Hospitality Entrepreneurs Announce Ambitious plans for 2023
HOSPITALITY business, Nightcap Event Group Ltd, has launched a staffing solutions company, Nightcap Connect, which offers the hospitality sector access to part time and temporary staff for key events.
Building on their core business of supplying bartending services to a variety of customers, founders Declan Holmes and Dean McFarland, have cemented their place in the hospitality sector by launching Nightcap Connect. Having established the staffing solutions company in 2018 to test the marketplace, the Group has seen how its offering has added real value to the sector and has been growing exponentially since then.
Nightcap Connect has secured contracts with a host of high-profile clients from Northern Ireland’s hospitality sector working with leading event spaces and venues, including the Titanic Belfast, the Waterfront Hall and the Ulster Hall. In response to its success, Nightcap Connect has grown its workforce to a staff of 185. The planned expansion of the business over 2023 will see their numbers more than double by the end of the year to 400.
This innovative staffing solutions company is the brainchild of hospitality entrepreneurs Declan Holmes and Dean McFarland, founders of the Nightcap Event Group. It was conceived in response to the challenges of engaging high volumes of skilled staff for one-off hospitality events.
Declan Holmes spoke about how their idea came about:
“As Northern Ireland began bouncing back after the pandemic it was clear that staffing was proving a real challenge for parts of the hospitality industry. With larger events in particular, a lot of businesses were struggling to find waiting staff that might only be needed for an evening, or a few hours during the day. We knew that we could assist and could connect great people with opportunities to work in great businesses.”
Nightcap Connect is a flexible staffing solution, providing hospitality businesses with staff available seven days a week and hired at hourly rates. It utilises a digital platform to connect staff with businesses who require their services. Nightcap Connect offers training, competitive rates, and complete flexibility with the choice of when and where the employee or staff member wants to work.
Dean McFarland continues: “The quality of staff is vital for both Nightcap Connect and for the businesses we serve. We attract talented people by offering good pay and flexible hours that allow for a greater work-life balance. We provide our team with the skills and experience to be part of a great people-focussed industry.
“We’ve been very fortunate with those we employ to date. Believe it or not, they are of all ages, from those who are still studying to more mature people who may even have retired. They are supplementing their income, in addition to enjoying working with our extended team. We’ve worked hard to ensure we have the right business model and now we are looking forward to the future and what 2023 has in store for Nightcap Connect.”
Declan Holmes and Dean McFarland founded the Nightcap Event Group in 2013, providing hospitality support for a variety of private and business clients across Northern Ireland. Their newest venture Nightcap Connect will focus initially on working with hospitality businesses and major venues in the Greater Belfast Area, but the ambitious pair should see the expansion of the business in the not-too-distant future.
