You've Been Served: Emer Corridan, general manager at Cahernane House, Killarney

Emer Corridan is the general manager at the award-winning four-star, Cahernane House Hotel in Killarney, Co. Kerry, writes Denise O'Donoghue.

When I was considering my CAO choices, I worked for a week in the Beechmount Hotel in Navan where I am from and just loved the atmosphere of hotel life.

So I chose the degree in hotel management in DIT Cathal Brugha St. My second choice for the CAO was quantity surveying, imagine what a different life that would be! If the quantity surveying didn’t work out, I would possibly have done teaching or accountancy. But that’s a moot point now as I have found the perfect career for me.

I am general manager of the Cahernane House Hotel, a beautiful four-star country house on the outskirts of Killarney town. I started this role in July 2016.

I am generally in work at 8am and take a walk around the various departments to check in with staff. They will tell you about the guests staying or any issues they may have. I then check reports from the previous day to look at revenues and future bookings. That’s where the similarity to any other day ends. You never know for sure how your day is going to go but that’s the enjoyment of hotel life and I take it as it comes. I love the fact that the job is so varied.

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Chatting to guests especially and making sure they are enjoying their time with us is paramount. I also enjoy planning for the future so each winter, taking time to look at what we might change for the next season. We close for the months of January and February and then re-open in March so it gives us time to recharge the batteries for a new season.

At the Gold Medal awards this year, Cahernane House won best country house experience. This was a very happy memory for all of us at Cahernane House and is a testament to the hard work that every single member of staff puts in every day.

I am continually surprised by how much the staff at Cahernane go above and beyond for the guests. From getting recipes from the chef to give to the customers or sending passports to Dublin via a Dublin Coach driver that a receptionist knew — it never ceases to amaze me.

We did have a famous Hollywood actor staying who fell asleep in the bath while it was still running. Our staff noticed a leak into the drawing room from his bedroom above. He was very embarrassed but we laughed about it afterwards.

cahernane.com