Sean O'Connor
Sean has over 30-years of experience in the hospitality industry. He was Group Spa Manager – Design & Development for 15 years at Mandarain Oriental Hotel Group where he made signiant impact in Spa projects.
What has been your most moving memory working at the Mandarin Oriental?
Probably the thing I found most moving, working at M.O. Is on my very last day, the day I retired the team put together this farewell gift, which is pictures of 20 odd of our hotels and resorts that I worked on over the years. So 15 years worth of pictorial evidence there. And that obviously took a lot of effort and energy and thought and time and money. So that, this was a very touching memorable day for me.”
When you recall your days at Mandarin Oriental, what memory makes you smile?
Without doubt, it has to be the day of delight. I remember we had one in Taipei which was three days before the opening. It was a day when everyone down tools, everybody gathered in the car park as it was, they'd set up a stage and air conditioning. And there were messages, video messages stitched together from all the hotels, all the GMs, their EXCOM and the various departments within the hotel properties singing the Pharrell happy song. And at the end, they'd hold up a big plaque saying "this is a day for you. Good luck with the opening."
So, there was one video from Europe, one from the Americas, one from Asia Pacific with every property sent a message, which was just lovely. It made me feel really proud to be part of the team. That was a really, good day.
What is your proudest memory at Mandarin Oriental?
One thing that I'm particularly proud of is our M.O. Experience treatment bed.
This is where our guests spend most of their time and we just decided we had to have the best beds in the industry. So we came up with a bunch of features that extra-wide, extra-long and extra-low so that elderly people, disabled people can easily get on and off them. Our therapists love them and the company that makes them, sells them to Hyatt, Rosewood, Four Season, Ritz Carlton and Peninsula.
It's a great tribute to know that we made a contribution to the industry, which is worthwhile. I often go to trade events exhibitions and people commented that" the bed you guys did. We've got". I was with the lady from Hyatt and she said, "yeah, we bought 300 so far."
