Day in the Life – Andrew Lambert, Kilkenny's Hibernian Hotel

As Andrew Lambert enjoys his first year as the General Manager of The Hibernian Hotel, I sat down with him to find out his plans for Kilkenny’s 46-bedroom boutique hotel.

The Hibernian Hotel is a beautiful Georgian bank that now houses a boutique 4-star hotel, with 18th century corridors that lead to luxurious 21st century bedrooms. It is also part of the INUA Collection who has 13 other luxury hotels across Ireland.

Andrew has Kilkenny’s Hibernian Hotel running like clockwork. He has worked in tourism all his life, growing up in the family business of the Rosslare Strand local shop and 20 years in hotel management.

Brian Redmond, Helena Hatton & General Manager Andrew Lambert at Savour Kilkenny's Brasserie's food & dance night 2022 (PHOTO: Dylan Vaughan)

He was also one of the youngest hoteliers to be appointed to the General Manager position at the age of 30, where he ran the 4-star Kinnitty Castle Hotel. Originally from Wexford, he now lives in Slieveue with his wife Linda and twin boys Adam and Cian.

Here is a glimpse into Andrew’s world…

The tourism industry has had a holiday season interrupted with rain. How did it affect the Hibernian?

It was a tough summer tourism wise. The staycationers and day trade foot fall were down because of the weather with all the rain that fell. However, August was great, and we had a lot of international guests. Traffic is back very high, and we are running at 100% occupancy.

What changes have you made since coming on board as GM?

The changes have been more in the operations side of the business where there is more of a focus now on the people and culture side of work. It's not human resources anymore. It's about how we can look after our people.

It’s a group led initiative by the INUA collection. For example, in the past you would have job appraisals i.e., telling you what you're not doing well. Now we want to take the negative connotation out of discussions and put a focus on the people, what they want and how we can help.

The hospitality industry has been under huge pressure regarding staffing levels. What is the current environment like?

Thankfully, we haven't experienced it this year. I think the market has stabilized a little. The country is particularly at full employment with the highest employment figures since 2008, so there's not too many more opportunities out there anymore for people to switch to.

The INUA Collection has also implemented a Commis Chef Programme which has assisted in developing and retaining key colleagues.

What does Kilkenny Hibernian pride itself on?

Our service and standards, what we do and how we do it is something we are very proud of. Ultimately, we are about hospitality, so it comes down to how we treat people. We are very much focused on treating our people right and in turn they treat our customers right.

Again, it is down to the people and the culture. If we give them the tools to do their job, they can deliver the service and reach our guests expectations.

The Hibernian Hotel used to be an independent hotel and now it’s part of INUA Collection. What have the positives been for the Hibernian?

The positives are the consistency and the standards. The network of trained and experienced professionals, as opposed to owner occupied properties, who might be more focused on personal goals and as opposed to being objective and making good commercial decisions.

The resources of been able to pick up the phone, to have the connections, the support network, and the brand identity are all very important. The purchasing power of the group helps us buy environmentally friendly products and the best of local produce around Ireland.

There are five Radisons in the Group, the 5-star Muckross Park Hotel in Kerry, there’s also Dublin One which is a newly built boutique hotel in Dublin. While we are all independent hotels, the wealth of knowledge that we get to interact with is great. There's professionals and experienced hoteliers around the top table as opposed to owners and directors, which is great.

The Kilkenny Hibernian has always been a big supporter of Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI).

Yes, DSI are our charity partners and it’s great to give back. We raised €90,000 for them with one of our recent group events. We also have two girls from Kilkenny’s DSI and SOS working with us – Claire and Deirdre. They work one to two days a week.

We have some great initiatives planned for more events. In the past we’ve had the ice-cream cart outside handing out free ice-cream for donations for DSI. We even had a fashion show with Deirdre modelling alongside two of Ireland’s top models, a Mr Ireland and stylish Sonya Lennon as MC. Deirdre really enjoyed that night and strutted the catwalk better than any of them.  

As part of the initiative, we have implemented ‘Green Clean’ in our bedrooms. If a guest who is staying more than one night with us chooses not to have the room cleaned as part of the stay over, we give them a turnkey card, which says ‘clean the planet, not my room’. As part of the Green Clean room, we give our guests €5 dining voucher to use in the hotel plus we donate to the DSI for every guest choosing ‘Green Clean’.

Dancing with the Stars Judge Brian Redmond showing Siobhan DOnohoe a few dance moves at the Brasserie for Savour 2022

The Brasserie hosted a super sold out Savour event last year. What are you planning on doing this year?

Last year's event ‘Salsa & Dips’ was such a success we're bringing it back with a twist! For the Savour Food Festival on the October bank holiday weekend, we are delighted to have Dancing with the Stars judge Brian Redmond back again.

We will be asking diners to put on their dancing shoes and join Brian at the Brasserie as he shows them some steps and dance moves, while enjoying a delicious tasting menu from Head Chef Wesley Bearpark at the fabulous Brasserie Restaurant. His menu is always great, focusing on Irish products and locally sourced.

It’s guaranteed to be such a fun night and we are hoping you will be hitting the dance floor again, Siobhan!

The Brasserie Restaurant seems like the place to be if Bottomless Brunches are your thing.

It sure is, we are getting a reputation for the Bottomless Brunches that we host every Saturday in the Brasserie. In fact, we are running 48 dates in 2023 and we are almost sold out.

It’s a great event and very popular, every week we have multiple celebrations between birthdays, work dos and hen parties. Its predominantly ladies enjoying each other’s company on a Saturday afternoon.  

Savour Dance and Dine at The Brasserie with Dancing with the Stars Judge Brian Redmond in the Brasserie Restaurant, Kilkenny Hibernian Hotel on Friday 27 October www.kilkennyhibernianhotel.com