Saturday, February 8, 2025
Saturday, February 8, 2025
HomeFeaturesInterview: Dianna Bruce, AC Hotel by Marriott Inverness

Interview: Dianna Bruce, AC Hotel by Marriott Inverness

Dianna Bruce is leading her best life as General Manager of the AC Hotel by Marriott in Inverness. Susan Young caught up with her to find out why she loves her role.

Dianna Bruce, known as Dee, tells me that unlike many of her industry colleagues she never had any real ambition to be a General Manager. Despite that she has mastered the art and is currently presiding over the AC Hotel by Marriott Inverness – managed by Hotel Co 51, which was the first in Scotland for the brand. The hotel, the largest in Inverness with 191 bedrooms, sits on the Banks of the River Ness and has proved a very popular addition to the city.

In fact it is only now with 16 months under her belt that Dee is finding the time to catch her breath. She admits, “The hotel has been busier than we ever imagined.”

Dee, who hails from Dundee, started her industrious career at the Drumoig Hotel just outside Leuchars more than 20 years ago. Her first role was on reception. Since then she has worked her way up through hospitality and with various hotel companies including the likes of Ramada Jarvis, RBH, Swallow Hotels, Cycas Hospitality, DeVere and Marriott Hotels.

But it was advice she received while in her teens that she believes has stood her in good stead. She tells me, “A long time ago I remember someone saying to me ‘do the job you want, not the job you are paid for’. That has always stuck with me. I have always tried to do the next part of the job before I had it which perhaps is unusual these days, because so many youngsters want the job first before they have learned the ropes – for me it was the other way around.

“For instance, when I was working in reception, I wanted to know how to do the next part of the job. I was (and am) naturally curious and I want to know the nitty gritty of how and why? That led me into being Reception Supervisor but when I got that role I already knew how to do it because I had been doing it.”

Drumoig to London

From the Drumoig she headed to the bright lights of London and says, “At the time I was 19 or 20 and there was a buzz about London. However, it was more about my CV than everything else, and I did miss home. My partner, at the time, was from the North of England and we compromised and moved nearer his family in Bolton where my next role was as Reception Manager at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel.”

Four years later in 2005, just before she had her son, Dee moved back to Dundee and went for a part-time reservations role with what was then the Swallow Hotel. She laughs, “Somehow when I came out of the interview I was Guest Relations Manager which included the Front Office Manager and Finance Manager roles rolled into one. I am not sure how I was talked into that.”

Operations

She moved up through the ranks becoming Rooms Division Manager and then Operations Manager in 2012 and helped transition the hotel to a Landmark Hotel with RBH and General Manager Marcello Ventesei, who I interviewed in the last magazine. Marcello is one of the people that Dee views as a mentor. She says, “I did the rebrand of the Swallow into Landmark with Marcello. His attention to detail was just amazing.

“For instance, when I was Front Office Manager we used to have an apple bowl on reception and I remember Marcello saying to me one day ‘That apple bowl is not full’, and I said I’ve just checked out 100 or so guests. His response was, “The 100 checkouts don’t know you have just done a 100 checkouts.”

He was right and that installed in me how important first impressions are. He taught me how to spot things that you walk past 300 times a day.”

Another person who made a big impression on Dee was Niki Fincham the HR director for RBH, the group which managed the Landmark in Dundee. Niki is still with the company as Group Learning & Development Manager.

Jigsaw Puzzle

Dee explains, “I went on a course and was given a jigsaw which required 16 pieces to complete it. The pieces were rooms, revenue, front office and so on. As you completed the course you had to get your work signed off from the relevant departments and when it was you got another piece of the jigsaw. When you got all the pieces you were put on a fast track to be General Manager. Niki played a big part in that and even bought me a couple of books. She took a personal interest and was a huge part of my development.”

She continues, “I have mostly learned on the job, but I was also fortunate enough to do a HIT Scotland Scholarship Leadership course at Lausanne when I moved from my Front office to my first Operations role. The aim was to learn the difference from looking after one department to looking after multiple departments and going from manager to leader. I also did some SVQs along the way, but predominantly I learned from the people I worked with.”

Although Dee definitely enjoyed her Operations role at Landmark, she found that with a young son she couldn’t quite manage the hours. She then took a role as Reservations and Events Manager at the Old Course at St Andrews where she stayed two years. But she found it wasn’t for her.

