Career Report – John Steiner, Omni Hilton Head

I had the pleasure of interviewing John Steiner, the recreation director at Omni Hilton Head, on

March 12th. I discovered Omni on the RPTM internship website. What really stuck out to me

about this location was the beautiful scenery and quality of the rooms and amenities. When looking

deeper into their website, I found that they have multiple pools, spas, tennis courts, and even large

golf courses. Omni also offers half-day and full-day themed kid camps (Omni Hilton Head, 2024).

With all these available activities, I thought it would be interesting to hear from one of the people

in charge of making it all run smoothly.

John, at 24 years old, is still very early in his career. He is originally from Harrisonburg,

Virginia, and studied at James Madison University. He started his college career as an accounting

major but made the switch to sport and recreation management after working at his university’s

recreation center. At first, he went into the major primarily interested in the sports side. This

completely changed whenever he decided to apply for an internship at a ski resort. This moment

is what made him fall in love with the hotel/resort recreation side of the major. Eventually, he

graduated from James Madison University with a degree in sport and recreation management and

a minor in general business. He has now been the recreation director at Omni Hilton Head for two

years.

The mission statement at Omni states that they are a luxury brand that creates unique and

memorable experiences through authenticity and innovation. “Our goal is to provide you with the

experience of a lifetime, or at least until the next time you visit.” (Omni Hilton Head, 2024).

Although the recreation department does not have an official mission statement, John said that if

they did, it would be “work hard, play harder." The statement is very straightforward, but to expand
on the idea, he said that the work is difficult, and the hours are long, but the benefits and rewards

make it all worth it.

As mentioned in the mission statement, Omni Hilton Head is a luxury brand. With that

being said, the clientele served is primarily people stemming from the upper-middle class. John

also mentioned that they tend to get a decent number of high rollers. This comes as no surprise

when you discover that some of their lowest room rates can range from anywhere around $500 a

night. The resort has even hosted some celebrities, such as comedian and actor Chris Tucker and

numerous NBA players.

There are not any membership requirements at the resort, as the guests are mainly transient,

but they do offer a resort pass for regulars and some loyalty programs. When it comes to

geographic locations, John said that they get customers from all over the world, specifically

England and the Middle East. Interestingly, he also mentioned that they also seem to get a lot of

customers from Ohio. Along with global customers, they also hire a lot of staff from all across the

globe. For example, John stated that he has worked with people from Slovakia, Mexico, Bolivia,

Jamaica, etc. Overall, Omni is a vacation destination for people all around the world.

As brought up in the introduction, Omni has various amenities and offers numerous

activities for guests to enjoy. Some of these include three large pools, hot tubs, and multiple

outdoor bars. From a day-to-day perspective, they host around 4–5 activities around the pools.

They also provide rentals for poolside cabanas, day beds, and even bikes. Apart from the daily

activities, they also host 10 or more activities during holiday weekends. With these weekends

being some of their most popular dates, they hold special events featuring anything from fire
performers to mermaids. There is also a retail store available on the premise, providing pool toys,

clothing, and other supplies to elevate guests' time at the resort.

When it comes to employees at Omni, most positions are seasonal. The resort is very slow

during the off-season, so it is typically just John monitoring for the recreation department

anywhere from November through early March. During the summer months, all employees are

full-time, and they often bring in around 100 staff members. With the job opportunities being

primarily seasonal, they typically offer employment to people from Jamaica and Guatemala. They

provide housing for these employees until they eventually return home, with their visas ending in

November. Along with the typical staff, they sometimes offer internship opportunities as well.

With Omni being a resort, their primary source of funding is, of course, room revenue.

John mentioned that the rooms make up at least 70% of all profits brought in by Omni Hilton

Head. Food and beverage is also a high source of funding, bringing in around 10–15 million dollars

a year. With the high room rates and additional facilities offered at Omni, they are making well

over enough to pay staff and maintain programs and services.

John went into depth, providing his opinion on the many challenges and excitements

involved in the world of RPTM. The biggest challenge that he mentioned was work-life balance.

During the busy seasons, John said that he works every day, with his shifts often lasting over 12

hours. Working half the day can make it difficult to make time for other important goals in your

life, like starting a family or maintaining a hobby. Another large challenge identified by John is

juggling responsibilities. As the recreation director for a large resort, he is always on the go. He

works in an extremely fast-paced environment where no day is exactly the same. He stated that

learning how to stay calm and organized is essential for success in this line of work. Despite the
many challenges, John said that the good times make it all worth it. Some of his favorite moments

include getting to make connections with the guests and even witnessing some of the regulars grow

up. He is always excited to make the most of people’s stays at Omni. Along with the guests, he

also enjoys getting to make connections with his employees and jump-starting some of their

careers. Overall, John is very passionate about his career and looks forward to making an impact

on people’s lives, whether they are guests or employees.

 Works Cited

Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort. Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort | Hotels in Hilton

Head. (2024). https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/hilton-head