Hilton Liverpool recruitment drive gets 2,000 responses

THE general manager of Liverpool’s Hilton Hotel has said it has had a “huge” response to its recruitment drive, and added that he plans to beat the occupancy and room rates of the city’s top hotels.

The £55m hotel, which will open in the second week of October, has around 120 full-time and between 40 and 60 part-time jobs to fill before it opens in the second week of October.

General manager Marcus Magee, who was previously based in Aberdeen as the Hilton’s regional manager for Scotland, said the hotel has seen more than 2,000 job applications.

He said: “It’s not just the number of applications, the quality and expertise of the applicants really shows too. From the CVs we’ve had I can see there is a lot of good, local talent and I’m more than confident we’ll have an abundance of local people on the shop floor.

“But there is a balance between ensuring that link with the local community and the things an international hotel brings. Our food services manager, for example, is from Milan.”

He added that despite the overwhelming response, there are plenty of roles left to fill as he is recruiting for two or three departments at a time.

Mr Magee said the hotel will be more expensive than its nearest rivals in the city, such as the Radisson, Malmaison, Crowne Plaza, Thistle and Marriott but said he was not fazed by the competition in a city that now has around 3,500 beds.

He also said he expects to beat the 68% occupancy and £78 average room rate , which he understands to be  the average level of his top five competitors.

 “We are looking to have a premium on the marketplace. And we aim to have a premium on what they are performing at,” he said, adding that that room rates were yet to be finalised.

“The hotel will be known for its brand name, location and quality of service,” he said. “The Hilton emulates quality service.”

And he admitted that Liverpool’s top hotels are not the only competition.

“There is no doubt we are in direct competition with the Manchester Hilton, it’s only 35 miles away. We work together, but of course every hotel is competitive, but then having a branded product in both Liverpool and Manchester is good from a referral point of view.”