I started my hospitality journey in France, in a Mercure as a receptionist. I then got transferred to Mercure London Bridge where I started as Front office Team Leader and got promoted 6 months later as a groups and conferences Supervisor. This was a great opportunity but challenging as I had no prior experience in reservations. I quickly learned how to deal with room reservations, conference organisation, liaise with F&B, etc…

After a year and a half in London, I took a two months break, went back to France, travelled to Italy; I needed some time for myself. I finally decided to come back to the UK and joined the Novotel London Tower Bridge before moving to Novotel London Bridge in January 2020 (just before the pandemic), as Front Office Manager. I then got promoted as Room Division Manager in August 2021 and as Operations Manager in October 2022, still in the same hotel.

For someone looking for a first job, hospitality might not seem very attractive at first, but it is a great stepping stone. You can learn so many skills that you can transfer to any industry, or just keep growing within the company. You also get to meet work colleagues who then become friends for life, especially when working abroad.

Accor also provides a lot of trainings and development programs to support our careers; I joined “Bloom” last summer, a 1 year leadership program, to help me get the skills needed for my next step: becoming General Manager.

Hospitality is welcoming anyone, no matter the background, there’s really something for everyone.