Hospitality Malta 05 | Page 57

photo: Shawn Muscat P of Shawn’s experi- ence while study- art ing for Hospitality Management was a long internship in England with the Renaissance chain of hotels. This was a very positive experience that could easily have led Shawn to remain there but he stresses that it was imperative for him to continue his studies locally. Upon completion of his studies Shawn joined the Sun- crest Hotel, where he had already spent his time on an internship and then a further 3 years in Management. Shortly after, he moved to the Bugibba Holiday Com- plex; despite having moved to a Three Star Hotel from a Four star, he felt that joining the Island Group, which saw many of its top management promoted from with- in, was the right move. Furthermore, it would give him the opportunity to work with some of the key influenc- ers in the industry. After four months in Bugibba he was promoted and moved to Golden Sands Hotel. HOSPITALITY MALTA Moving on, Shawn joined the Hilton as an Assistant Front Office Manager, a post he had held for a few months before he started running the department. The Hilton experience, apart from seeing him take part in a number of investment programmes at lo- cal and European Level, saw him being mentored by Clement Hassid, the General Manager of the time; now retired, who still remains a very respected figure in the hospitality industry. His in-class training saw him graduate first in Class and granted him a posi- tion in Milan but unfortunately, due to Shawn’s fa- ther falling ill, he had to return to Malta to support the family. One could have taken this setback negatively, but the ever-positive Shawn took this in his stride; he moved back to Radisson Golden Sands as Assistant General Manager, a role he kept for four years. Shawn ex- plains that his aspirations were always to become a General Manager. Issue 05 55