Premier Inn’s global customer director Tamara Strauss has left the business after five years leading the company’s marketing function. 

A spokesperson from parent company Whitbread declined to comment on whether the role will be replaced, but Marketing Week understands that Strauss will be taking time off before looking for a new position.

Her departure comes as Premier Inn delivered record pre-tax profits for its financial year ended February 2024 and continues to outperform the midscale and economy market. According to Kantar’s BrandZ ranking, Premier Inn’s brand value is up 21% versus 2023 and it is now 73rd on the list of the UK’s most valuable brands.

Strauss joined Premier Inn in 2019 with two decades of marketing experience in the travel and hospitality sector. She led the business through its post-pandemic recovery, and bolstered brand health for the hotel brand. Last year, the business had claimed that was now “one of the UK’s favourite brands”. 

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Before her time at Premier Inn, she spent five months as interim director of destination marketing and e-commerce at Hilton Hotels between July and November 2019, and prior to that spent five months as head of marketing at EasyJet Holidays. She has also held marketing director roles at Royal Caribbean International, IHG Hotels and Resorts, and Cosmos Holidays.

Two years into her role at Premier Inn she oversaw the launch of its brand platform ‘Rest Easy’ in 2021, which included Sir Lenny Henry returning as the voice of the brand. The campaign was initially aimed at “pent-up demand” among consumers for staycations and to drive the business’s recovery after the pandemic. 

The third instalment of the platform came in June with the ‘Do Your Thing’ campaign which showcased the hotel chain as a welcoming and inclusive place whether you’re a business traveller or a cosplay enthusiast. It doubled down on comfort and consistency as a point of differentiation for the brand.

Whitbread has consistently hailed the platform’s success over the last three years. In its 2023 annual report, the business credited its “highly effective marketing”, led by Strauss, with strengthening Premier Inn’s brand positioning, boosting website visits, reducing customer acquisition costs, and driving unprompted brand awareness up to 95%. 

Strauss has also been recognised as one of Marketing Week’s Top 100 marketers for 2024 for her work boosting Premier Inn’s brand growth.