“It was quite different. The operation is so big that you do get a bit lost in the organisation and I was taking every booking from a spa booking to a dinner for 300. For me, it was too officebased. I wasn’t designed for a 9am to 5pm office role, as much as it suited me at the time. I ended up moving across to Hotel du Vin where I was Sales and Events manager, but I also slipped into operations when we were doing things like weddings and I even stepped in as toastmaster.”

Pre-opening for Cycas

Therefore, when an opportunity in Operations came up to do the pre-opening for Cycas at Dundee’s Staybridge Suites and Hotel Indigo in 2018 Dee jumped at the opportunity. “I thought who am I kidding? I have been doing ops, even if it wasn’t on paper. The hours and the workload was still operations and my son was older so I thought I could do the role.

“I have actually done most things in hotels in different ways, but I haven’t done a preopening. The experience opened up a whole different world. The skillset was so different. I was sitting in on site meetings learning about, for example, how an air conditioning unit worked. I was the person who asked how the plant room worked and so on.”

Bill Burnett, another past interviewee, was at the time GM of Hotel Indigo and was also Regional GM for Cycas. Dee credits him with helping her in her career there. Says Dee, “Cycas were a huge part of my development. I went in as Rooms Manager for Indigo, then opened Staybridge Suites next door, and then they asked me to take that on as Hotel Manager. Bill, as Regional GM, looked after the whole of the North, so Dundee really became mine. And as Bill moved up the company and they changed structure I ended up as Hotel Manager for both hotels. Bill trusted me to look after the team and develop it and that gave me a lot of confidence.”

Back to London

The two also moved into the hotel with another colleague during Covid and the trio spent 16 weeks looking after their guests and living in the hotel. The company then sent Dee to London for a few months to shadow a General Manager in order that she could make the step up from Manager to General Manager.

Coincidentally a few months later that Manager resigned and Dee was asked to cover the hotel in London. Says Dee, “It was great because I knew the hotel, knew how it operated and I knew the GM, so he did a handover with me. I also enjoyed being back in London and the buzz. They then gave me a job at a Marriott in Manchester. It was great experience and I really owe Cycas a lot. They were great to work for.”

It wasn’t long before a former colleague of Dee’s called her to ask if she knew someone who could open the new AC Marriott in Inverness. She smiles, “At first they asked me if I knew anyone, and then I realised they were asking me if I would do it. That opportunity also came through Cycas because it was the former COO, Wayne Androliakos, who had moved to Hotel Co 51 as Regional Director of Operations that approached me. The rest as they say is history.

Dee smiles, “I came up to see it and fell in love with it.” One of the things that she loves best about the role in Inverness is the opportunity to merge the General Manager and operational functions.

She explains, “With operations you are very much involved on the floor and watching what is actually happening. You have to make sure all the cogs are in place whether it’s a VIP arrival or a birthday. This gives you the direct contact with the guests which I really enjoy. The GM role is more strategic and is more about planning what you are going to do in six months time. There is also more of a focus on the financial and commercial side of the business.

Richmond the Dachshund Toy Poodle

“I am quite fortunate in this hotel because I am still quite involved with the operational side – of course it helps that I come to work with a puppy, a seven month Dachshund Toy Poodle called Richmond. I get to walk the buildings and guests want to stop and talk to him. They will even stop at the office door and ask to take him for a walk. So, I still have that connection with guests – I don’t think I could be GM if I didn’t have that part of it. For instance, we had a guest a few weeks ago who was a 100-yearold ex-RAF who was visiting Lossiemouth. You get to know their story and all that kind of stuff.”

Dee also lives in Inverness during the week, commuting to Dundee at the weekend. She says, ‘It is an easier commute than driving between here and Manchester and my son is now at University in Dundee.” However, she admits the last 16 months have been “relentless”.

She explains, “No one really realised how busy the hotel was going to be and recruitment has been a challenge. Although I am lucky in that we have a pool of people across the group that can be pulled in if really required. Everyone talks about Covid but for me Brexit was bigger. Housekeeping staff and chefs just aren’t available anymore, in fact we outsource our housekeeping.

