One of the main characters behind the BBC series The Hotel People says he hopes the show can highlight how "incredible" a career in hospitality in Northern Ireland can be.
The show takes viewers inside the world of Northern Ireland’s largest family-owned luxury hotel chain, Hasting Hotels, as they recover from the pandemic.
Sam Denning has been working for the Hastings group for over a decade and has recently just left his role as Food and Beverage Manager at the Culloden Estate and Spa to become Operations Manager at the Stormont Estate Hotel.
Read more: BBC series takes behind-the-scenes look at NI's largest family-owned hotel chain
Speaking to Belfast Live, the 29-year-old shared what it was to go from working with celebrities staying at the hotel to being the one in front of the camera in the show.
Sam said: "I started with Hastings 13 years ago as just a casual Food and Beverage Assistant and from there, I just naturally progressed through the company and the ranks. I've been on lots of different training courses that they've put me through over the years and then attended university and they covered the cost of that as well.
"I started my career in The Ballygally Hotel which is a 34-bedroom property so it's quite small and boutique and then over to the Culloden Estate and Spa which doubled the size of the hotel and tripled the size of the function space I was used to working in. It was quite a shock going into but I've never looked back."
Culloden Estate and Spa is a top pick for VIPs and celebrities staying in Northern Ireland and Sam has met his fair share of big names - from Kevin Hart to Bill Clinton to Liam Neeson who features on the show.
The Hotel People is a warm and invitational observational series following the team across Hastings' different hotels as they try to bounce back from some of the toughest times the hospitality industry has ever faced.
Sam continued: "I remember being in school and watching the series called 'Lobby Lives' which was a similar programme and I remember thinking that I couldn't work in there or do that type of work so when I heard it was coming back, it brought back all these memories.
"I definitely wanted to be a part of the show and showcase what we do as a hotel company so I was very eager to get involved and support the group and support the show. It was a completely new experience - never have I had a camera follow me 24/7 around the place.
"It did become the norm after a couple of weeks."
He explained that the biggest thing he learnt while filming the show was the resilience of the entire group working through the pandemic.
"Watching it back you think to yourself did we actually go through that and how did we get to where we are now from that point. It is about us showcasing hospitality as a career and encouraging people to come through and train in the sector," he added.
"In the past weeks, it has been strange in the hotel as people are coming in to see some of the characters. You will be going up to a table to carry out your normal job and people are telling you they were watching you on the TV last night.
He hopes the show can inspire a new generation of people to consider hospitality as a career and give a first-hand account of how rewarding it can be.
"Hastings is a family-owned business but I believe that the people who work in the hotels are a family and that's really showcased through the series. We pull each other up when we are low and it's great to be a part of that and it's something I feel like I never want to leave - it's my family and my friends and it's also my job.
"There are no doubts about it, the job is tough and it pushed you to your limits but the reward that you get from looking after a guest and seeing people happy - getting to be a part of someone's wedding day or special event, the reward is just unbelievable."
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