James is delighted to be poster boy for national hotel chain

James Lewis has worked for Premier Inn for five years travelling to work on the bus, independently, and says he is proud to be a vital part of the staff team.

James, who is celebrating his fifth anniversary working at Premier Inn Hotel, Wrexham North, has appeared on an advertising poster for the hotel company.

The former hospitality student at Derwen College near Oswestry, works in housekeeping at the hotel two mornings a week. He can independently make up a room to industry standard, and knows the routine and exacting standards of Premier Inn off by heart.

“We start by knocking on the door twice, and saying, ‘Housekeeping’ then knock again before going in,” he said.

As part of his job, James replenishes the cups, drinks, and biscuits, cleans and polishes the bathroom and mirrors, dusts the room, empties the bin, vacuums the carpet and makes the bed.

The 28-year-old who has Down Syndrome, started learning housekeeping skills as part of his training while at Derwen College. The college has a small training hotel, which is modelled on a three-bedroom Premier Inn. As he became more confident, he travelled to an external work placement at Premier Inn once a week.

When James finished college, he was keen to use his skills in a paid job and knowing how well he had done at his work placement, Premier Inn Wrexham North was keen to offer him his first job.

Karen Aguilera, operations manager at Wrexham North Premier Inn, liaised with Derwen’s transition team to make his induction as smooth as possible and said he was a vital part of the team.

“He works two days a week, completing rooms to Premier Inn standard. He services the room independently and takes real pride in his work," she said.

“James likes routine but can adapt to changes as and when they arise, such as changes in our menu or the cleaning chemicals we use.

“He is a good employee, he never calls in sick. He likes coming to work. He just gets on with his work and knows what he’s doing.

“He comes to our social events, including bowling and the Christmas do. He was quite shy at the first one, but now we can’t get him off the dancefloor!”

James moved out of the family home two years ago and now lives with a friend, another former Derwen College student, in supported living in Wrexham. He takes the bus to work on his own and has a girlfriend.

“I like everything about my job and do it all on my own. I like my job, my uniform and my friends here. My job makes me proud, and makes my Mum proud, too," he said.

“At Derwen, I learnt to be more independent and cook and clean. I like to make curry, fish and chips, or burgers.”

He also works at Hope House Hospice Shop two mornings a week, where he helps sort donations.