When Dean Booth joined Premier Inn at 18, he wasn't planning a career in hospitality. Fresh out of college and considering a gap year, he took a part-time job at his local hotel to earn some money while deciding what to do next.
“I took it while I looked for a real job. I'm still looking after 16 years.”
What started as a 16-hour bar contract has taken Dean into hotel management, project delivery, business change and Learning & Development. Today, he's our Training Resource & People Readiness Training Manager. And none of it was part of a grand career plan.
Dean quickly realised there was more to working at Premier Inn than he'd initially imagined. Starting in the bar, he began helping out on reception before moving into a full-time receptionist role. He also took part in one of our early management development programmes, building the skills and confidence to take on more responsibility. By 21, he'd progressed into hotel management. “Three years after a 16-hour bar contract, I was an operations manager.” But Dean was keen to keep learning, and a conversation with his development coach introduced him to opportunities beyond hotel operations.
Dean applied for a six-month secondment as a Skills Trainer in the New Openings team, giving him the chance to explore a completely different career path. “I saw it as a try-before-you-buy opportunity", it turned out to be a defining move, “I never went back.”
The secondment became a permanent role, opening the door to work on hotel openings, new room concepts and major training programmes across the business. For Dean, it showed how trying something different could lead to opportunities he'd never previously considered.
As his experience grew, Dean became involved in larger projects, combining his knowledge of hotel operations with training and business change. During the pandemic, he completed a Level 4 apprenticeship in Project Management, building on the skills he'd developed through his work. He went on to support the Opera programme, a major business transformation project, before moving into Learning & Development. There, he helped pilot and launch our ‘Progressing Into’ programmes, which support team members taking their next steps into management. Having benefited from management development programmes himself early in his career, Dean was now helping others build the skills and confidence to progress.
Today, Dean brings together his experience of operations, training, project delivery and change in his role as Training Resource & People Readiness Training Manager. Looking back, he says his career has been shaped less by a fixed plan and more by curiosity, supportive managers and a willingness to explore new opportunities.
His advice to anyone thinking about their future at Premier Inn is simple: “Don't assume the area you've stepped into is all there is. And don't let your background or qualifications stop you from considering something new. Don't think you are less than based on the journey you've already taken.”