Douglas Acton
BA(hons) Hospitality Management, 2000
"Having lived overseas for much of my life, hotels have always figured strongly and I’m sure the underlying reason why I chose to study Hospitality Management, after my A-Levels. I wanted to choose a University that had a good reputation and one that would fulfill my personal ambitions. University of Brighton appealed to me for a number of reasons. The course has an excellent reputation and following the Undergraduate Open day I felt that the Eastbourne campus had a lovely welcoming feel. I was also particularly keen to undertake a Sandwich course, as although I had been surrounded by hotels, I had never done a days work in one!
There are many aspects that I can credit the University of Brighton with in my career, most notably, the systematic approach required to tackle the modules and course work. Often in my job role, research is required to make an informed decision. Having the ability to source and process the information that is available in a clear and concise manner can almost be directly credited to the methodology required to be successful at University. Funnily enough, the course also quickly highlighted to me what I didn’t want to do! Definitely my hardest module was the waitering and chefing in the Sussex Suite! The lovely ladies of Eastbourne must have kept the local dry-cleaners very happy every Friday afternoon! The diversity of students from all over the world was also invaluable, as it creates a great eclectic mix and also provides you with excellent future contacts in the industry!
Upon graduating in 2000, I took a rather unconventional career route. I need to pay off my debts quickly(!) so I decided to try sales in the Telecoms Industry. I really enjoyed the sales side, but found that I struggled to grasp the technicalities of the IT and Telecoms world! However, the skills and training I developed at the cutting edge of selling, has proved to be an excellent foundation. After 18 months, I discovered that there was a whole sales side to the hotel industry and wondered how I wasn’t forging my career in the industry that I set out to study!
I got the role as Sales Executive at Jumeirah Carlton Tower, London, trying to develop and increase the Corporate business. I quickly found that hotel selling was more of a long term partnership based on strong relationships, in essence a much softer sell than selling telephone systems…this suited me perfectly. I also liked the idea of working Monday – Friday in the hotel industry, something I thought just didn’t exist!
At the Carlton Tower, I was promoted to Corporate Sales Manager in September 2002 before deciding to accept the position at The Royal Garden Hotel, London as Consortia Sales Manager. I then moved to Group Level in June 2005 as Global Sales Manager, UK looking after 300 luxury properties in over 51 countries. This gave me excellent regional experience to add to the Corporate and Consortia experience I had previously acquired. And just recently, I have accepted the position of Account Director of Morgan Hotel Group, based at St Martins Lane. I am extremely excited about joining this prestigious collection of funky hotels, designed by Ian Schrager. Not only are the hotel fantastically modern and ‘hip’ but Morgans Hotel Group keeps my CV strong throughout the Five Star market.
I often look back at my time at the University of Brighton with a big smile on my face. I am so pleased that I have kept in touch with quite a few of my fellow students and only recently we were talking about our ten year anniversary since Fresher’s Week!"
