1. Get up and do it!
In his 20s, at a time when most of us struggle to work out what's for dinner, Francis Brennan bought the Park Hotel Kenmare. So how did Francis do it, and so early!?
Rather than give advice, he tries to live by example he told The Independent:
"I talk to young people, I go into colleges. There is a fatherly element in talking to them. I tell them I bought the Park at 24 years of age, and my message is that everybody can do it if you just get up."
2. A lover of Tayto, not of fuss
The success of Francis’ show At Your Service relied on his meticulous attention to detail. How does Francis deal with the ‘fussy’ image we all love him for? Speaking to the Independent he said:
"People think I'm desperately fussy. Now I am fussy, but I am not fussy if I'm going to your house or anything like that. People are afraid to ask me to come visit them because they think they'll have to put on a seven course meal! The biggest misconception about me would be that I would be terribly fussy.”
“I mean, like if I was coming to dinner they get so excited it drives me out of my mind! I prefer they just give me a bag of Tayto and a glass of Club Orange."
3. Lifting people’s spirits
Francis loves his job at the hotel and despite television calling; he told Taste.ie that he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I am in Kenmare 90% of the time, if I’m not filming. But we always make sure either my brother John or I are there. I know that when I’m there it’s a better hotel, not that the staff aren’t great, but there are always people in organisations that lift the organisation...I hate to say that now, but I do, I lift people’s spirits.”
4. Count your blessings
It’s little wonder that Francis’ book is called “Counting my blessings, Frances Brennan’s guide to happiness”. Aimed at people who find they focus on the downside of life, he told The Journal in an interview how he always appreciates where he came from.
“I’m always delighted to go to work. And thankful I have a job. I just took chances and they all worked, and then hard work made it pay off”
“I always thought there was a book in me, but I never thought it would be done this way. I overlook the sea and when I pull the curtains back, I say every morning ‘And I live here?’ I’m so lucky”
5. Always remain money conscious
Being the owner of a 5 star hotel is no excuse for being care free with money. And when the Recession took flight, Francis took stock of his finance.In The Irish Times, he explains that the small savings really do all add up
“Yes. I changed electricity companies to avail of a 15 per cent discount for two years, and I would have never done this before. I also keep an eye out for petrol, as there is often a discrepancy of up to eight cents a litre. On a fill of the tank, that can be €3/€4, so it pays to keep your eyes open.
6. Starting very...very early in business
And finally, if you thought Francis buying the Park Hotel in your 20's was ambitious...he revealed to Taste.ie that in fact started earlier. Having 40 people working for him is no easy feat, especially aged 14.
“When I was a kid I ran a babysitting service and I had 40 people working for me at age 14. I took all the phone calls and I told Mary go here, Joe go there, and I took 10% of the takings. I placed 40 baby sitters on a Friday night. But that’s a whole other story!” he says with a mischievous grin.”
Francis Brennan's Grand Indian Tour is a brand new 6-part series, airing on RTÉ One, beginning Sunday 17 July 2016 at 8.30pm.
