A Career in Housekeeping

“I started working at Nodes point in 2012 and have been here ever since – you could say it was meant to be!”

Meet Sean Smith, Accommodation Manager, Manchester United football supporter and all-round family man. Sean has been an integral part of the team at Nodes Point Holiday Park on the Isle Wight since 2012, when he was offered a role in the accommodation team as a seasonal cleaner after attending a recruitment day.

Sean was fairly new to the island back then, having moved from the hustle and bustle of West London where he was born and raised alongside 3 brothers, to the quiet and sleepy Isle of Wight just three years previously. Sean says, “It took a while to get to grips with the culture change from busy West London to the sleepy Isle of Wight. A lot of the work was very seasonal due to the location and I found myself taking on all sorts of roles.” Sean speaks fondly of a period of time in which he travelled up and down the UK, working in various music festivals.

Since joining the business 9 years ago, Sean has gone from strength to strength. Quickly being recognised as a motivated individual by his manager at the time and being promoted to Accommodation Checker. Within just three years on park he’d been progressed to Manager and headed up Nodes Point’s entire accommodation team. Speaking about his time working on a holiday park, Sean believes it is the fast paced and exciting nature of his work that keeps him in the industry.

“Working on a holiday park is so fast paced, things are happening so quickly and it’s that buzz that makes me love working here.”

Despite being on the island for 3 years before joining the family here at Parkdean, Sean talks about his difficulties adapting to island life. Since joining the industry however, he feels he is able to feel that London buzz again when he is on park in peak season, recognising that the two have many things in common. “A holiday park is like a little London, you get a diverse range of people, people from all walks of life and things move so quickly and it’s this that I thrive off.” Sean also speaks about the various other projects he’s been a part of over the years: “I’ve gone and supported other parks in the region when needed, and I’ve also assisted in putting new training material together for accommodation, including new training videos.”

We can’t wait to see what Sean does next. We’d also like to say a big congratulations to Sean who married his lovely wife in Cowes on the 2nd of October!