I joined the Holiday Park industry back in 1996, starting off as seasonal on the entertainments team where I hosted the quizzes, shows and games - I just fell in love with holiday park life. Through various acquisitions I started working for Parkdean Resorts and I’ve worked there since the start. I’ve been a General Manager now for 9 years and this is what I’ve always wanted to do - to be in the thick of it all! It’s amazing how far parks have come since then especially with new technology - back then we still used CD’s and cassettes!
Being a good General Manager is about being adaptable, the role becomes part of your social life and I just love that. For example, I come on park with my family for a meal and to watch the entertainments. I have a great work life balance and a lot of that is to do with being a part of Parkdean. Being a General Manager, if you have an excellent team around you, then you can rely on your team a lot more. This takes time to build and it’s never there right from the beginning, but once you have your team perfect there’s no better feeling. I have 100% trust in my team, and they trust me 100%, it works both ways.
My biggest achievement here at PDR has to be becoming GM. I came to Cayton Bay in 2001 – 21 years ago I started as Entertainments Managers and my proudest moment was becoming GM for the park. I just fell in love with it, I met my wife here who worked behind the bar at the time. We lived on a house on site and my kids were born here in Scarborough. That’s my proudest accomplishment on park I’ve had a few small wins like winning awards the company has taken me to Las Vegas, South Africa, Canada and New York a lot of various locations and this is a result of the good work we’ve done. I tell myself everyday how lucky I am to have this job. I love coming to work.
My work week varies and I’m prepared to work as and when I’m needed. I’m here pretty much first thing in the morning 8am sharp to say good morning to all the team. I usually spend the first hour getting through a few bits and pieces on my computer - emails and that sort of thing. Check my calendar make sure I know what’s happening for the day. Then the rest of the day it’s just about checking things, speaking to team members. Speak to our kitchen staff and grab a hashbrown and then hit the bar to help them out. I usually then speak to guests finding out how they are and how their holidays are going. Weekends can be different; I’m usually based in Caravan Sales. Of course, there’s reports and wages etc to sign off and complete boxes to be ticked but that’s what makes park life amazing - every day is different, and I love it.
My most enjoyable time here at PDR is seasonal times like peak, welcoming all our guests and getting ready for the rush. We have guests who have saved up a lot of money and decided to spend it with us during their holidays and it’s about making that as special for them as we can.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without Parkdean Resorts - they really have encouraged growth and set up those opportunities!
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