Daniel Worsley

What is your current role and outline your professional experience?

I was recently promoted to Front Office Manager. I have been at The Star since 2009 when I started as a Front Desk Agent and have since held various roles. I was firstly a Night Manager, then Assistant Front Office Manager, then Housekeeping Assistant Manager and moved back to the Front Office as Assistant Front Office Manager before this promotion.

What career achievements are you especially proud of?

I’m very proud to be a Front Office Manager for a five-star hotel. It’s a role that is especially hard to achieve.

I am proud to have worked as a Night Manager and as Housekeeping Manager. These roles are extremely important within a hotel. Housekeeping is the largest workforce and cost for a hotel. As Night Manager you learn to back yourself especially in a casino and entertainment precinct. I have also been nominated for the 2014 AHA (Australian Hotels Association) award for ‘Rising Star’ which is a huge thrill.

How has your ICMS degree contributed to you achieving your professional goals?

ICMS was instrumental in getting my first step in the industry door. If it wasn’t for ICMS I would not have been able to get my industry training job at Four Seasons Hotel with such relative ease. Having the Four Seasons Hotel on my resume has helped my career progress more quickly.

What were the major contributing factors to your decision to study at ICMS?

ICMS is known as the best hospitality school in Australia, and one of the leading hospitality schools in the world. I wanted a long successful career in the hotel industry and I knew that studying with the best would lead to working in the best hotels.

Tell us about your industry training placement

It was at the Four Seasons Sydney where I worked for nine months as a Front Desk Agent. It was a brilliant start to the industry as I could see how the world’s best hotels work. I learnt invaluable lessons which stay with me today as a guide to how I conduct myself and the ideologies I have for my department. I learnt the best practices for service, staff motivation, hotel structure and in delivering personalised service in the hope of exceeding guest expectations. After my placement, I was asked to stay on causally while completing my final year at ICMS. I did so as Front Desk Agent and Concierge.

What were the highlights during your time at ICMS?

The industry connections I have made with people from ICMS. Knowing people within your industry helps when looking for staff and in situations of overbookings when you need alternative options at good rates. During industry training an obvious highlight was meeting countless celebrities, pop and rock stars and members of different royal families.

What advice would you give to someone considering study at ICMS?

Do it! If you are serious about your career and want to impress future employers, study at ICMS. It is very much the case of the ‘ICMS reputation precedes you’ when you walk into an interview. Within our industry, hospitality school students’ resumes get looked at first, and from all the hospitality schools, ICMS students get put straight to the top of the pile. Study at ICMS, it does make a difference.