In Your Shoes - Helen McLoughlin

The Aberdeen Altens Hotel opened its doors in 1980 and is still Aberdeen’s largest hotel by number of bedrooms at 216. The Hotel currently operates as an independent hotel and with 12 meeting rooms offering a maximum capacity of 400 (theatre style), a prime location on the south side of Aberdeen and extensive free car parking, the hotel is ideally suited to a range of markets.

The customer really is at the heart of everything at The Aberdeen Altens Hotel, and the focus is not only on the customer experience whilst they are at the hotel. The approach favours a 360° one, from the very first part of the customer journey to post departure. The ‘WOW’ factor is what the Aberdeen Altens Hotel aims to achieve daily. The team cares deeply and is committed to the customer, so every member’s passion shines through to give a unique experience where the emphasis is on providing flexible, personal, bespoke, creative hospitality solutions.

Monday 6 August

A great to start the week with a day off! I’m looking forward to spending the day with my daughters Ellie and Libby, especially since they’re on holiday from school just now. It’s been a hectic few weeks seeing me travel to London for The Meetings Show, Edinburgh for The Royal Highland Show, Manchester for a sales conference, Shetland to visit our sister hotel The Moorfield, Bradford for a lunch and learn with an agency and Taunton for a meeting and dinner with clients. It’ll be nice to spend a little more time at the hotel this week and start discussing with the team all the exciting ideas and opportunities I’ve been gathering on my travels.

Tuesday 7 August

Christmas carols as my office soundtrack today I’m getting into the festive spirit!  We are well ahead with plans for Christmas 2018 and have a full schedule of popular party nights and celebrations, rounding off with our popular Hogmanay Gala.  I’m also spending time planning our 2019 calendar of special events, something I love working on with the rest of the team.  Our collective creativity is inspiring, energetic and great to be a part of.

Wednesday 8 August

Before the day gets too busy, I’ve booked on a Chamber event on the importance of networking. Looking for new people and new ways of reaching them is exciting – and important for our business. Then it’s back to planes, trains and automobiles as I’m off to Lincolnshire for client presentations. This is another aspect of my job I enjoy enormously as it’s good experience to see things from the perspective of a traveller or hotel guest. As a team we are always evolving our offering based on hospitality trends and best practices experienced elsewhere – these are important elements in giving us 360°perspective on every stage of the customer journey.

Thursday 9 August

After some more presentations to clients in Lincolnshire, I’m off to join some RBH colleagues from other hotels within our family to share knowledge and best practice. For me, any visit away from the hotel is as much about selling Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire as a location as it is about the hotel itself, so I always pack some local goodies to leave behind!

Friday 10 August

A much-needed admin day back at the hotel to catch up after another busy week. After a meeting with chef and the food and beverage manager to discuss upcoming events, it’s on to social selling and Pinterest research to keep those creative juices flowing! Finally, the weekend and some precious family time – and a glass of something nicely chilled to get it off to a good start.