ServiceOffice & Admin
Guy Rigby
President and Founder | Octopus Hospitality
Experience
2016 - Present
President & Founder
Octopus HospitalityToronto, ON, Canada
2000 - 2003
General Manager
The Regent BangkokBangkok, Thailand
1996 - 1997
Director of Food and Beverage
The Regent Hong KongHong Kong, China
1994 - 1996
Director of Food and Beverage
Four Seasons HotelTokyo, Japan
1985 - 1988
Resident Manager
Horsted Place Country House HotelSussex, UK
1982 - 1985
Assistant Director of Food and Beverage
Ritz HotelLondon, UK
Education
Hotel Degree
North Gloucester College of Arts & TechnologyCheltenham, England
Advice from Guy Rigby
Quotes about career path, skills, and teamwork from an industry leader.
You must be passionate about this business and really love it to be successful.
Invest time in your people. Listen to them and help them be successful.
Quite simply I love the business.
I’m so motivated when I watch great people doing great things... It could be a chef creating an amazing new dish or it could be a housekeeper being recognized for going the extra mile and sewing a loose button back on a guest’s jacket. We’re privileged to be able to create memories for people. This is what gets me up in the morning.
My very first job with Four Seasons was in Houston, Texas.
I joined a company that puts its people first. By doing so, our employees were motivated to take care of our guests. This is how we were able to achieve such recognition for our service.
Before I was legally allowed to drink in the UK, I worked as a bartender for a family friend at their pub in Wales.
I loved having the opportunity to create great experiences for our customers. I knew then that this was the profession for me.
In my last job with Four Seasons I was VP of Food & Beverage for the Americas.
I was traveling three weeks every month. I always ensured I was at home every weekend… so I never travelled on a Sunday and I was always home by Friday evening. And then I cooked for my family on weekends. It was my way of engaging with my family and making up for the times I was away.
When hiring, I want to hear enthusiasm and curiosity in the voice of a candidate.
I want to know the interest they have in the position is authentic and they are passionate about learning.
People must be willing to try new things all the time.
Sometimes you’ll fail – that’s OK. Learn from it and move on.
We’re in the business of creating exceptional service experiences.
Doing this once is hard enough. Doing it consistently every day with an ever changing workforce is next to impossible. So you have to be very strategic at how you put policies and procedures in place to ensure that "exceptional service experiences" happen flawlessly on each occasion.
Invest time in your people.
Recognize them as often as you can. Ensure they have the tools, resources and training and then make them accountable! Walk the talk.
I find inspiration in the people who work so hard in our business to support their families, and by reading about and watching shows about extraordinary people doing extraordinary things.
I’ve finally found time to watch the Netflix show “Chef’s Table”. It’s so inspirational. People who have started out with nothing have worked obsessively with such passion and drive to perfect their art and have subsequently become incredibly successful.
Like most people I read a lot and I use the internet.
For example, I love to cook. When I was much younger I rarely used a recipe. I just winged it and my food was rarely any good. Now I obsessively study multiple recipes of the same dish to pick out nuances that I think will work best for me.
Strange as it might seem, I couldn't live without my dog in order to do my job!
The many walks we take together are the times I clear my head and do my best thinking.
I stay in touch with the business by subscribing to HOTELS Mag online and Eater, but everything you need now is on the internet.
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