“I would never have dreamt that I’d ever be Managing Director of this company,” says James McGinn. A 30-year stalwart of Hastings Hotel Group and a hotelier through and through, he spent 20 years as General Manager of Hastings’ best known and most popular hotel, the iconic Europa in Belfast City Centre.
“That counts as a long time for someone to manage one hotel,” he says. “But I love the Europa, I love the hotel business and, even though I never expected to be in this role, I’m loving it too.”
He’s been in the MD’s role for two and half years now, long enough to get the learning curve safely behind him. “For me, it meant getting used to taking a much broader view of the Group’s financial performance instead of concentrating on one hotel and its operations. This job is all about business, revenue, hitting all the KPI’s, and to achieve that we must consistently service the guests’ expectations and over deliver. To achieve that goal, we need a fully engaged team, a team that trusts me. That’s what drives the company after all.”
Founded by the inimitable Sir William Hastings, who passed away aged 89 in 2017, the Hastings Hotel Group comprises six properties. James McGinn and his management team divide them into distinct groups of two following a recent re-branding which has seen new visual identities introduced to reflect the unique characteristics of each hotel.
“We’ve got our two 5-Star properties, the luxurious hotels – the Culloden Estate & Spa and the Grand Central – we have what we think are our two destination hotels – the Europa Hotel and Ballygally Castle on the Antrim Coast – and then there are the neighbourhood properties, both with suburban locations – the Everglades Hotel in Derry/Londonderry and the Stormont Hotel in East Belfast.”
“Each has its own personality. Even our two 5-Stars are very different. We like to think of the Culloden as being a bit like Pierce Brosnan and the Grand Central more Daniel Craig…”
It’s a typical James McGinn comment. Sometimes irreverent, always the consummate professional, he rose to wider fame with both series of Lobby Lives, the popular fly on the wall documentary on life at the Europa, made by Holywood-based Waddell Media and aired by BBC Northern Ireland. This was superseded by the BBC network programme, Hotel People, watched by over one million viewers.
When we meet at the Culloden, he’s in the middle of a stint back at the North Down hotel holding the fort in preparation for the arrival of new General Manager, Cormac Fadden, who is moving north from the Castlemartyr Resort in County Cork. But ‘babysitting’ the Culloden is a job James McGinn has to do alongside his role as Managing Director.
In that role, he sits on a new-look Hastings board alongside chairman Howard Hastings, the last member of the family to be involved on a day-to-day basis. His sisters Julie Hastings, Aileen Martin and Allyson McKimm have all stepped down from direct involvement in the business but remain on a non-executive board. Other main board members include Financial Director Peter Gibson and Sales Director Eoin McGrath. On a wider basis, a 14-strong senior management team also includes the six General Manager of the hotels.
James McGinn has recently overseen a subtle overhaul of the group’s branding, from group identity through to distinct visual identities for each of the hotels, which Hastings worked on with Belfast creative agency, The Collective. “It’s a slow burn process,” he says. “A brand can’t change overnight. In our hotels, we pride ourselves on attention to detail and the branding has been given the same attention. It has been a process that we have spent two years on and we’re very pleased with the new look right across the board.
“Already the feedback from our guests has been very positive. The rebrand allows us to be more creative in our approach, with visually striking patterns and rich, bold colour palettes – both in the branding and inside each hotel.”
He’s also pleased with occupancy rates, the crucial measure of commercial success for any hotel business.
The Europa, for example, has been running at 80% occupancy on average across April, May, June and into July, whilst the Grand Central has been sitting at around 60% rising to 80% and above at weekends, when the hotel becomes a popular visitor destination.
“Ballygally, meanwhile, is a visitor attraction in its own right thanks to its unique location,” he adds.
James McGinn is confident that the family-owned firm can post a turnover of £53 million or more in the current year, which puts it back above pre-Covid levels, and that has to be a source of satisfaction given the devastation wreaked on the industry by the pandemic.
But this is a business that requires constant investment. “We can’t stand still. It’s so competitive out there, the consumer has so much choice, that standing still would be a big mistake,” says James McGinn. “There is always some part of the business that needs updated or improved.”
To that end, the company has just completed a five-year renewal project at the Europa Hotel following a £15 million spend renovating all 272 guest bedrooms, the Lobby Bar, Piano Restaurant, the meeting rooms on the second floor and a remodelling of the famous Penthouse on the 12th floor.
The Everglades has also been given a makeover, with noticeable improvement to its impressive lobby area following a £100,000 investment in the property.
Back at the Culloden, it has recently completed a £500,000 upgrade throughout the hotel and spa. It remains the ‘go to’ hotel for VIP visitors from visiting celebrities to political leaders. Sir Keir Starmer added his name to the list of Prime Minister who’ve stayed there when he spent an overnight there shortly after winning the election.
It’s also, of course, home to many of our best-known business events, not least a series of Business Eye Awards over the years. “We’re very proud of being home to so many business events,” says James. “We’re good at events, but that’s no accident. We work really hard to make every event we host a success.”
In total, Hastings Hotels Group employs just under 900 people, making it one of Northern Ireland’s largest private sector employers. It has helped to move careers in the hospitality industry on to a new level.
“We have a Head of People & Culture and we have a Wellbeing Manager. It’s an industry that has changed beyond recognition from the old days when a career in hospitality was looked down upon. It’s certainly not like that now.”
Moving forward, he says that the Hastings vision hasn’t changed from Sir William’s days. “In fact, it has accelerated,” he says. “What we aim for is hospitality that understands how to make people feel both comfortable and special. How luxury can and should be understated. And hospitality that reflects the people and spirit of Northern Ireland.”
James McGinn – Accelerating The Vision At Hastings Hotels
