The Brisbane Marriott has recently ticked off the 21-year milestone and its Director of Operation Mark Snell has been there since day one. Over the years Snell has progressed through five major roles, starting out as a pre-opening team member in food and beverage, he has seen it through to his current role which manages the day to day operations of each department. This covers concierge, front office, housekeeping, front desk, restaurant and reservations to name a few.
Snell says what keeps him coming back is the people. “It’s the people you meet along the way and the friendships that you get. You make a lot of friendships obviously from the people you work with and the people you meet, like the guests,” he said. “I’ve always thought of it a bit like showbiz, each day if you can do something, put on a great show, be creative, put a smile on people’s faces. Particularly to make a guest’s stay more enjoyable.” However its the special guest experiences, like visits from Barak Obama and Angelina Jolie which have also been memorable times for the Marriott.
Having grown up with parents involved in hospitality, Snell has been around the industry to witness how it really has changed over the years. Everything from how people communicate, to mobile keys and company merges, the Marriott has evidently grown and evolved to keep up with market trends and improve guest experience. “The whole refurbishment we’ve just done for 20 million dollars, it’s uplifted the whole hotel,” Snell explains.”It’s bound to change, and if you don’t keep up with it you’re never going to get people coming back.”
What has been a memorable 21 years for this iconic Brisbane hotel has in hindsight marked an exceptional career for Mark.
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