MBE for former hotel boss

MBE for former hotel boss

15 June 2016

A NEWCASTLE man, who welcomed an American President to Belfast’s Europa Hotel, has been given an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

John Toner was General Manager of the iconic hotel when Bill Clinton made his momentous first visit to Northern Ireland in 1995.

The presidential visit was one of the many high points for John during an outstanding career in the hospitality and tourism industry, much of which was spent with the Hastings Hotels Group.

“It is just marvellous to receive this award after all those years and I would like to thank everyone who has worked alongside me,” he remarked.

“I would also like to thank my family for their great support. What with the long anti-social hours and having to work during holiday time, it is not an easy business in which to bring up a family, but wherever I worked we always kept our home in Newcastle and I am grateful for that.”

John began his career in hospitality in 1965 at a catering school in Co Tipperary. He spent some time at the Great Southern Hotel in Sligo before moving to London and a position with the Savoy and Simpson’s in the Strand.

He returned to Northern Ireland in 1968 when he was appointed a trainee manager at the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast. In 1972 he joined Hastings Hotels as General Manager of the Ballygally Castle Hotel in Co Antrim and went on to manage a further four hotels in the Hastings group.

In 1993 he was appointed a director of Hastings Hotels and General Manager of the recently purchased Europa Hotel, once dubbed the most bombed hotel in Europe. He was tasked with overseeing a major redevelopment of the hotel by Sir William Hastings, the company chairman.

“Billy Hastings played a major part in my career and gave me opportunities to develop myself,” John explained. “He asked me to manage the Europa and let me get on with it. If anyone else had asked me to do it, I would have said no.”

John, who had seen the Northern Ireland hospitality industry at its lowest ebb during the Troubles, said the Clinton visit was something special.

“They were great times. Everything was getting better. It was great honour to welcome President Clinton. I also greatly enjoyed the visits of Senator George Mitchell.”

In 2003 John was appointed General Manager of the Slieve Donard Hotel in his home town and oversaw a £15m refurbishment programme. In 2009 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Irish Hospitality Institute. When he retired in 2013 he was presented with an Industry Achievement Award in the Licensed and Catering News Awards.

To relax, John has always enjoyed Gaelic games and was a leading figure in the Bryansford club, of which he is a former chairman.

Even though he is retired, John still keeps in contact with the tourism industry. As he says: “I just love the business.”

Paying tribute to John, Sir William Hastings said: “It is truly wonderful that worthy people are recognised in this way in our industry.

“John Toner has not only been a superb Director and member of the Hastings Hotels team for over 40 years, he has also brought great knowledge, expertise and experience to the wider hospitality and tourism industry on the whole island of Ireland.

“He is very widely respected by his contemporaries, by those he has managed and by young people aspiring to achieve success in their career in the hotel industry. Congratulations to John from myself and the Directors of Hastings Hotels.”