Holiday Inn Express creates 50 new jobs at Kennedy Tower hotel

ONE of Birmingham’s newest hotels is creating more than 50 new jobs. The Holiday Inn Express at Kennedy Tower in Snowhill is recruiting positions from kitchen staff to managers.

The hotel said it was targeting young people who wanted to develop a career in the hotel and leisure sector and would be pleased to receive applications from 16-24 year-olds from the Ladywood, Aston and the wider areas of Birmingham.

The hotel, part of Sanguine Hospitality, has also announced the appointment of Andrea Whigham as General Manager. Ms Whigham has 25 years experience in the hospitality industry, 10 of which have been in Birmingham.  Her main aim is to help create job opportunities for the local community and support youth employment.

“Offering career paths for young people is very important to me. I have a personal commitment to developing young people and I will be looking into establishing an apprenticeship scheme in the future,” she said.

Previously known as the Kennedy Tower, the 19-storey development has seen the transformation of the former office block into a 224-bedroom uniquely furnished, modern hotel.

The positions being created at the new hotel will increase Sanguine’s staff headcount to more than 1,000.

Interstate Hotels and Resorts, a joint venture between US-based Thayer Lodging Group and China’s Jin Jiang Hotels, swooped on Sanguine, which also operates The Cube’s Hotel Indigo, in an undisclosed deal announced earlier this month. The deal marks the company’s entry into the UK market.

Interstate has confirmed it will be setting up its UK base in Birmingham.