Congratulations to Mr Adrian Ellis, former General Manager of The Lowry Hotel in Manchester, for receiving top honour at the AA Hospitality Awards 2024.

Mr Ellis who retired in June 2024, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his 40-year career running hotels in the UK and abroad, as well as launching the Schools and Hotels Liaison Programme to educate the next generation about hospitality.

He said: “I am delighted and honoured to receive this award in recognition of my commitment both to the industry and to developing educational initiatives and tackling the recruitment challenges that the industry still faces."

Adrian was the General Manager of The Lowry Hotel since 2015 and retired this year after almost ten years of excellent service and leadership. He was awarded the coveted Hotelier of the Year title in 2022.

The 61-year-old spent 15 years abroad working in Singapore, Warsaw, Budapest, Baku and Bali, he returned to the UK in 2015 and has been general manager of the Lowry ever since. During his time at the hotel, he oversaw a full-scale refurbishment and tackled the challenges of the pandemic. He also introduced the UK’s first city visitor charge under his eight-year-long chairmanship of the Manchester Hotel Association (MHA).

“All my jobs in hospitality, from the first I had when I was 26 managing a hotel to my last position at the Lowry, have been varied, interesting and very fulfilling. It’s time to say goodbye to a life of full-on operations, so I’m bowing out gracefully. I had a really great career and loved every minute of it, but it is time to do something new. I’m retiring, but I’m not disappearing!” said Mr Ellis in an interview with The Caterer, a hospitality publication.

From all of us at Hi Life, we wish Mr Ellis a happy retirement!