Tom studied BA (Hons) International Tourism Management at Leeds Beckett University, graduating in July 2013. Since then, he’s been climbing the career ladder at Marriott International to become a Hotel Sales Leader, based at Delta Hotels by Marriott York. Here, Tom shares how his experience of studying at Leeds Beckett got him to where he is today.

Course: BA (Hons) International Tourism Management

What have you been up to since you graduated?

During my final year of university, I joined Marriott International, doing a bit of part-time work to earn some money while I was studying.

After I graduated, I moved into Sales and Events, where I've been organising various events from weddings to socials to conferences. It’s the area I wanted to get into, while still being within tourism and hospitality sectors. Ten years on, I'm still here with Marriott.

How did you get the initial opportunity to work for Marriott International?

One of my friends at university was in the Students’ Union discussing Marriott, and then I saw the opportunity and thought, “actually I might see what's available”. It began as a chat in the SU and then I applied online, and here I am today.

Can you tell us about your current role and what an average day is like for you?

Every day is different, every day is a learning day. My current role as Hotel Sales Leader means that I oversee the sales perspective of all elements: from Leisure Club to bedrooms to events, weddings, socials, and overall hotel sales.

I’ve had to progress throughout my career with Marriott to get to the role I’m in now, but I think having a university degree and having experience from doing a work placement has really helped me to get to where I am today. It’s given me the knowledge as well and the confidence to strive to where I am today.

Can you tell us about your career highlights so far?

One of my favourite highlights is when I met Michael Bublé. He stayed at the Leeds Marriott when I was working there. I’ve also met the Sugar Babes in a similar situation.

More generally, there are lots of highlights – because I organise a lot of weddings – seeing the brides and the grooms when they’ve finally gotten married. You've organised and been on a journey with them to plan their wedding, so it’s a massive highlight to see them married and enjoying their big day.

And what would you say the biggest challenges have been in your career so far?

I think the biggest challenge within the hospitality sector and events sector has been COVID. Prior to COVID we were a team of eight, and then we went into lockdown and unfortunately there were redundancies happening in the team.

I try to take one day at a time – something I learnt at university. I see every day as a new day. I try to see it not as a challenge, but as an opportunity to learn, grow and develop from.

How has your experience of being a student influenced your working life?

I’ve tried to keep habits I made in the ways I was studying and bring them into my working roles in terms of figuring out what priorities I have and how to organise what I need to do.

For example, on my work emails I prioritise what needs responding to first, similar to how I organised my time with studying. I always thought, “which project is my priority and when are the deadlines?”, and then tailor it from there.

Making sure I have a good work-life balance is something I’ve also taken from my experience of being a student. In the hospitality and tourism sector, you can be on the move constantly, doing 12-hour shifts, so having that balance is really important.

It’s also important to have that balance within work as well and not stressing yourself and sitting at your emails until two in the morning.

What drew you to study at Leeds Beckett initially?

I did a Travel and Tourism course at college, which was the influence to continue my studies in that area. I had four options, but Leeds Beckett was just a very welcoming place. As soon as I visited, I loved the grounds at Leeds Beckett. I loved the atmosphere, the vibe, and I knew Leeds was the place to be.

The open day was really informal. We didn't get lost – thanks to the direction people directing us around – and the journey from arriving there to after the open day, to the first day of university made me feel so welcome. There were also a lot of opportunities there and I think the support around the campus as well was great, from the Students’ Union to the library.

I had such a great experience at the open day that I recommend Leeds Beckett to my colleagues who are taking their children to open days.

What advice would you give somebody thinking about studying your course?

Research what's available and what's out there and go and get a feel of the campus to see if it’s the right place for you.

Also, just go with your gut. Because I did that and it was the best three years of my life. From freshers to graduation, it was just amazing.

You learn so much from it. There are going to be days when you're thinking, “Oh my God”. Sometimes you’ll have moved away from family life to a bigger city. When this happens, take the days, day-by-day. Just embrace it and enjoy it. You only live once.

Have you got any final comments about your experience studying at Leeds Beckett, the services and opportunities available to students or the staff?

We covered a lot of employment content within our modules, but there was also the Employability Team on site to help with things like your CV and give you the right pointers on for applications.

They know what's currently in the market, but they also know what the market and companies are looking for on a CV and in applications, so that was a massive support.

I’d recommend utilising your core tutors and mentors as well. Try and get as much knowledge out of them because they've got the knowledge within the industry, so don’t be afraid to ask; because if you don’t ask, you’ll never know.

In the end I think that was something I always did – ask a lot of the core tutors. “What information's out there?”, “Where do I go next for this?”, or “do you know someone in this industry?”, or “do you know someone in this company?”. It helped me to get more out of my research and modules.

What do you see as being your next step from where you currently are?

Currently I’m not sure. I love Marriott International, but I'd like to maybe step a bit further into the tourism sector side of it. I do a lot with tourism currently, working with the Visit York Tourism Board, so it links into a bit in that way.

Marriott Careers is great and you can progress very quickly – I have within my 10 years at Marriott – so I don’t know as of yet what my next steps will be. We'll wait and see.