Awardees, Sabina Bengz, Roger Russell, and Diana Bucko, The Metropole Hotel, along with Davina Murphy, Michael Murphy, and Margaret Hickey, Cork International Hotel, pictured with Managers at the Trigon Hotels’ annual Long Service Awards, where 75 years of service among 11 of its team members was celebrated. The group, which includes The Metropole Hotel and The Cork International Hotel, honoured the team members at the event which was held at the Cork International Hotel.
Picture: Michael O’Sullivan /OSM PHOTO
Roger Russell, General Manager of The Metropole, marks his 20th year with the hotel
Trigon Hotels has celebrated 75 years of service among 11 of its team members. The group, which includes The Metropole Hotel and The Cork International Hotel, honoured the team members at the annual Long Service Awards this week at the Cork International Hotel.
General Manager of the Metropole Hotel Roger Russell has been with the hotel for 20 years. Patrick Sinnott who works in housekeeping in The Cork International Hotel has served 10 years while the other nine team members have each served five years each.
Roger has praised the team at Trigon Hotels which he says have become like family over the years.
“When you work in hospitality it is important to have a strong and dependable team around you. Having that support and assistance from the people who you work with and see on a daily basis is key to running a successful business and we are very lucky with the team members at Trigon Hotels. It also helps to know that when you come into work every day there are people there to make you smile and share a joke with.”
Roger had worked with the hotel group before moving to Amsterdam where he worked for three years as an Operations Manager in a hotel in the Dutch capital. An opportunity to take up a role as Deputy General Manager at The Metropole Hotel arose and this resulted in Roger returning to his native Cork. He was appointed General Manager in 2008, just one month before the economic crash.
“That was an extremely difficult time, not just for us but for the country as a whole, and as General Manager I was forced to make some really difficult decisions. Other challenges have arisen during my 20 years with Trigon Hotels including the Foot and Mouth crisis, the Icelandic volcano and, of course, the Covid 19 pandemic. But these challenges make people working in the hospitality sector very resilient as we need to adapt very quickly to the changing circumstances. We still have to ensure our guests get the best possible service they can regardless of what’s happening, whether that’s a local person coming in for a cup of coffee or an international visitor spending a number of days with us.”
Other team members honoured at the Long Service Awards include:
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Maxwell Russell, Kitchen, Cork International Hotel
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Patrick Sinnott, Housekeeping, Cork International Hotel
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Margaret Hickey, Housekeeping, Cork International Hotel
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Davina Murphy, Housekeeping, Cork International Hotel
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Michael Murphy, Housekeeping, Cork International Hotel
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Christian Persaud, Housekeeping, Cork International Hotel
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Andrius Spogis, Accommodation, Metropole Hotel
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Kevin O’Leary, Bar, Metropole Hotel
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Diana Bucko, Front Office, Metropole Hotel
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Sabina Bengez, Front Office, Metropole Hotel
Managing Director at Trigon Hotels Aaron Mansworth said; “These awards are very important to us at Trigon Hotels as they offer us a chance to officially recognise the commitment and dedication shown by team members. We are continuously trying to ensure that we are creating a positive working environment and we have introduced a number of policies in recent years in response to the needs of our team members. Collaboration and team spirit are key to our hotel’s success and progression.”
