‘We realised that we needed to focus on the one thing that would make the biggest difference for our people. For us, that was the net value each employee receives every month’

Starboard Hotels, the award-winning owner and operator of franchised hotel brands such as Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express as part of IHG, Days Inn by Wyndham, Hampton by Hilton, Best Western, ibis Hotels and ibis Styles as part of Accor Group, and three properties in the independent hotel sector, has launched a new Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme (EVSSS) for employees, delivered through Tusker. Starboard wanted to enhance its employee benefits offering in a way that delivered both financial advantages for colleagues and meaningful environmental impact.

The scheme is available to all qualifying Starboard’s employees, across 21 UK hotels from the south coast to Scotland, as well as the support offices in Buckinghamshire and Lancashire. It launched on 28 January, with 17% of people already creating an account, and one already placing an order for their EV.

Key to choosing their provider was ensuring that all systems were adaptable and robust enough to manage the number of Starboard’s cost centres, while providing a smooth, seamless experience for eligible employees.

Simon Gardner, Procurement Manager, at Starboard Hotels, notes: “Feedback from our team members made it clear that they were really interested in an electric vehicle (EV) scheme, and because this aligned with Starboard’s ESG priorities, introducing an EV Salary Sacrifice Scheme felt like an obvious next step. It’s a great way for us to reduce our environmental footprint and operate more sustainably, while also giving our people meaningful financial support.”

A rigorous RFP process took place, where several providers were analysed and considered. Tusker was chosen as it offered the best returns for both employees and Starboard as an employer, as well as having a significant geographical footprint, wide availability of vehicles, and short guaranteed lead times for employees to receive their vehicles.

Gardner learned during the process that the first step to choosing the right EVSSS partner was to clearly identify the business’ most important factor for success: “We realised that we needed to focus on the one thing that would make the biggest difference for our people. For us, that was the net value each employee receives every month.”

Implementation was simple, with Tusker taking on the logistics and Starboard Hotels communicating to staff internally with Tusker pre-set communications, and two well-received online workshops. So far feedback from employees reflects excitement and enthusiasm for the new opportunity.

Claire Pacey, Head of Sales Support, commented “The complexity of the launch for Starboard Hotels was made simple thanks to the expertise and experience of the Tusker team - setting the scheme up to work across 23 different cost centres could be a complex task - our implementation team engaged with the Starboard finance team early on to make sure we understood all of their requirements and designed the scheme to meet with their needs.’

Ends

About Tusker

Tusker is the UK’s leader in salary sacrifice cars. Part of Lloyds Banking Group, it has more than 16 years’ experience in offering an affordable way for employees to drive a new, fully insured, and maintained car. Its scheme, which is available to over 2.3 million UK employees, offers a range of options, from pure electric cars to hybrids and even traditional petrol and diesel vehicles. It provides a tailored scheme for organisations’ individual needs.

 

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