McKeever Hotel Group announces two senior appointments as growth plans accelerate

McKeever Hotel Group has strengthened its senior leadership team with two strategic appointments as the hospitality business moves to support what it describes as an accelerated growth trajectory and an expanding operational scale.

The appointments mark a significant step for the hotel group as it continues to build capacity across its seven-strong portfolio, with both newly created roles focused on driving commercial performance, brand strength and long-term growth.

New role to lead marketing, sales and brand growth

Catherine Ashman has been appointed to the newly created position of Head of Marketing & Sales

Catherine Ashman has been appointed to the newly created position of Head of Marketing & Sales, taking on responsibility for driving brand performance, demand generation and revenue growth across the full McKeever Hotels portfolio.

In the senior role, Catherine will provide both strategic and operational leadership across the group’s marketing and sales functions, with a remit designed to ensure a joined-up commercial approach across brand identity, marketing investment, sales delivery and wider business outcomes.

Her appointment places a strong focus on aligning commercial strategy with measurable performance across the seven hotels, as the group looks to strengthen market position and support continued expansion.

Catherine brings more than a decade of experience in strategic marketing, having worked globally with a number of internationally recognised brands including Rolex, The Estée Lauder Companies, The Coca-Cola Company and Tom Ford.

Her professional background spans both global brand work and agency experience, having worked with marketing agencies across Northern Ireland, Dublin, England and Sydney.

A graduate of Ulster University in Communications, Advertising and Marketing, Catherine also brings a strong focus on staff development and leadership progression within the business.

She is actively involved as a coach and mentor in the McKeever Academy, the hotel group’s in-house junior management training programme developed by the McKeever family, aimed at nurturing future leadership talent from within the organisation.

Strategic revenue leadership across the group

Elaine Harkin as Strategic Revenue Manager for McKeever Hotels.

Alongside Catherine’s appointment, McKeever Hotel Group has also named Elaine Harkin as Strategic Revenue Manager for McKeever Hotels.

The newly created role is designed to provide group-wide strategic leadership for revenue performance, with responsibility for shaping and influencing total revenue outcomes across the business.

This appointment reflects an increasing emphasis on commercial planning and performance governance, with Elaine’s remit covering revenue strategy, forecasting, budget influence and profitability oversight.

The role will focus on ensuring that revenue decisions remain closely aligned with wider business objectives, profitability targets and long-term growth ambitions across the hotel group.

Extensive leadership experience in hospitality sector

Elaine brings significant hospitality leadership experience to the role.

A graduate in Business Information Management from Leeds Metropolitan University, she joined McKeever Hotels in 2024 as Group Revenue Manager.

Before joining the business, Elaine served as General Manager of Holiday Inn Express Derry - Londonderry.

Her wider career includes managerial positions at several leading hotels across Northern Ireland and beyond, including AC Hotel Belfast, The Merchant Hotel, Marine Hotel Troon and City Hotel Derry.

That breadth of operational and commercial experience is expected to play a key role in strengthening McKeever’s performance planning as the group continues to scale.

Focus on the next phase of growth

Taken together, the two appointments signal a clear focus on strengthening the senior leadership structure around commercial growth, revenue optimisation and brand performance.

With one role dedicated to marketing and sales leadership and the other centred on strategic revenue governance, the move positions McKeever Hotel Group for its next phase of expansion across Northern Ireland’s hospitality sector.

The creation of both roles underlines the scale of the group’s ambitions as it continues to develop its operational footprint and long-term growth strategy.

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At a glance:

• McKeever Hotel Group has announced two senior strategic appointments

• Catherine Ashman becomes new Head of Marketing & Sales

• Elaine Harkin takes up newly created Strategic Revenue Manager role

• Both roles have been created to support accelerated growth plans

• The appointments cover brand performance, sales, forecasting and revenue strategy across all seven hotels