard in 2012; this ensures that the processes and procedures used to store and transact guest credit card data meets the exacting standards of the PCI Council, thus reducing the possibility of credit card security breaches. What do you enjoy most about your job? "Every day is different! I pride myself in trying to ensure that the staff in the hotels have the correct working equipment to do there job with." Chris Byrd Director of Finance chrisbyrd@somerstonhotels.co.uk Chris Byrd Director of Finance chrisbyrd@somerstonhotels.co.uk Chris joined Somerston Hotels in 1999 as Finance Manager and has been through the group's major changes from the initial hotels build phases, dealing with surveyors and fund providers, through to the acquisition of further hotels with responsibility for integrating their data into the company's financial system. During 2007 and 2008 Chris headed up the project to implement a new finance system that would enable the group to handle the vast amount of data it receives in an efficient, cost effective manner, and to provide high quality information from daily figures and monthly reporting through to budgeting and forecasting. The key areas of improvement overseen by Chris have been the automated import of hotel information, automatic bank reconciliations, electronic scanning and authorising of supplier invoices, improved reporting with the use of SQL databases and report writers, and a budget/forecast system that integrates with the financial suite. Chris was promoted to Director of Finance in 2010 and is highly respected by colleagues and his team of thirteen in the finance department. Chris is an ingenious, original problem solver, with the ability to identify the important facts in any situation. Chris Mooney Group Purchasing Manager chrismooney@somerstonhotels.co.uk Chris Mooney on LinkedIn Chris Mooney Group Purchasing Manager chrismooney@somerstonhotels.co.uk Chris Mooney on LinkedIn Chris has over 25 years’ experience purchasing in the hospitality business, initially in the pub industry at Ansells then Allied Domecq which later became the Spirit Group; after a successful six months secondment as a Purchasing Assistant Chris was rapidly promoted to Assistant Buyer, Buyer and then Purchasing Manager. Chris was responsible for managing numerous food categories with a spend of over £40m supplying over 4,000 pubs; her involvement in managing the food supply chain, integrating different sections of the business as part of a restructure, created synergy and significant cost savings. In 2004 Chris was offered the role of Purchasing Manager for all Non Food Categories in Avenance Company Catering and worked closely with Operations from the various sectors of the business to ensure buy-in of purchasing procedures, implementing new systems, suppliers and introducing new product ranges across the group. Chris joined Somerston Hotels in 2006 as Purchasing Manager, a brand new role for the company. Chris has enjoyed the challenge, introducing new suppliers, new product ranges and creating a robust supply chain, not only ensuring smooth operations at hotel level, but also making significant cost savings which contribute to Somerston Hotels’ success. In addition Chris manages food and beverage for the company, working closely with suppliers and the operations team to create growth opportunities in this area. Chris has worked closely with IHG on a number of projects helping to influence decisions and identify cost savings for the Holiday Inn Express brand. Jon Armstrong Property and Development Manager jonarmstrong@somerstonhotels.co.uk Jon Armstrong on LinkedIn Jon Armstrong Property and Development Manager jonarmstrong@somerstonhotels.co.uk Jon Armstrong on LinkedIn Jon has over 24 years of commercial property experience, having graduated in 1995 with a BSc (Hons). Jon has successfully undertaken the roles of Managing Quantity Surveyor – Private Practice, Project Manager, Facilities Manager and Development Manager, for a range of public and private sector clients. Prior to joining Somerston Hotels in 2003, Jon worked for Stannifer Developments Ltd as Development Manager on office, retail and hotel development projects, the latter forming the nucleus of the current Somerston Hotels estate. Since joining Somerston Hotels Jon has been responsible for the development of an in-house property management team and respective facilities management procedures, to ensure the implementation of consistent standards for planned preventative maintenance and health and safety. During this period, Jon has successfully integrated three different portfolios of hotels, undertaken the role of Development Manager on two new hotel developments and two hotel extensions, whilst also project managing the soft refurbishment of 2,500+ guestrooms and eighteen hotel public area refurbishment schemes. In addition to this Jon works closely with Somerston Capital to develop the Life Cycle Cost model for capital investment planning, and provides technical support on future development planning. Jon has sat on the IHG Owners Association's Technical Review Committee to assist in the development and application of consistent fire, life and safety standards. Kelly Jolliffe Group Director of Sales kellyjolliffe@somerstonhotels.co.uk Kelly Jolliffe on LinkedIn