If you’ve ever wondered how a hospitality group with 35,000 employees, spanning 180 hotels in 40 countries, manages to feel like one connected community – this session at the Employee Engagement Summit delivered the answer. Over on the Internal Communications stage, Marcos Eleftheriou, VP of Culture & Corporate Communications at Ennismore, joined Georgie Scott, Marketing Director at Blink to unpack exactly how culture, communication, and technology can come together to bridge continents and brands.
Marcos began with an important truth: culture can’t belong to one person or department. His team’s role at Ennismore is to enable brand-led cultural experiences while connecting employees across a diverse global network. Each of Ennismore’s hotel brands – from The Hoxton to Mama Shelter and 25hours – is encouraged to maintain its own identity and pride. Yet the real magic, Marcos explained, lies in weaving these distinct voices into a single, unified community.
So how do you make thousands of people, many without corporate emails, feel part of something bigger? For Ennismore, the answer was its internal communications platform – a daily touchpoint that not only carries operational updates but also reinforces belonging. This platform became a central hub for connection, ensuring that everyone, whether a kitchen porter in Paris or a front desk manager in LA, could stay informed and inspired.
Marcos shared a standout example: when Ennismore launched a new company value around making a positive impact, they created a dedicated space on their platform for employees to share volunteering stories and sustainability efforts. What happened next was a wave of engagement, proof that when you align communication with genuine values, culture takes on a life of its own.
As Ennismore expanded rapidly into new markets – particularly in the US – the communications platform also became a bridge for sharing best practices. It showcased “how things are done” in Europe and brought cultural clarity to fast-growing teams without layers of formal training. From digitising paper processes to enabling real-time recognition, the tool proved that communications can drive both culture and efficiency.
When the platform Workplace by Meta announced its closure, many companies panicked. Ennismore, however, approached the challenge strategically. Through a detailed market review – and early CEO backing – the team assessed over 200 features before choosing Blink as their next home. They launched a beautifully branded version called The Lobby, designed as a digital extension of the hotel experience: a welcoming space to connect, collaborate, and share.
Marcos ended with two great reminders for every internal comms and engagement professional. First, treat communication platforms as business-critical tools, not just nice-to-haves. And second, never let IT alone decide how your people connect – after all, the best platforms don’t just work; they resonate.
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