Doma Hotels director Patrick Lonergan started his career in hospitality as a teenager serving up some of those "awesome chips" at Kingsley's Chicken. He was also a bartender at the late, great Bobby McGee's night club. A true Canberra apprenticeship in hospitality.
Now 50 and in charge of Canberra's largest private hotelier, Doma Hotels, Mr Lonergan won the Outstanding Contribution by an Individual category at the recent Canberra Region Tourism Awards.
"I was absolutely thrilled," he said. "It was nice for me individually but also for hotels and the team as well."
The Canberra born-and-bred executive was recognised after a 30-year career in hospitality and as the Doma group continues to grow and add more hotels and rooms to its portfolio.
The group runs 835 rooms across six hotels including the Hotel Realm, the Brassey Hotel and the Little National Hotels in Canberra and Sydney.
It is adding another 700 rooms by building another four properties - a Little National Hotels in Adelaide and Newcastle, a boutique hotel in Huskisson and a resort in Port Stephens.
A former Marist College student, Mr Lonergan, married with two adult children, now lives in Brisbane and commutes for work. But Canberra is always close to his heart.
After his infamous start at Kingsley's, he was a bar tender at Bobby McGee's in Canberra and then became the manager at Bobby McGee's at Darling Harbour in Sydney.
"I was 22 when I moved to Sydney, that was my first proper management job and really haven't looked back. I've just been taking steps forward since then," he said.
"I worked up the ranks, across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Far North Queensland and London as part of that hotel career and been in Canberra for over eight years now working with Doma."
Mr Lonergan was positive about the future of tourism in Canberra after it took a battering from COVID over the past two years.
"It has been a tough period. but we've been very resilient. We've managed to look after our staff through a difficult period, we've maintained our management team and we're looking forward to a really great 2022," he said.
"There's a lot to offer in Canberra. Probably being away and coming back, the biggest difference I noticed was the food and beverage scene.
"Going back years ago, restaurants used to be busy on Friday and Saturday and now you can go through Braddon, Manuka, Kingston, even what we have in the Realm precinct, and there's people out every night of the week now."
2021 CANBERRA REGION TOURISM AWARD WINNERS
Major Tourist Attractions: Australian Parliament House
Tourist Attractions: National Arboretum Canberra
Major Festivals and Events: National Gallery of Australia
Cultural Tourism: Royal Australian Mint
Adventure Tourism: Dynamic Motivation
Tourism Marketing & Campaigns: National Capital Education Tourism Project
Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries: Shaw Wineries
Caravan and Holiday Parks: Alivio Tourist Park
Unique Accommodation: Jamala Wildlife Lodge
3-3.5 Star Accommodation: Mercure Canberra
New Tourism Business: Van Du Vin
Outstanding Contribution by an Individual: Patrick Lonergan
Markus Gibson-Huck Young Achiever Award: Jelena Bojanic
Canberra Region Innovation & Resilience Award: Handmade Markets Canberra
Canberra Region Tourism Service Award: Michael Salmon
