Edinburgh's Surgeons Quarter to take on up to 70 staff amid events rebound

The commercial arm of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is looking to take on up to 70 workers ahead of the summer as it bounces back from the pandemic.

Surgeons Quarter, which promotes, sells and manages the commercial activities held within the four venues of the college’s campus, has seen demand for in-person meetings and events head above pre-pandemic levels.

The organisation, whose portfolio includes the Ten Hill Place Hotel and Surgeons Quarter Travel, said it has seen events and conferences that were postponed due to the pandemic rebook for 2022, alongside a high level of new enquiries.

This trend - which has included new bookings for major conferences such as the Functional Regulatory Genomic Disease Meeting, a conference that will bring together international leaders in the study of genetics of disease in April - has led to Surgeons Quarter returning to operate at close to maximum levels.

Surgeons Quarter is the commercial arm of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Its portfolio includes the Ten Hill Place Hotel.

As a result, bosses are looking to recruit for 60 to 70 positions during April, May and June.

Managing director Scott Mitchell said: “It’s a pleasure to be in a position to expand our hospitality teams again and add vital jobs to help us service the increasing levels of business we’re bringing in.

“It’s important that we get the recovery right - hospitality and the business tourism economy are integral to the city’s overall prosperity. We can see first-hand the direct effect it has on employment.

“In addition to our busy events calendar, Ten Hill Place Hotel is seeing encouraging occupancy levels predicted to exceed the pre-pandemic levels.

“To further boost our activities in 2022, we are actively planning for the full return of the Festival Fringe for which we are one of the largest operators, and at the end of the year, we are looking forward to a busy festive period of celebration, which we have all missed in the past 18 months,” he added.

During the first lockdown, Ten Hill Place Hotel provided free rooms and meals to key workers tackling the pandemic. More than 2,100 overnight stays were supplied free of charge at a cost to the company of over £100,000.

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