There are many roads to success in the hospitality industry, as Tom Mason can attest.
The general manager at the Comfort Suites in Grand Cayman has vast experience within tourism and hotels across the world.
“I am from Glasgow and moved to England,” he said. “I started at the age of 14 in a hotel as a car park attendant, and also worked as dishwasher, waiter and chef before moving on to the Holiday Inn chain as management trainee.”
The next jump was a big one for Mr. Mason – transferring to Toronto at a 375-room hotel to work as night manager, restaurant manager and food and beverage manager. At age 25, he was the youngest ever general manager. Moves to the 1,400-room Fairmont Royal ensued.
“There I met Prince Philip, Bill Gates, the Sultan of Brunei and a particular hero of mine, Rod Stewart,” he said.
Canadian government
Following that was tricky, but Mr. Mason’s next moves included executive assistant for the owner of another hotel and Clarion North Bay general manager.
“It is a golf resort with a spa, restaurants and we did banquets. We won numerous awards and even hosted the government of Canada for a week,” he said.
“For that, I had to go to parliament and sell it to them. It was great for the whole city that we pulled off the convention, including the premier of Ontario, Michael Harris.”
Indeed, the hotelier’s stock was rising so high at this point he was elected to the city council, and but for 200 votes would have been deputy. As it was, he was involved with a budget of $96 million for infrastructure projects.
“I was also involved in social services and childcare and counselling alcoholics and drug addicts. It was all good experience for me,” Mr. Mason said.
Grand Cayman beckoned next, with an initial stint at Comfort Suites leading to a swift few months at the Celtic Lodge in Nova Scotia.
“But I found it cold so it was great to come back. My wife works in Office Supply and our son, Kyle, is a third year law student in Ontario,” he said.
Hospitality key
The manager is also pursuing a part-time master’s degree in divinity through the University of Toronto online and is active in the Elmslie Church. Hospitality, he said, is a lifestyle choice.
“I am very grateful for my years in the industry,” he said. “It was hard work but worth it; the work is great at times and what you put in you get back. You can build projects you can be proud of. It is an industry I love; I like the people and the challenges. I’ve worked for 20 plus years in the industry and never been bored because no two days are the same. You can always make a difference in people’s lives – encouraging and developing people is key.”
As for Cayman, he observed that there has been a lot of growth in his five and a half years here. He said tourism is vital.
“Hotels generate jobs and economic benefit,” he said. “Diligence needs to be done in order to make sure things are right for Cayman and any new development needs to be right.
But I have great faith in the product. There are terrific opportunities here; people genuinely care and we can capture the world stage and give people fantastic experiences which they will then talk about. Word of mouth is very powerful.”
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