Head for the top in hospitality

Paul Donkin, taking up the role of general manager of St George Hotel in Harrogate as it prepares to re-open on 17 May, has been flying the flag for careers in hospitality as he recruits for what all in the Bespoke Hotels team hope is an exciting future.

He’s told the Stray Ferret, the independent online news service for the Harrogate district, how his career has developed since starting out as a waiter, and on linkedin raised cheers with an upbeat message.

His words for those who hear ‘hospitality isn’t a career’ or ‘It’s not a proper job’ are: “Don’t listen, if you truly enjoy hospitality, stick with it, ‘those people’ don’t know what they are talking about.
I heard this so many times over my career and I do wish I could show them how far I have come! Listen to the ones that lift you up and cheer you on.”

Donkin’s career has seen him work as the operations manager at Harrogate’s The Old Swan and manager at Cedar Court Hotels in Yorkshire. He joins St George Hotel from the role of general manager at York Pavilion Hotel.

You can read his story and plans for future at The man hired to revive one of Harrogate’s most historic hotels – The Stray Ferret