Kelly Jolliffe Group Director of Sales kellyjolliffe@somerstonhotels.co.uk Kelly Jolliffe on LinkedIn Kelly has over 20 years in the hotel industry, starting in Germany on a three year hotel apprenticeship where she gained significant operational experience in all departments. Kelly moved back to the UK at 21 to pursue career opportunities with Hilton Hotels in the provinces and then Thistle hotels in London and Heathrow Airport. After a brief period working in Corporate Apartment sales, Kelly joined BDL Hotels as the Director of Sales for the Holiday Inn Heathrow Airport in 2003. Kelly quickly progressed to Group Director of Sales for BDL, overseeing sales for the company's eighteen properties including Holiday Inn, Crown Plaza and Holiday Inn Express hotels across the UK. Kelly joined Somerston Hotels in 2005 as Group Director of Sales when the company purchased thirteen Holiday Inn Express properties from BDL. Kelly has successfully built a highly respected team of twelve sales professionals supporting all hotels with account management and new business development. The team is recognised within the UK IHG community as brand advocates and in 2011 Kelly personally received the IHG Best Sales Contribution award EMEA; in 2012 the award was won again by Somerston, this time the whole team receiving the accolade. The team also reached the finals of the Daily Telegraph UK National Sales Awards in 2011 and 2012. Kelly is extremely passionate about Somerston as a company and leads a competitive, professional sales team who pride themselves on being extremely proactive, flexible and loyal. Lesley-Ann Cardow Group Marketing Manager lesleyanncardow@somerstonhotels.co.uk Lesley-Ann Cardow on LinkedIn Lesley-Ann Cardow Group Marketing Manager lesleyanncardow@somerstonhotels.co.uk Lesley-Ann Cardow on LinkedIn Lesley-Ann has worked in the hotel industry since graduating with a degree in Marketing in 2001 and has built a wealth of experience, gained through her time with tour operator Superbreak Mini-Holidays and then within the Holiday Inn Express franchise community. Lesley-Ann joined Somerston Hotels in November 2005 when the company acquired 13 Holiday Inn Express hotels from another franchisee of the brand. Her remit was to establish a centralised marketing support function for the hotels, including representing Somerston as an elected committee member on IHG's national Marketing Forum. Lesley-Ann leads a small team which supports hotels in delivering profitable revenue, with a particular focus on digital marketing. Lesley-Ann's responsibilities include running Somerston's websites, supporting hotel teams with reputation management, assisting in the delivery of national, tactical marketing campaigns and production of brand-appropriate marketing literature. She also oversees Somerston's key internal communications tool, The Hub. Lesley-Ann is a passionate advocate for the brands she represents and for Somerston as an organisation. What do you enjoy most about your job? "The variety of work! I get to be creative and make a contribution in so many aspects of our business and every day is a learning opportunity. It's inspiring to work with people who are genuinely passionate about what they do. Friday afternoon cakes in the office are pretty good too!" Martin Coombes Senior Divisional Operations Manager martincoombes@somerstonhotels.co.uk Martin Coombes on LinkedIn Martin Coombes Senior Divisional Operations Manager martincoombes@somerstonhotels.co.uk Martin Coombes on LinkedIn Martin began his career with Somerston Hotels in 1998 following a degree in Hospitality Management, progressing through the company from Duty Manager to Deputy General Manager and then General Manager of the Holiday Inn Express Taunton. In 2002, Martin moved to complete the opening of the Holiday Inn Express Bristol – North, winning an IHG award every year of his five year tenure as General Manager. Martin was further recognised by his peers in 2005 as the Somerston Hotels General Manager of the Year. In 2006, Martin was promoted to Divisional Operations Manager with initial responsibility for eight hotels, playing a leading role in maintaining a strong belief and positive momentum within the hotels through the downturn. Martin was promoted again in 2011 to Senior Divisional Operations Manager with overall responsibility for eighteen hotels, and a remit to bring closer working relationships and best practises to the whole portfolio. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, record levels of staff satisfaction have been achieved both within the hotel teams, and throughout the General Manager community. With Martin's guidance the General Managers' renewed focus on guest experience and satisfaction has led to record scores in the IHG 'HeartBeat' guest satisfaction tracking program in 2013 and 2014, further reinforcing Somerston Hotels as the leading Holiday Inn Express franchisee in the UK and Ireland. What do you enjoy most about your job? "I am fortunate to work with a great team of people both centrally and especially in the hotels and I can honestly say that it is fun and most days someone will make me smile and laugh. There is a strong sense of work ethic and passion in this company but we always remember to enjoy what we do and always look for the positive