HR, Purchasing and Green Manager at Hotel Doolin

Áine Martin is HR, Purchasing and Green Manager at Hotel Doolin, Ireland’s only certified carbon neutral hotel. She has led several projects and initiatives to achieve this certification. Recent awards won by the hotel and team include Best Medium Sized Organisation of the Year 2018 & 2019 at the Green Awards, Chambers Ireland CSR Award for Green Team Work 2019 & Repak’s Business Waste Prevention Award 2019. Hotel Doolin has also won A Greener Festival Award for Doolin Folk Festival and hosts four festivals annually. Áine is the IHI Environmental & Facilities Manager of the Year 2019.

What is your background/where did your career start?

I studied Hotel Management and Business Studies in Shannon College of Hotel Management and graduated in 2003. I have worked in several four and five star hotels around the world.

How did you start working in tourism?

When I was in secondary school, my first job was in a coffee-shop near Cahir Castle where lots of tourists visit every year. This led me to deciding that I wanted to work in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Have you had good progression in your career?

I have had a great progression. Studying in Shannon College gave me fantastic opportunities to work in wonderful hotels including the Dorchester Hotel in London where I was taught exceptionally high standards which I have taken with me everywhere since. I have worked in all departments of the hotel including Housekeeping, Sales, Front Office, HR, Purchasing & Food and Beverage.

What does your current role entail?

I am HR, Purchasing and Green Manager at Hotel Doolin, Co. Clare. Hotel Doolin is Ireland’s only certified carbon neutral hotel. We host nearly 100 weddings per year. There is a team of 120 employees and nearly 70% of the food purchases are bought from a 50km radius of the hotel.

What makes your career different to other people’s?

I love working with a team who are so passionate about looking after the guests and making them feel really welcome. We are not afraid to do things differently. We host four festivals at Hotel Doolin annually. The team are dedicated to looking after the environment.

The hotel is located in the beautiful Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark and it is a high priority for us to work in and run a business that has a strong commitment to protecting the environment. I am a Burren Eco-tourism Network Board Member.

The BEN Network is a group of 60 businesses located in the Geopark who follow a Code of Practice to be members and this means protecting heritage, landscape, culture and the environment. I am the Green Team Leader at Hotel Doolin.

In 2019, we were recognised as being the most environmentally friendly hotel in Ireland when we received the certification from Green Hospitality that we are Ireland’s only carbon neutral hotel.

I also love getting the opportunity to meet guests too and spend time assisting in different departments. I love seeing guests leaving the hotel feeling very happy either after a meal or staying overnight.

What’s the best part of your job?

I love being part of the Hotel Doolin team. No two days are the same. I love the variety of the job. I love meeting guests and seeing how team members careers progress in company and how they develop their skills over time.

The hotel offers wonderful opportunities for team members to progress if they show initiative and work hard and go the extra mile in their job. We have done lots of CSR work in the last two years raising nearly €60,000 for charities and we won the Chambers Ireland CSR Environment Award for our Green Teamwork which was very rewarding for the team.

We organise village and beach clean-ups and we don’t sell any plastic bottles in the hotel. These are just some of the hotel’s green initiatives. We use een electricity and aim to reduce, reuse and recycle. Examples of this are in the Eco-barn which is the hotel’s wedding and event space; the bar counter is made from old whiskey barrels and the lampshades are made from old eel baskets from Co. Sligo.

How does your job fit with your lifestyle?

The hotel runs an employee programme called “Wellness on the Inside” which includes weekly yoga, monthly staff outings, membership to the local gym and swimming pool and nutritional consultations. These opportunities give me the chance to have a healthier frame of mind and lifestyle.

The monthly staff outings are a great way to get out in the fresh air and spend time with the team outside of the hotel and talk to a colleague that you might not normally get the chance to spend time with in the hotel. The hotel committed to planting 1700 native trees locally in the last two years and the team took part in this. The hotel hosts four festivals per year (Doolin Writers’ Weekend, Music Minds, Doolin Surfest and Doolin Folk Festival). These are really good fun to work at.

What skills have you developed in your career in tourism?

We all get one shot at making people feel welcome. The aim is to look after the guests and have them leave feeling that we really exceeded their expectations. I have learned that it is important to look after the team because if the team are happy and motivated, this undoubtedly has positive results. In recent times, we have noticed that employees want to work and feel proud to work in a sustainable organisation. There has been a surge of job applications which is very positive.

What characteristics do you need to succeed in tourism?

You need to be willing to work hard but this is very rewarding. You must also enjoy meeting people. What advice would you offer someone considering joining tourism? It is a great industry to meet people. There are wonderful opportunities for career progression. It is a very rewarding. I feel that it is important to get experience across all departments before taking the step into management. The skills that you learn in tourism can be taken with you anywhere in the world. I have had the chance to work in Australia, Belgium, Ireland and UK.

Áine Martin