My Career: Anna Hughes Keane guest experiences and services manager

Did you always want to be a guest experience and services manager?
Honestly, no.  My initial hopes and dreams were to work within the sports industry or law but I wouldn’t change where I am today for the world.

My most formative work experience was… apart from meeting my husband Jonathan – executive head chef – on my first day in The Lodge at Ashford Castle in 2012 it would have to be when the Red Carnation Hotel Collection purchased The Lodge in 2014.  In addition to undergoing a significant rebranding, we took part in company training to understand the philosophy of the company, the vision and its values.  This completely changed my outlook on the hospitality industry and, more specifically, my role in it.   

My first real job was in… the Hotel Meyrick in Galway for Race Week. Let’s just say it was a baptism of fire.

The most invaluable thing I learned early on in my career was… that there is no shame in asking for help. For so long I thought that it was a weakness, but really it is the opposite. There’s great strength in asking for help – no one person has all the answers.   

A common misconception about what I do is… that it is all fun and games. I am extremely fortunate to get opportunities where I chaperone guests on excursions, or I am down in the bushes hiding to capture the perfect wedding proposal.  But behind the scenes it can be quite intense and my job requires a lot of detail, creativity and outside-the-box thinking.  

My main responsibility in work is to… ensure that our guests have the ultimate experience here in The Lodge and on the wider Ashford Castle estate and that all my colleagues are kept up to date with itineraries, guest arrivals and VIP visits. 

Do you have a career mentor or someone you look up to/seek advice from?
It’s no exaggeration to say that across the whole Ashford Estate, we really are fortunate to have some of the best leaders and mentors in hospitality and management in the country. The standout people who have helped guide me over the years and who are the reason I am where I am today are general manager, Niall Rochford, hotel manager, Peter Fergus, former operations manager, Andrew Phelan, my husband and executive head chef, Jonathan Keane and Paula Carroll who has semi-retired from her sales and marketing directorship and is now a strategic ambassador for Ashford Castle. I genuinely could list so many more and the most exciting element is that our team is constantly growing and evolving, allowing for so much more knowledge, expertise and most of all support. 

The biggest risk I have taken in my career so far is… taking the job as a receptionist in The Lodge at Ashford Castle in March 2012. I had just moved home from Dublin, I had no front office experience and I also had never even heard of Cong. I was totally out of my comfort zone. I can safely say that it was the biggest risk but with the greatest reward. 

I wake at… 7:45am (my husband would say otherwise), but we love to sleep in our house. 

The first thing I do every morning is… check the bed to see how many of the children have snuck in during the night, and I also check my emails. 

My morning routine is… it varies but Monday to Friday during the school term involves getting the kids up and out. Jonathan does the kids’ lunches and school drop and I do breakfast, uniforms and hair. I then have some much-needed snuggles with our youngest before she heads back for her morning nap and then get myself ready for work. 

I can’t go to work without… morning snuggles and cuddles with the kids and turning my music up full blast when heading to work. It definitely clears the cobwebs. 

I travel to work by… car.

On an average workday I…  review who is arriving that day, making sure that we have the relevant details and notes if the guest has specific requirements or requests.  I will then liaise with the team regarding our guests’ dining plans and assist guests who may not have reserved lunch, dinner, an activity on the estate or indeed, anything else.  I take time in confirming guest itineraries and any outstanding details for their stay with us. I work closely with The Lodge team to keep them up to date on any VIP arrivals or stayovers. Later in the day and into the evening my time is largely floor based, where I am engaging and meeting with all our guests and visitors to The Lodge.  

I start my working day at… 10am most mornings. 

The first thing I do at work is… make what the girls describe as a ‘bucket of tea’ and have a quick catch-up with the team in our office. 

I usually spend the first portion of the day… reviewing the guest reservation list so that I know who is checking in and I’ll update the team accordingly. We love welcoming back return guests, many of whom have been visiting us for years.    If I have a surprise proposal or wedding engagement,  I spend time preparing the different elements booked by the would-be bride or groom.

