Leading UK hospitality group, Cairn Hotel Group, has been recognised as one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work in 2026, reflecting the Group’s continued investment in employee development, wellbeing, recognition and long-term career opportunities across its diverse UK portfolio.
The Group, which owns and operates a portfolio of Scottish hotels, including Aberdeen’s Station Hotel and Holiday Inn Express City Centre as well as the Stirling Highland Hotel and Edinburgh’s Hotel Indigo Princes Street, has received recognition in the Big Organisation category, following a sustained effort to foster an engaged, inclusive and high-performing workplace culture.
The award, which is granted in partnership with leading employee experience platform WorkL, recognises and celebrates the UK’s top employers and features 567 organisations across industries.
The recognition highlights Cairn Group’s ‘People First’ approach, which focuses on creating an environment where team members are trusted to perform, supported to grow and encouraged to build meaningful long-term careers within the business.
At a time when the hospitality sector continues to face recruitment and retention challenges, Cairn Group has continued to strengthen its people offering through significant investment in recruitment, HR and payroll systems, creating a smoother team member journey from onboarding through to long-term career development.
Alongside this, the Group has enhanced team member benefits and wellbeing support through the launch of Cairn Concierge, a dedicated platform providing easier access to benefits, support services and company communications. Further investment in learning and development, clear reward structures and strengthened HR support has reinforced Cairn Group’s commitment to building a supportive, high-performing workplace culture.
Employee feedback also highlighted strong levels of engagement across the Group, with nearly 8 in 10 team members saying they feel empowered at work and satisfied in their role, more than three quarters saying they feel proud to work for Cairn Group, and 83% reporting they feel safe in their working environment. The results also highlighted positive wellbeing measures, with the business performing strongly against wider hospitality benchmarks.
Sean Brookes, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director at Cairn Hotel Group, commented: “We are incredibly proud to be recognised as one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work. This recognition reflects the culture we are building at Cairn Group and the fantastic people at the heart of our business.
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“We have made significant investment in our people journey, from strengthening recruitment, HR and payroll systems, to enhancing communication, team member benefits and wellbeing support, while increasing our focus on learning and development to give our teams the tools, structure and opportunities to succeed.
“Hospitality is powered by people. By combining high standards with genuine support, strong collaboration and clear pathways for progression, we are creating a business where talented people can grow with confidence, build rewarding careers and help drive hospitality forward, together.”
For more information on Cairn Group visit: https://cairnhotelgroup.com/
