Ep. 4 - Hotels & Hospitality with David Arraya

Career on Course w/ Scott Jeffrey Miller

In this episode of Career on Course, host Scott Miller interviews Hotel General Manager, David Arraya, about his extensive career in the luxury hospitality industry. You'll hear how he got his start in hospitality in France, his education and early roles, as well as insights into being a hotel GM at renowned properties like Four Seasons, Auberge, and Six Senses. You'll learn about which skills and personality traits make a successful hotel GM, the typical career progression for that role, compensation packages, work-life balance considerations, and why David is bullish on hospitality as an industry going forward.
Key Discussion Points:

- David started off interested in computer science, but his grandmother steered him toward hospitality given his people-pleasing personality even from a young age. A formative experience was working as a bartender at a French resort which showed him that hospitality was the right fit.
- Empathy, self-awareness and communication skills are critical for hotel GMs who need to keep many stakeholders happy - from owners to corporate team to guests and employees. Leadership capabilities are also key.
- Typical routes to becoming a GM include starting in rooms/front desk, food & beverage, sales & marketing, or finance roles. It takes moving up over time into department head and division head positions before reaching GM.
- An undergraduate hospitality degree gives an edge but is not essential. Top schools named are Cornell, UNLV, Glion and Les Roches.
- Lifestyle vs luxury hotels have some different priorities, but both require guest experience curation, profit focus and people leadership from GMs.
- Average GM tenure at a property is 2-3 years. So their careers tend to involve geographic moves every few years to take on new challenge.
Guest Bio:
David Arraya is an award-winning hotelier who has led renowned properties across 4 continents. He has held GM roles with leading hospitality brands like Four Seasons, Auberge Resorts, and Six Senses.
David keynotes at conferences, hosts his own podcast, consults for hotel brands, and is writing books related to conscious hospitality. Check out his personal website here!

Enjoyed this episode? Check out Scott's latest book, Career on Course: 10 Strategies to Take Your Career from Accidental to Intentional.