26 BUSINESS WOMEN SCOTLAND profiles
Trump Turnberry; the
perfect activity destination
The name Turnberry is indelibly linked to golf. Home of four Open Championships,
including the famous 1977 Duel in the Sun between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson,
and with the iconic Turnberry lighthouse guiding golfers around the coastline stretch,
it truly is a golfer’s paradise. It’s now also the perfect destination for business minds
to come together, for team building activities and a place for decisions to be made and
ideas to be created.
In 2014, Turnberry was renamed Trump Turnberry as
new owners the Trump Organization sought to put
their stamp onto the property. Now, 12 months later,
their influence over this historic building is certainly
starting to materialise.
The first phase of the renovation is now complete,
with the refurbishment of the meeting spaces and the
creation of two new function suites within the hotel.
The Ailsa Craig Suite, one of the new spaces to
be created has grand views through large picture
windows overlooking the Championship golf courses
and beyond. With cleverly installed AV and a large
television screen, it is perfect for a delegate grouping
of approximately 140 theatre style.
The Caledonia Ballroom is a large, sparkling space
featuring a selection of glittering chandeliers and is
ideal for a selection of larger scale conferences and
events, with a theatre capacity for up to 200 people.
Located next to the Caledonia Ballroom are three
smaller meeting spaces, all named after local areas –
The Alloway, The Carrick and The Kyle. These rooms
are perfect for break out spots, organiser meeting
areas or for additional space for storage. The Alloway
is also suitable for use as a small boardroom for up to
10 people.
Also new to the resort is the Old Tom Morris Suite, in
a tribute to the legendary four time Open Champion.
This room is the ideal space for pre-dinner drinks
ahead of a function in the Caledonia Ballroom.
Trump Turnberry
Tel: 01655 333 996
www.trumpturnberry.com
With a renewed focus on corporate sales, the resort
has boosted its head count within its sales team.
Heading up the team is newly appointed Director of
Sales, Gillian McNeilly, who has a wealth of experience
from previous roles within Hilton, The Old Course St
Andrews and The Hotel Collection.
Also new is Paulomi Debnath, an Account
Director from the Corinthia, who will be based out
of London with a role aimed at growing the MICE
market. Shalane Breen joins from Elior as an Account
Executive, in a new position focusing on local market
activity, and taking on a business development role
is Laura Findlay, who joined the team from Scottish
Widows. They join Angus Watson, who continues to
look after the resort’s leisure business.
Stephen Walker, Director of Sales & Marketing
said: “It’s a truly exciting period for us here at Trump
Turnberry and we are thrilled to have such a high
standard of talent join us.
“With our exceptional new meeting and event
spaces, we recognised the need to increase our sales
team to go out and meet with clients, old and new,
and share with them all our latest news and updates.
Ultimately, we want to drive a higher market share and
encourage more corporate business to visit the resort
and see for themselves how incredible their event
would be at Trump Turnberry.”
The next phase of the resort’s grand refurbishment
is due to begin at the end of September, following on
from the Ricoh Women’s British Open. This detailed and
sensitive project means that the hotel building and the
Championship Ailsa course will close until June 2016.
During this time, elements of the resort will remain
open, including the Spa at Turnberry, the Turnberry
Performance Academy, the Trump Villas and the
Championship Kintyre course. When it reopens in
June, each resort bedroom and all public spaces will
have been redesigned and reappointed to the highest
in luxury standards.