Meet the Team: Kris Cunningham & Judy Hutton

We, McKeever Hotels, the Antrim-based hospitality business, which owns and operates five hotels across Northern Ireland & Donegal are delighted to have made two new appointments to support our growth strategy.

Local man Kris Cunningham takes the helm as General Manager of Dunsilly Hotel.

Kris is a familiar face who has worked with the McKeever group for 18 years, joining as a waiter in the Adair Arms, Ballymena in his mid-20s.

In line with the Group’s award-winning people culture, hard-working Kris progressed through a variety of roles, moving from Supervisor, Duty Manager, Food and Beverages Manager, and Operations Manager, before his promotion to General Manager at Dunsilly Hotel.

In his new position, Kris has overall responsibility for the day to day running of the Dunsilly Hotel in Antrim, overseeing operations across all departments and leading its 53-strong team, over half of whom have worked for the hotel for more than 10 years.

In the second appointment, Judy Hutton has been appointed to Group Sales Manager.

Judy is responsible for overseeing and driving sales through effective relationship management, marketing, and the development of the Group’s strengths across the corporate, golf, luxury and wellness sectors.

Judy has over 25 years of tourism and hospitality sector experience, including an international sales role with Keith Prowse Entertainment. A keen amateur golfer, she was part of the leadership team which hosted the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Golf Championship in Northern Ireland. She joins McKeevers from the Game of Thrones Studio Tour when she was Head of Corporate Business.

A graduate in History & Politics, Judy is a Certified Incentive Specialist from the Society of Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE). She also holds a Diploma in Club Management and Advanced Certificate in Marketing.

McKeever Hotel Group accommodation offering includes:

• Adair Arms Hotel, Ballymena

• Corr’s Corner Hotel, Newtownabbey

• Dillons Hotel, Letterkenny

• Dunadry Hotel and Gardens, Antrim

• Dunsilly Hotel, Antrim