Macdonald Hotels & Resorts are pleased to announce the appointment of Jess Atkinson as Director of Sales for the North of Scotland.
Jess, who has over 20 years Sales and Business Development experience within the hospitality sector, is returning to the company after a role as Regional Account Director at ExecSpace, a premier conference and business accommodation booking company. Jess is a previous Vice President for the Highland Business Women’s Club and was finalist for ‘Business Woman of the Year’ at their annual awards in 2014. She was also voted ‘Member of the Year’ in 2014. The new role, which involves leading a team of five Marketing and Sales professionals, covers the entire portfolio of Macdonald Hotels & Resorts in the North of Scotland.
Jess’s appointment comes at a key time for the Group as they unveil a recent £5million pound investment in their Aviemore Resort, to include two new 4star hotels – The Macdonald Aviemore Hotel and The Macdonald Morlich Hotel - in addition to a £1 million investment in a new Golf Club House.
The Aviemore development closely follows last year’s financial commitment to Aberdeen and Shire with a £500,000 investment in the new kitchen facilities for the Macdonald Norwood Hall Hotel at Pitfodels Aberdeen, a £600k investment in Pittodrie House Hotel near Inverurie. There is also a completed refit of the Macdonald Drumossie Hotel Art Deco Ballroom in Inverness, in preparation for summer events.
Commenting on her new role Jess says: “It is a truly exciting time to be returning to Macdonald Hotels & Resorts with the recent successful completion of over £5million investment at our flagship resort in Aviemore, in the Scottish Highlands. In addition to our world-class conference facilities for up to 1150 delegates we can now offer three stunning well-appointed 4 star Hotels. The Resort is now excellently positioned to secure a record number of local, national and international conferences and events”.
Chris Wayne Willis Regional Managing Director for Macdonald North Scotland says: “Jess was the natural choice. This is a busy time for Macdonald Hotel and Resorts as we gear up for summer 2015. This investment is considerable across our entire offering and we needed an excellent candidate to drive the next chapter of this story. Jess is intrinsic to our aspirations, she understands our ethos, knows our offering in detail and is experienced at launching new ventures. She will be a great compliment to the new facilities.”