The DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre Hotel has appointed Adam Flint as its new general manager, bringing with him more than 20 years’ experience to the business.
It is Adam’s first position with Focus Hotels Management, which has operated the 206-bedroom hotel on Redcliffe Way for more than a decade.
Despite coming from a family which has spent five generations in dentistry, Adam, pictured, was bitten by the hospitality bug early and has never wanted to do anything else.
He came through the Marriott group’s fast-track management graduate programme and has worked at its hotels in Regents Park, Heathrow, Swindon, Leicester and Birmingham.
He has also worked for international groups EQ Hotels and Hilton and, more recently, the Doyle Collection, the private Irish business that owns The Bristol hotel on Prince Street.
In 2003 Adam won a prestigious Acorn Award in the scheme that annually recognises the 30 brightest under-30-year-old prospects in the hospitality industry, which he described as a “big moment” in his career.
While his brother and cousin have kept the family dentistry tradition going, Adam said it was the variety of roles and experiences that drew him to hospitality.
“Focus Hotels is a small-to-medium sized business with a big ambition and is currently investing in the infrastructure for growth. It’s a very good time to be joining Focus,” he added.
“I enjoy having to be a ‘jack of all trades’, getting involved in everything from accounting to sales, marketing to food. The hospitality industry has enabled me to dip my hand into so many different areas as well as to move all around the country.”
He joined the DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre, pictured, at the end of a year in which it celebrated its 50th anniversary, having been the city’s largest hotel when it first opened.
Adam said now it was time to look ahead.
“We are looking to build upon our strong ESG [environmental, social and governance] credentials and do everything we can to make this hotel the preferred place to stay in Bristol.
“We’re in an excellent location, with Temple Meads rail station on our doorstep and the historic Harbourside just a 10-minute walk away.
“This hotel has a rich history going back 50 years, but there is so much investment and development going on in this part of the city that I am very much looking to the future, and for this hotel to be a major player in the vibrant heart of Bristol.
“I am passionate about hospitality – I live and breathe it – and will be bringing that into all that I do in this exciting new role.”
The DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre is the largest of Hertfordshire-based Focus Hotels’ 10 venues across the UK, which have more than 1,300 bedrooms between them.
Focus Hotels CEO Devin Grosse said: “We’re excited to welcome Adam to the Focus family and look forward to him bringing his infectious enthusiasm for our industry to a hotel which has been a beacon of hospitality and hope for more than fifty years – and counting!”
The DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol City Centre also has 17 meeting rooms as well as its unique Kiln Restaurant, which is based in an original 17th century glass kiln once part of Bristol’s thriving glass industry.