I break for lunch at… I wish I was more structured, but my lunch could be any time of the day or early evening. It really depends on the day itself. The quick and easy option is definitely some soup and a sandwich and when we have a little time, as a team we are partial to the occasional lunch or takeout from either of the cafes in Cong.  I think it’s important to support local businesses and there’s a great sense of community in Cong. 

The most useful business tool I use every day is… Opera; it’s our hotel operating software from where I pull all my reports and information. 

I save time by… I am a disaster with time management and could talk for Ireland, so I am the last person to discuss how I save time… if you asked me how I waste time, the list would be endless!  However, given that so much of my time involves chatting to guests, perhaps this isn’t such a bad trait to have in my job. 

I rarely get through my working day without… making someone laugh or smile. 

The best part of my day is… meeting guests throughout their stay who are just bowled over by the hotel but most importantly, the staff. Our team genuinely are the beating heart of the hotel. 

The most challenging part of my day is… switching off, especially if I have guests staying with us who I have been dealing with directly over a long period of time. I trust the team wholeheartedly but I definitely struggle with handing over and leaving them to it. 

I know it’s been a good day if… all of our guests that I encounter are smiling and thoroughly enjoying their stay. 

I usually end my day at… I don’t have a fixed end time, it really depends on the day. I do love staying on into the evening and meeting our guests while at dinner in Wilde’s restaurant – the setting, staff and food are incredible so it certainly makes my job easier, as they are already enjoying themselves. I also enjoy hearing their feedback or offering them my personal recommendations from the menu if they ask for my view. 

I switch off from work by… chatting to the kids before bed about their day and hearing about “he did this, she did that” and then enjoying a big mug of tea with Jonathan and catching up on Blue Bloods or one of our other programmes. 

Before I go to bed, I’ll… check that all our little people are in their own beds. I also do a little night-time skincare routine and then I am a divil for checking the evening handovers at the hotel before bed.

I often prepare for tomorrow by… sorting all of our littlest lady’s bottles and sterilising, having the children’s uniforms out and lunch bags cleaned and ready for the morning. It guarantees me an extra fifteen minutes for myself in the morning. 

After a long work week, I destress by… spending time with my family and friends. Our children are 8 months, 5, 7 and 9 years so they keep us on our toes. None of our family live overly close to us so I’m often on the family WhatsApp group at the end of the week catching up on all the excitement in Longford, Trim and Dublin. Jonathan and I try to have a date night once a month on our days off, which is something I always look forward to. 

The accomplishment I’m most proud of is… while my career is hugely important to me, without a shadow of a doubt I’m most proud of my family. They are my people, my team and my biggest cheerleaders. The penny finally dropped a few years ago when I truly realised that ‘it’s not what you have but who you have’. I have overcome some significant losses within my family and close circle and some personal struggles and I have thankfully come out the far side swinging, as one would say. I thankfully have so much to be proud of at the moment. 

If you want to get into my line of work, my advice is to… be ok with the fact that you can’t be all things to everyone and understand that the hospitality industry is changing at a rapid pace and what may have worked for the last year may not be what works for the next year. It’s really important to be open-minded and to be able to adapt to change. It is an ever-evolving and growing industry but extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Take the risk. 

I’ve just finished working on… a family itinerary and stay for a wonderful family from California. The Lodge was the final leg of their European trip so I wanted to make sure it was as memorable as possible. I have also just finalised a very special and exciting engagement plan that is happening in early August. This has been 18 months in the making so I cannot wait to see it all come together.  

At the moment I’m working on… an extensive ten-day itinerary for a very special family that is covering the length and breadth of the country by bus, helicopter, boat and car. They are also sampling all of our dining options across the Ashford Estate as well as all of our activities. It will be a hectic ten days but I am really looking forward to it. 

Imagery provided by Anna Hughes Keane