THE GBQ PODCAST
‘It’s hospitality. It’s not service. Anyone can serve a cup of tea. It’s how you serve it’.
Rusacks St Andrews is one of the world’s most famous golf hotels. But it is not just the Old Course setting that defines its reputation, as general manager Seamus Coen reveals
Rusacks St Andrews isn’t just a hotel – it’s a destination. A place where thousands of photographs are taken every year against the breathtaking backdrop of the Old Course.
It is not just a picture-perfect view. What makes this hotel so iconic comes from more than bricks-and-mortar. It’s about the memorable way it makes people feel.
And that, says general manager Seamus Coen, is built on leadership.
“Leadership is key to any organisation,” he told Sarah Stirk on The GBQ Podcast. “In hospitality, it’s critical. I keep it very simple. When I interview people for my team, we look at attitude first and foremost.”
He added: “I remember 20 years ago, I was interviewing for a director of sales. I was working at the Marine Hotel, in North Berwick. A car pulled in and it was about five minutes before the interview.
“A man got out and he ran across the street to come and interview me. I knew at that stage, ‘this is the guy I want’, because he already showed me he cared.
“He wanted to be on time and he turned out to be a very good friend of mine, but it’s all about willingness to go the extra mile.”
At Rusacks, leadership means empowerment and action. “If something doesn’t go right, or the expectations aren’t there initially, let’s fix it,” Coen explained.
“Let’s put a smile on someone’s face because what I have learned in my 25 years within the industry is if you can turn a negative into a positive, you have a customer for life and I have so many friends within the industry, so many VIP clients, so many regular clients, and it’s all about that smile.”
“So when you come to the Rusacks, the answer is ‘yes’ – before the question comes through. We’re going to make it happen.”
Attention to detail might seem small to outsiders, but for Coen, it’s the foundation of a leadership strategy that’s much bigger.
“We take guests into the room. We get them checked in. Our concierge would walk around the hotel with them, show them where everything is, take them up to the room, go through the room – all the little touches.
“Show them where the air conditioning unit is, how to work the TV and the bathroom area. They come down and they know all the facilities.
“But then it’s hospitality. It’s not service. Anyone can serve a cup of tea. It’s how you serve it. It’s how you speak to the person. ‘How was your day? How did you get on today on the Old Course?’
“We give our guys as much knowledge as we can about the golf course and the area, so when a customer does ask for something, they get the answer.
“And if we don’t know the answer, we’ll come back to you very quickly on that. That’s the way I leave it with the guys who run it.
“My job is just to bring everybody together. I hire the right people. I give them the vision and I always say, ‘your job is to make yourself look good’. And they do.”
Coen’s approach has brought Rusacks St Andrews a series of awards since reopening after an extensive multi-million-pound redevelopment that was completed in 2021, most recently the double success of Best 5* Hotel and Best Hotel Restaurant at the 2025 Scottish Prestige Hotel Awards.
That success, he explained, is driven by team culture. “We’ve been very fortunate since we reopened the hotel,” he said. “We’ve won numerous awards and that’s all down to the team.
“They want it. We have customer surveys and we have audits. The team are challenging me. ‘How did we do this week?’, ‘We’re number one. OK great.’
“And if we’re number two, what can we do to be back at number one? So it’s all about the team. It’s the can-do attitude – with a smile, no stuffiness, no pretence. This is your home. We’re here to look after you.”
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