for
the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts
Apr.
27, 2001
|
Hotel manager well-versed in hospitality by Audie N. Cornish, Chronicle staff
 fter
serving as interim manager of the Lincoln Campus Center Hotel for
two years, David O'Connor was named to the position permanently in
January. Meredith Schmidt, director of Business and Facilities Services
at the Campus Center complex, who used to manage the hotel herself,
said that O'Connor is an excellent choice."He has a clear understanding of what hospitality is," said Schmidt. "You always have to go the extra mile—sometimes he's here tireless hours to make sure that everything goes well. "He has good relationships with other campus departments." O'Connor has been developing relationships and gaining hotel experience during his 15 years of working at the hotel. He started as a reservationist and has also been night auditor and assistant manager. As part of his new role, he is overseeing the hotel renovations, including extensive work on the lobby, which is scheduled to be finished by commencement. He is also looking to raise the visibility of the hotel on campus. O'Connor says he still meets people who do not know that there is an on-campus hotel. Among sports teams and even academic departments there is a tendency to look off-campus for guest accommodations, O'Connor said. "The problem in the past for departments was that the building has been run down," said O'Connor, "When they see that the building has been renovated and that we are rebuilding the guest rooms, their impressions will change." O'Connor also encourages student involvement in the running of the hotel. He tries to hire Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration students for all sorts of hotel jobs, including laundry, cleaning staff and reservationists. He gives tours of the facility to HRTA students. O'Connor is pursuing an undergraduate degree in HRTA himself, so he works closely with that department. "I do tours for the classes— a lot of students haven't seen the back of a house [hotel] or know what goes on in running the hotel," O'Connor said. |
