BEHIND THE SCENES
JUDY OSTROW
by
photography by CHIP RIEGEL
Meet the NEW leader with hospitality in his DNA:
DANT HIRSCH Ocean House Collection welcomes an executive with lifelong experience
D
ant Hirsch, Ocean House Collection’s new President and Managing Director, is a great fit for the helm of a triple five-star resort that is one of just 14 with that distinction in the world. Many hoteliers have found their niche in the business starting with a summer job at a restaurant or resort. Some were lured by the travel opportunities of a hospitality career. But Hirsch was doing entrylevel hotel tasks at a time when most children his age were delivering newspapers and mowing lawns. “My parents owned a coastal resort in Western Canada on Vancouver Island, which my dad built and they expanded over the years, from a small hotel with a few cabins to a spa and resort that is the second largest employer in our little beach town. As a kid, I was cleaning rooms, delivering linens, washing dishes in the kitchen, and gradually got to do some of the big-boy jobs too. We moved there when I was three, so I grew up in the business.” Hirsch notes that Westerly reminds him very much of Parksville, the small and beautiful community where his family built
Tigh-Na-Mara, which translates from Gaelic as “house by the sea.” After graduating from Penn State, he circled back to hospitality while taking a break before applying to law school, returning to Vancouver Island as general manager of his parents’ resort. By the time he enrolled in Cornell’s Executive Development Program for General Managers, thoughts of a legal career were already in Hirsch’s rearview mirror. Meeting GMs from around the country, he developed a circle of friendships that included James McManemon from the Ritz-Carlton. After the program finished and he returned to Parksville, regular phone conversations with his Cornell colleague led to Hirsch’s introduction to luxury hospitality via a visit to a Ritz-Carlton property at McManemon’s urging. Won over by the level of detail and luxury of the five-star brand, he moved to the United States and began a career trajectory that has led him to Ocean House. After five years in leadership positions with Ritz-Carlton, he moved on to management positions with St. Regis in Miami and Kauai. Most recently, Hirsch consulted with The
Dominick in New York as well as working on development for the Six Senses brand. He also served as Regional General Manager of the Americas for COMO Hotels and Resorts, where he led the multimillion-dollar renovation and repositioning of Parrot Cay, a thousand-acre resort property in the Turks and Caicos. With extensive experience in luxury, Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond properties, his most recent move to Westerly and Ocean House Collection represents an ideal alignment of experience and opportunity. Ocean House founders Charles and Deborah Royce are enthusiastic about Hirsch’s arrival. “He has the leadership track record, the creativity and the vision to successfully lead this extraordinary collection of properties and our associates,” note the Royces. “Dant’s understanding of the luxury hotel industry enables him to provide a strategic direction for our capable team members, create exceptional and innovative experiences for our guests, serve our local community, and help position the organization for the future.” Having landed at Ocean House at the
Opposite page: Hirsch, his wife Ana Maria and son Hayden are enjoying their new home base in Rhode Island.
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