rather than the negative." Pippa Walker Divisional Operations Manager pippawalker@somerstonhotels.co.uk Pippa Walker on LinkedIn Pippa Walker Divisional Operations Manager pippawalker@somerstonhotels.co.uk Pippa Walker on LinkedIn Pippa has spent over 20 years in the hotel industry including significant operational experience with Hilton and Holiday Inn. Pippa joined Somerston Hotels in 2003 as General Manager at the Holiday Inn Express Newport taking on the additional responsibility of the Holiday Inn Express Swansea East in 2007 as a dual site General Manager. Pippa won the Somerston Hotels General Manager of the Year award in 2008 and 2009, and also in 2009, the prestigious IHG EMEA General Manager of the Year award. In 2010 Pippa was promoted to Divisional Operations Manager supporting fifteen of the Somerston properties, helping General Managers ensure that the businesses remain profitable and quality is paramount. Pippa has successfully mentored a number of General Managers within the business and is a passionate supporter of the GM and DGM Excellence programmes. Pippa's endorsement of the new style Express Start breakfast ensured acceptance by IHG which subsequently became the best practice for all Holiday Inn Express hotels throughout the UK. Alongside Martin Coombes, Pippa has been the driving force for improvements in guest satisfaction and experience. What do you enjoy most about your job? "The best part of my job is coaching and developing General Managers and Deputy General Managers and seeing them progress to the next level." Scott Chappell Group Revenue Manager scottchappell@somerstonhotels.co.uk Scott Chappell on LinkedIn Scott Chappell Group Revenue Manager scottchappell@somerstonhotels.co.uk Scott Chappell on LinkedIn Scott has over 16 years in the hotel industry initially in operational roles with Forte Posthouse, Forte Heritage Hotels and Holiday Inn Express, moving from operations to Revenue Management in 2002 looking after a single site Ramada Plaza in Bristol City Centre. After twelve months Scott was promoted to Business Development Manager for the South, administering twelve Ramada Hotels from Swansea to London, and a portfolio of Key Client Accounts for the Ramada estate. Scott moved from Ramada Hotels in 2006 to join IHG in Revenue Management; during his five years with the company he looked after various locations including five of the top ten hotels in the LRG portfolio. Scott joined Somerston Hotels in January 2011 to set up a Revenue Management department to further support the hotels to leverage the IHG systems and drive the best returns; supporting General Managers in creating an effective strategy that both delivers budgeted EBITDA and beats the competition. Scott's passion for the subject of Revenue Management is infectious, and combined with his experience in operations, training and sales he provides the support, leadership and challenges needed to drive the business. His strong links with IHG provide additional assistance to the hotels and he has chaired the UK&I IHG Revenue Forum. What do you enjoy most about your job? "I am lucky enough to specialise in an area of the business I love! The ability to explore new strategies and take risks to drive performance is fantastic, however, more enjoyable is working with my team to support a group of great General Managers to deliver great results." Steve Williamson Group Human Resources Manager stevewilliamson@somerstonhotels.co.uk Steve Williamson on LinkedIn Steve Williamson Group Human Resources Manager stevewilliamson@somerstonhotels.co.uk Steve Williamson on LinkedIn Steve has over 30 years in the hotel industry including significant operational and human resources experience with Crest Hotels, Toby Hotels & Restaurants, Corus and Regal Hotels. Steve joined Somerston Hotels in 2005 as Group Human Resources Manager at the time of the major acquisition and expansion of the company. Steve is a human resource generalist responsible for the evolution and implementation of policies, procedures and practices; for recruitment, training and development of staff ensuring a supply of high quality, professional people. Excellent guest service delivery is a major passion of Steve's and his enthusiasm for the subject inspires others, through a vast array of training sessions, to be the best that they can be. Steve believes strongly that employee satisfaction and behaviours are fundamental to the continued growth and profitability of the business, so invests time improving employee wellbeing, engagement and satisfaction. Steve is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and plays an active role in the UK Hotel Employers Group currently as Deputy Chair. What do you enjoy most about your job? "The best buzz in the world is to recruit, train, coach and lead others to recognise their own potential and push beyond the 'barriers' that they think are there - but often are not. Once empowered so much more can follow. It's really satisfying when I see colleagues years later having gone to achieve great things!" Bookings Hotel Arrival Nights People Rooms Book Now Somerston Hotels Hotel Links Careers Contact Us Site Map Policy Somerston Hotels UK Limited, Bridgeway House, Bridgeway, Stratford upon Avon, UK, CV37 6YX. 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