Omar Martinez

Professor D.
HTM-201/2PM
Guest Speaker Reflection

The direct quote that appealed to me at the Four Seasons Resort presentation was,

“Ignore the rules, question it. Failure is the roadway to somewhere else.” This direct quote gave

me the opportunity to oversee a different avenue to what it means to be a worker in the tourism

sector of hospitality and tourism management. The speaker who said this was John O’Sullivan

from the Four Seasons Resort, he is the Regional Vice President as well as the General Manager

at the Punta Mita Four Seasons Resort in Mexico. John was born in Ireland, and had come from

humble beginnings, he started off working in a hotel at a young age, and that is what captivated

me personally. The thing that captivated me the most about the speaker was the tenacity and grit

that the hold towards the business of hospitality. In this sense, John mentioned that through

removing negativity and by taking risks, you set a clearer path for success. The three themes that

captivated me the most about John’s speech were leadership, the culture of employee relations,

and the emphasis on constant learning.

Through leadership, you need to be able to lead and delegate a team to provide the best

and possible customer service available in the industry. Leadership tends to be one of the most

crucial and essential parts of the industry, without it, you will not be able to produce or evoke the

feeling necessary for the guest to feel welcome to your brand or hotel. In that note, John

mentions that as an individual you need to resonate with the company and its values. By doing

that, one is able to apply the core values towards their team and essentially translate that towards

the company. Leadership is an important role within a team environment/setting, as it allows

rules and procedures to be communicated efficiently within all groups in the hotel environment.

By having leadership skills and further developing them throughout the career, translate over to
what John mentioned makes the team environment successful, “Support others, the team and

employees.”

The second theme of the presentation was the culture of employee relations. What John

had said cultivated a sense of understanding and resilience as he mentioned, “The genuineness is

not tactical. It comes from the heart and needs to go above and beyond.” This symbolizes

something that is crucial in a team environment, and one of the basic foundations of a company.

By having and cultivating genuineness, you promote the people savvy portion of the

kaleidoscope competency model, which promotes one of the harder portions in my opinion. In a

managerial position, by enforcing communication and the importance of genuineness, you help

bring an emotion that is not tactical. This promotes the sense of making memories in the industry

and sets a standard for what is truly expected for a company to provide to its guests, and for the

name of the company.

The third theme in the presentation was constant learning. John mentioned, “Never close

a door you have never opened.” This is deemed true, as he mentioned that he changed career

paths throughout his life, and that after a hiatus, he was able to follow one of his passions and

become one of the general managers for the Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, as well as help

start it up. In that sense what I got out of constant learning in this area specific of the industry, is

that there can be no more than 3 properties per location. You can’t have 3 Four Season Resorts in

one location or property affiliates, as it devalues the company/brand and changes the true

meaning of the company. Under this sense, not having too big of an ego is also something that

can really pivot the success that an individual can have. Through constant learning, knowing

when an ego will hurt your success, needs to be understood, as it can interfere with your

knowledge of the industry.

 One of the kaleidoscope competencies that John is strong at is the people savvy

competency. He emphasizes the importance of leadership, giving off genuineness, and resonating

with the company. He had mentioned that by emphasizing genuineness, that translates over to

loyalty from the employees which later results in creating intangible memories with guests. He is

also keen on supporting the team and employees, and personally that represents the qualities of a

person who practices good people savvy skills, which help upkeep a successful brand such as the

Four Seasons Resort.

The speaker’s visit personally impacted me as it gave me a sense of resilience and

gratitude for the position I am in at this moment. I got a sense of not giving up and always

keeping the team up to standards, as well as coaching the team to always keep up standards to

how guests are meant to be treated in the hospitality, tourism, and management industry. As an

assistant supervisor at my job, I resonated with John’s words, as he mentioned that failure opens

up many different doors, and that is something that is very close to my inner-being. I resonated

back to my high school experience, as well as my journey at the company I am now, and what I

have achieved in my year working for the company. I was influenced by the importance of

constant knowledge, and how having the attitude and actually caring about the guest, helps bring

a sense of importance and relevance to the brand. I was impacted through looking at what I am

learning from the HTM standpoint, it helped me further understand what I want to do in my

future career. As a political science student, I have looked into pursuing a double major in

Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources, which I intend on using in the

tourism sector. One of my future goals is to grow within the company I am in right now, and

eventually apply for a human resources position within the company. One of the biggest take

away that I took from the presentation is never trying to become something that you are not, as
authenticity and genuineness is something that is coveted in the industry of Hospitality, Tourism

and Management.