President & Chief Executive Officer
O'Neill Hotels & Resorts Ltd.
John received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1985 from UBC and attended the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. John held senior executive positions at Vancouver-based Coast Hotels from 1985 to 1991, and has received extensive recognition of his achievements, including being named Canadian Hotelier of the Year by the Canadian Travel and Tourism Industry in 1989, awarded a ‘Top Forty under Forty’ award from Business in Vancouver magazine, and was a 1998 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. John is also an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization serving on the BC Chapter Executive Committee for four years, culminating in election as the BC Chair in 2004. He is a past Member of the Faculty Advisory Board of the UBC Sauder School of Business and a current Vice-Chair of the Collingwood School Board of Governors. He is also a former Member of the Tourism Whistler Board of Directors, the Owners’ Advisory Council of Starwood Hotels & Resorts (2002–2004), and Canadian Hotel Income Properties Real Estate Investment Trust’s Board of Trustees (1999-2001).
O’Neill Hotels & Resorts Ltd. is a leading Canadian hotel management company, recognized in 1998 by Foodservice & Hospitality Magazine as Canada’s fastest growing hotel company.
Today, O’Neill Hotels & Resorts and its subsidiaries operate a number of hotels throughout BC, including the Westin Whistler Resort and Spa, the Westin Grand Hotel and the Pacific Palisades Hotel in Vancouver, and the Residence Inn by Marriott in Whistler. John and his partner, Rob O’Neill, are also co-founders of Canadian Hotel Income Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CHIP REIT) and Coast Hotels and Resorts.
John is married to Leah and they have three children attending Collingwood School: Megan (Grade 12), Christopher (Grade 10), and Michael (Grade 4). His hobbies include reading and running, and he has successfully completed three marathons and six half-marathons since 2005.
