A YoungHotelier.com interview with Paul O’Connell, who is the Hotel Catering Services Manager at the Capella Castlemartyr Hotel in Cork, Ireland. Paul discusses his stint in various areas of the hotel field, working with companies like Jury’s Doyle and what it is like to be a Hotel Catering Services Manager with a high-class boutique group of hotels.

1st video: Hailing from the green foothills of the Mullaghareik Mountains of Abbeyfeale Paul O’ Connell commenced his hotel tales as a glass collector in the Devon Inn Hotel in Limerick.

Having just spent just one weekend as a glass collector Paul took his first step up the ladder to barman! Little did he know that what commenced as a part time pocket money earner would result in being his life choice where Paul has most recently taken on the role of Catering Service Manager at the remarkable newly opened Capella Hotel, Castlemartyr. Further to completing his Leaving Certificate Paul joined what is considered as Ireland’s most elite hotel school, Shannon College of Hotel Management. Shannon College lives by an ethos of “Commitment to excellence” and has engineered their educational system to ensure their graduates receive the foundations of both the practical business experience and academic skills.  During his time at Shannon Paul was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and work with the InterContinental Hotels Group in Montreux, Switzerland. Where better to learn the trade than in the Land of Hotel Schools! Paul was part of the team during which this hotel was refurbished and privatized and later reopened as the Royal Plaza. A great experience to add to his belt as were the many night tales which we believed occurred during Paul’s night audit shifts and he was somewhat reluctant to share these exciting tales with the younghotelier.com team! We shall come back to this at later date but overall Paul describes the experience as ‘fun’ and ‘interesting’?! Having successfully completing his Shannon studies Paul joined The Jurys Doyle Hotels on their Graduate Opportunities Programme. Jurys Doyle is one of Irelands most well known chains that hold a presence also in the UK & US market. The eighteen month Graduate Programme afforded Paul with an experience in both a Jurys hotel and also a Jurys Inn which is a more budget conscious hotel giving him great experience through a revenue perspective. Overall he believes he received a very diverse grounding, acquired much experience about all aspects of a hotel and this was reinforced with the compulsory training courses Jurys Doyle ran as part of the Graduate Programme ranging from financial to human resources and more!   

Time Out! Further to spending 12 months traveling through Australia & South East Asia Paul managed to quench his travelling bug and returned once again to Jurys Doyle as the Assistant Food & Beverage Manager in their opening team of the Jurys Cork Hotel.  An exciting an undoubtedly challenging role from brainstorming sessions to turning around outlets over night and one that Paul has definitely saved some experiences to deposit in his memory bank! A hotel opening is a great experience that Paul would recommend to all! A great buzz and huge learning curve for those who have the energy! Paul as obviously blessed with too much energy as he faced his second hotel opening and took on his current role as Catering Service Manager at the remarkable newly opened Capella Hotel, Castlemartyr. One could say that Paul has struck a happy medium in his current role as it entails both an operational and a sales involvement. Learn more about Paul’s new role and the Capella guests who are in fact the top tier traveller earning in income more than 1 million US Dollars annually! Learn more about Capella, how this high-class boutique brand involves the local heritage in their hotels and their upcoming projects as they penetrate the hotel market place.

Video 2: Learn how Paul spends his day as a Catering Sales Manager, from their morning line-up where the team runs through the service standards, Capella philosophies and their vision, to the challenges Paul is facing being a member of not only a hotel opening but also a new brand to the Irish market place. Paul’s greatest reward is watching his tedious planning come to fruition as the days unfold during his group in house. His final salute to success is receiving the ‘Thank you’ mail into his inbox the day after their departure and knowing it was a job well done and a memorable experience for all! We questioned Paul to see what it is that he admired most about the Capella Brand? His response was the philosophy by which Capella live by. They are purely guest orientated and this involves much empowerment of the entire team who are encouraged to go above and beyond the call of duty to delight and WOW their guests. Learn more about the Shannon family, Talent Plus recruitment and two of the most inspiring mentor’s Paul has encountered in his career to date!

Video 3: Paul’s advice to young hotelier’s today that are considering the hospitality industry is that the diverse opportunities are overwhelming to an extent that it is almost like a company within a company! But work experience is crucial.

I am sure you have heard people highlight the similarities between the hospitality industry and the theatre! Ultimately you are continuously putting on a show! Hence you have to be people focused, possess good interpersonal skills and be capable of recognizing and adapting to people’s humours and changes. Hard work but good fun! Constantly remained focused on your vision and your future. To those already in the industry progressing upwards Paul would also recommend that you take the time to set goals and build a career plan identifying the steps you need to take to arrive there and realize the goals you have set for yourself. I think that is his competitive streak coming to the fore!! And what a fine trait!….learn more about the changes Paul would make in the industry to enhance the work life balance…. 

Discuss Paul’s Interview in the YoungHotelier.com TEA Lounge:
http://younghotelier.com/lounge/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=13&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a