Nina Gillett and Sheila O'Riordan's Key Collection is leasing and managing two boutique hotels, with a total of 90 bedrooms, in the upmarket London district of Kensington.
The company, which also operates Handel's Hotel in central Dublin, has taken 20-year leases on the Exhibitionist Hotel, close to London's Natural History Museum, and the nearby Gainsborough Hotel, and has begun to run both properties. It has refurbished the Exhibitionist and plans to do the same to the Gainsborough.
It has made art a central feature of the renovated Exhibitionist, which occupies a series of 18th-century town houses; up-and-coming artists showcase their work in its public spaces, the company says, and each corridor has been given a theme by an individual artist.
Ms Gillett and Ms O’Riordan ran individual hotel consultancies before joining forces to operate Roomyield in 2011. The company provided yield-management, marketing and sales services to more than 40 hotels in Ireland and abroad before turning to managing and operating properties on its own account.
Ms O’Riordan said that the London market is strong and that the Key Collection is eyeing further growth. “Our aim is to continue to explore all opportunities to grow, expand and diversify our company both in Ireland and the UK.”
As well as operating hotels and guest houses, the business offers accommodation in several apartment settings, including in nine locations in Dublin. It employs 300 people in management and sales.
