McKeever Hotels becomes sponsor of Just Connect series

Women in Business NI has announced McKeever Hotels as the first-ever year-long sponsor of its Just Connect networking series, giving the hospitality group sustained visibility across one of Northern Ireland's most established professional programmes for women while extending the events beyond the region's major urban hubs. The monthly series runs across Belfast, Mid Ulster, Londonderry, Coleraine, Enniskillen and Newry, Mourne and Down, beginning on 3 September in Belfast, with six events hosted within McKeever Hotel properties this year. Each session is expected to draw hundreds of businesswomen and includes guest speakers and Q&A panels.

McKeever Hotels is a family-owned hospitality group headquartered in Antrim, founded in 1986, operating seven properties across Northern Ireland and Donegal including the Dunadry, Dunsilly, Corr's Corner, Adair Arms, Armagh City Hotel and The Lodge in Coleraine. The group reported turnover of more than £25 million, with a stated target of £45 million by 2030.

Women in Business NI is a non-profit organisation and the leading network for women in the workplace across Northern Ireland, run by a voluntary board of directors and part of the wider WiB Group. The organisation does not publicly disclose sponsorship-specific financial terms.

The deal reflects a straightforward regional distribution logic: pairing a networking series that needs venues across multiple towns with a hotel group whose seven properties already span exactly those areas, from Antrim and Ballymena to Armagh and Coleraine, reducing logistical costs for both sides.

Women in Business events manager Ciara Hughes said the partnership would allow the organisation to meet participants where they are right across the region, delivering high-quality networking opportunities that extend beyond Northern Ireland's major urban hubs.

McKeever Hotels director of sales and marketing Bridgene Keeley said the sponsorship builds on the group's existing corporate membership with Women in Business, which already gives its female staff access to the network.

The arrangement illustrates how regional hospitality groups use recurring professional networking series, rather than one-off events, to secure repeat venue bookings and sustained brand visibility across a multi-town footprint, a lower-cost route to regional profile than national sponsorship deals.

Source: Belfast News Letter