“We employ 50 staff here, and last year we had one person on sponsorship. We looked to do it again this year, but the cap has gone up by so much it’s just not feasible anymore.

“Despite the fact that we are working at persuading people that hospitality is a skilled job and a good career, people still think of it as a short gap option. We still have a long way to go despite the fact that we have addressed issues like pay and work/life balance.”

Inverness Tourism Boom

I asked why she thought business had been so good in Inverness.

“The NC500 has obviously played its part in putting a spotlight on the route, plus Outlander and Traitors of course – and I think that perhaps Edinburgh has got so expensive that people do it for the day and then come further on up.

Although we are not inexpensive there is more to cover here than just one city. We also get film crews coming plus tour groups and buses. Once you pass Inverness there are not many big places – so they stop here and then do Skye and other areas for the day.”

She continues, “Obviously Americans are a large part of our business and golf too – it has really taken off over the last 12 months. Scottish Golf Tourism Week was held in Inverness. It was the first time since it launched ten years ago that it has been out of St Andrews.

“Again, I think cost plays a factor in people’s decision to come to Inverness. St Andrews may be on a golfer’s bucket list, but the next tier down perhaps don’t have the capital, so they will come and play golf here instead including courses like Castle Stuart and Dornoch.”

She believes that guests like the fact that they know the quality and standards of the brand, but she also enjoys the fact that as an operator they do get some autonomy. She says, “AC Marriott was a new brand for Scotland, and Hotel Co 51 were the first to bring it here, although there is now one in Glasgow too. People don’t necessarily know what an AC is. The design is very fresh, and there are lots of Spanish influences thanks to Antonio Catalan who created the first AC Hotel in his home region of Navarra in Spain. People don’t expect that when they walk into a hotel in Inverness. On an evening, we put out fresh lavender and our guests do feel that it is a very personal touch.

“This summer we are going to have ‘Tapas on the Terrace’. We started out with the idea of ‘Tomatin on the Terrace’, because we have a great relationship with them as a local distillery.

“However, we have taken what was an F&B discussion and decided to rebrand our adjoining lodge as the Tomatin Lodge – it has 24 bedrooms and sits alongside the hotel. We will use the Tomatin tartan in the décor and offer Tomatin welcome packs in the rooms.

“Despite the fact we are an international brand we don’t have to be prescriptive and we can buy local too. We have a Scottish a la carte menu with a Spanish twist and we use local suppliers such as the Great Glen Charcuterie, Loch Ness Honey Co. and our coffee is from Inverness Coffee Roasting Co. – guests can go around the corner and buy the coffee directly from the shop if they like it.”

Talking of coffee, one of the things that set AC Marriott apart is the fact that they don’t have a desk in the bedrooms, instead they encourage guests to work in their communal bar area.

Says Dee, “We have our coffee machine on all day, and we hope once the working day is ended they stay for a drink in the bar.”

She continues, “Although business has been phenomenal since we opened and the hotel has been very well received, we still have a lot to do. There’s still a lot of people locally who say they have not been in it and we are still trying to break the barriers that hotel restaurants appear to have – people not staying in the hotel are nervous about coming into the hotel for food. But when you consider that although there are so many places to eat in Inverness in reality there are very few seats because most of the restaurants are quite small.

“We have a bigger restaurant but it is often under utilised so we are aiming to break down the barriers with our food offering, and the terrace massively helps. People want to come and use the terrace with the views to the River Ness. They open the hotel doors and say ‘can we come in? And once they are in they realise what we have to offer.”

One of the best moments of her career was the official opening of the hotel last year in April. Dee smiles, “The Red Hot Chilli Pipers played at our official launch. They were amazing. People are still talking about it. It was a real pinch me moment. One minute I was shooing a duck out of reception and the next I was singling along to the Red Hot Chilli Pipers… you definitely don’t get that in a retail environment.”

Dee also admits that if I asked Bill or Marcello about her that they would say she never wanted to be a GM. She says “At any job review they would ask the question where do you want to be in five years and I would always say, I just want to be good at what I do. I just enjoyed what I did and naturally moved up. But it is hard to inspire people when you say that. People always want you to have ambition and to be aiming for something else, but for me I just naturally fell into hospitality and was able to move up the ladder because I enjoyed it so much.” She does and that just shines through.

 

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