INTERVIEW
St Giles Heathrow and St Giles London and in 2025 will also be taking on the St Giles Makati in the Philippines, along with asset managing other of the group’s portfolio properties. She is responsible for sourcing new acquisitions and management opportunities and is the driving force behind the development of the St Giles’ brand and culture. With so much responsibility, Abigail seems to have succeeded in getting a good work-life balance, which is very important to her. “My day starts very early, and I have a boxing lesson at around 6am – I did this all through my pregnancy too! I then get to the office and sort out emails and admin and try not to have any meetings before 11am. No day is really the same and we are relaunching our brand later this year so that has involved a lot of work and we have just moved offices as well. I am always trying to improve the hotels, and I am a great believer in working as a team and being very fluid and not sticking to a rigid system. I try and leave the office around 6pm as I think it is vital that everyone rests and enjoys some downtime.Things are probably going to be different now I have the baby, but I am sure everything will find its own rhythm.” So, when she is not running the hotels, Abigail loves to be adventurous. She commented, “I was obsessed with Top Gun when I was younger and wanted to fly a jet, but I was advised to fly helicopters instead. I flew every week either in London or New York but my instructor died in a helicopter accident and it was a wake-up call and I stopped. I love going fast and ride a motorcycle and I also enjoy Pilates.” Her charity is her initiative and was born out of a desire for St Giles Hotels to not just be a portfolio of hotels in cities but a collection of people, faces and lives having a positive impact on communities. The charity, Hotels with a Heart, lies at the core of the brand and Abigail is passionate about it. “We identified a gap that fused what resources in hospitality we could offer and the need within the community that had not been addressed fully.Through our internal fundraising efforts, that all the staff personally get involved in, and through participating and organising events, we have launched the St Giles Hospitality Academy with Saira Hospitality. “Through this Academy, 20 rough sleepers
problem, I wondered? She said, “I think I have made a positive change as 70% of the executive board and most of the heads of departments are women. Quite often now, I am still the only woman in high level meetings, but this does not faze me. I like to take the position of listening and learning first, and then speaking when necessary – which sometimes is also just showing I have a voice and opinion that matters. We are in the process of opening a creche for staff, as it will enable parents to come back to work sooner from maternity/paternity and help team members who are struggling with daycare and prefer not to take a day off work to be more productive knowing their children are nearby. It is comforting to know your children are being looked after well.” At this point I notice a photo of a very large and very beautiful dog on the side of her desk. “That’s Elmo – he’s a Bernese mountain dog mixed with a poodle and is my fur baby! He comes to the office sometimes and is very popular – in fact we have used him for some of our branding and we are creating a mascot of Elmo, which we will give to the children who come to the hotel.” Abigail is quite inspirational and as we finish, I feel very touched that she gave up so much time to talk to me – she is certainly a CEO with a huge heart and surely that has to make her one in a million.
and those facing complex life challenges undertake a four-week training course covering a number of hospitality focused life skills like communications, leadership and even how to be sensible with money and how to save. After the course they were all interviewed, and we offered some of them jobs and the others went on to work at other hotels. It was so rewarding, and we even housed some of them in the hotel. It has made a huge impact on their lives and also on the lives of my team. I am so proud to be playing a part in helping people get back into meaningful work and making a positive impact on society.We are now opening our second Academy, and I am asking other hotels to participate. The basic message to them is – we train, you hire.We are hoping to expand this to Asia and Europe as well and the goal would be to build enough of a case study to obtain Government backing and funding to prove that we would not only save them money but also be part of a solution to get those who need it most back into work, private living, and their livelihoods back.” As CEO of a large group of hotels and being an Asian woman has this been a
“I BECAME CEO IN IN 2018 AND I WAS TRAVELLING TO NEW YORK EVERY TWO TO THREE WEEKS. IT WAS HARD WORK BUT I WAS IN MY 20S”
stgileshotels.com/st-giles-london sairahospitality.com
First Time Buyer October/November 2024 67
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