Acorn Awards 2026: Samantha Kirwan, Kimpton Charlotte Square
Kirwan’s ideas have led to company-wide changes and record performance
Position Front office manager, Kimpton Charlotte Square
Age 26
Nominator Katie Palmer, senior marketing manager, IHG Hotels & Resorts
Samantha Kirwan has become a driving force behind guest experience at Kimpton Charlotte Square.
Kirwan began her hospitality career at 17 in Ireland and built experience across hotels in Luxembourg and Scotland before joining Kimpton Charlotte Square in 2022. Following her graduation from Shannon College of Hotel Management with first class honours in 2023, she progressed rapidly through guest services roles and was promoted to front office manager in 2024. She now leads a team of 29 at one of Edinburgh’s leading luxury hotels.
Kirwan has played a central role in strengthening service culture across the hotel, leading initiatives around service recovery, encouraging greater guest feedback and developing a hotel-wide net promoter score tracker to improve accountability and guest feedback analysis. Her initiatives have helped drive improved check-in experiences and loyalty, making the hotel the top-performing Kimpton in the UK in 2025.
She has introduced upselling initiatives that generated strong five-figure room revenue and breakfast sales, and a growing revenue stream through a new prepaid amenity programme. Alongside this, she led the transition to a paperless reception and introduced new workforce planning systems that improved operational efficiency and team wellbeing.
Kirwan also created forward-planned monthly rotas and a four-on/four-off working pattern for the team, aligning staffing levels with operational demand while improving work-life balance and reducing last-minute schedule changes. She is also committed to people development, mentoring colleagues into leadership roles while championing inclusion through British Sign Language training as well as being a mental health first-aider.
Beyond the hotel, Kirwan supports schools, students and hospitality graduates through mentoring and outreach work, including maintaining close links with her former college, Shannon College of Hotel Management. She also volunteers with charities including Fresh Start Edinburgh, which supports vulnerable members of the local community.
Q&A with Samantha Kirwan
What does winning an Acorn Award mean to you?
It feels incredibly special. When I first entered the hospitality industry, I could never have imagined being recognised in this way one day. Over the years, hospitality has challenged me, helped me grow in confidence and encouraged me to believe in my own potential, which makes this recognition feel especially meaningful. It truly motivates me to continue developing within an industry that has given me so much.
Who has been your biggest industry champion?
Without doubt it is Gavin Stirling, our head concierge at Kimpton Charlotte Square. When I joined the hotel as a receptionist, I was still very unsure of myself professionally and didn’t yet have the confidence to picture myself progressing into leadership roles. Gavin consistently encouraged me, supported me and believed in me at every stage of my journey.
What has always inspired me is the way he approaches hospitality itself. Gavin has worked in the hotel for 18 years and shows up with an inspirational level of care, pride and passion for what he does every single day, and he leads entirely by example.
I genuinely still learn from him every day, and I know I would not be where I am today without his mentorship. He completely changed the way I saw both myself and the opportunities possible within hospitality, and I can only hope to have that same impact on others entering the industry in the future.
What has been the one best piece of advice that someone has given you?
People may not always remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. It’s something I always come back to, both with our guests and in leadership. I think leading with empathy, kindness and genuine care has such a lasting impact, and it’s a mindset that has really shaped the way I approach both guest experience and my team.
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