John Musca, National Director of Investment Sales, Hotels and Hospitality Group for JLL talks to Williams Media about his decades of experience in the hotels industry.
With over 25 years in the hotel and leisure business, John Musca currently manages the largest team of dedicated pubs specialist in Australia.
As a broker John has been responsible for a range of international and local sales and hotel marketing programs during his time in Auckland, Perth and Sydney.
Some of John’s clients have included Independent Pub Group, Iris Hotel Group and Merivale Group with transaction achievements such as the Iris Hotel Group sale for $260 million, Lasseters Hotel Group for $90 million and twice selling the Castle Hill Tavern, first for $49 million and $54 the second time.
How did you get into the hotels industry?
Not long out of university, almost 30 years ago, I was asked to join the hotels division of a global real estate firm as their marketing executive to formulate all of their promotional communications, brochures, press releases etc in a pre-mobile phone, pre-email world. Within five minutes of being there I was selling hotels, and the rest is history.
What are some of your career highlights from your time in the industry?
The highlights have been many and spanned everything from transactional successes to professional highlights. The sale of the Hilton Hotel, Perth for $27m in 1990 was an early career highlight, as was the sale of the Iris Hotel Group Sydney for $260m in 2007. There is also the sale of so many iconic landmark hotels like the Golden Sheaf Hotel Double Bay ($41m), Hotel Bondi ($43m), the Beach Palace Coogee ($37m), the Castle Hill Tavern ($54m) the list goes on.
Equally as fulfilling was my time as Lecturer at Curtin University in Perth when I was invited to develop a new Postgraduate Tourism Marketing Curriculum and my time working in London for five years in there somewhere.
What are the biggest issues facing the hotel industry at the moment?
New legislation and bureaucratic delays in addressing pressing industry requirements. Rapidly changing visitor marketing and service models for transport, travel, accommodation and experiences presenting a range of exciting business and marketing opportunities and corresponding operating threats.
How has the industry changed in the time you have been involved with it?
How hasn’t it changed is more relevant! I can book a flight from my phone, self-check in my bags, watch my own inflight entertainment on my own portable device, get a ride in Joe citizens car on arrival and sleep in someone’s house whom I don’t know for the duration of my stay while they’re away…that’s a modern day holiday.
What is your favourite hotel and holiday destination?
Atlantis the Palm in Dubai is a real winner for my young family as a great stopover on the way to Europe and I’m looking forward to trying the new Aya at Niseko this snowboarding season. We have been returning to Seminyak in Bali for years and locally it’s hard to go past Blueys Beach.
See also:
Get to know Andrew Langsford of JLL's Hotels and Hospitality Group