• Beginning his career as a bell hop in Boston, Mass, O'Rourke had hands on experience in all departments of full service hotels, including sales and marketing, rooms, food and beverage, housekeeping, engineering and accounting. Becoming a General Manager at the age of 28, he established a reputation as a “turn around” operator and managed a variety of full service hotels, including the opening of a newly constructed Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia, Penn., in which he defeated several union organizing attempts.

• 1974-1976

As an Operations Manager with Playboy Hotels and Clubs International, was responsible for the General Management of the Montreal and Los Angeles Playboy Clubs. The Los Angeles Club was the newest, largest, and highest volume Club in the division.

• 1976-1980

While serving as Vice President and General Manager of the Airport Park Hotel for Hotel Management International, was also Vice President and Director of Development for Hotel Management, Inc, the American subsidiary of the parent company based in London, U.K. In this capacity he was responsible for all activities of the U.S. based Management Company, which included seeking out and negotiating hotel acquisitions and management contracts.

During this same period, he was asked to consult on management and marketing aspects of company managed hotels and resorts in the Gambia, West Africa... Malawi, Central Africa... Nairobi, East Africa... and the islands of Mahe and Praslin in the Seychelles, East Africa, requiring on site management for each property.

• 1981-1985

As Executive Vice President and Director Of Operations for International Innkeepers, he participated in the acquisition of the Airport Park Hotel in Los Angeles, and was a managing partner in that project.

• 1986-1996

In late 1985, he relocated to South Florida to establish his own Hospitality Management Company, which operated under the Corporate name of Bentley Hospitality Group, DBA/ O'Rourke & Company. The following hotels and resorts were managed under contract between 1986 and 1993.

The Best Western Oceanside Inn

The Jolly Roger Resort

The Bahia Harbor Beach Inn

The Riviera Resort Hotel

The Desert Inn At 29 Palms

The Clewiston Inn

The Palms Resort On The Ocean

Best Western Lake Placid Inn

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Hallandale, Florida

29 Palms, California

Clewiston, Florida

Bal Harbour, Florida

Lake Placid, Florida

• In 1993, O’Rourke added the brokering of Hotels, Resorts, and Marinas to the range of services offered to his clients. During this same period he spearheaded, as a team member, the creation of a new resort “concept”, designed to fill a market niche in the Caribbean Basin. The concept is called “CrewsInns International.” The prototype was completed at Chaguaramas Bay in Trinidad, W.I. and is called “ CrewsInn Marina and Boatyard.”

• With his diverse operations and marketing background he is always interested in new challenges, and relocated to Las Vegas in 1996. For two years he worked in commercial real estate as a hotel and resort dealmaker, while studying the Gaming industry. In 1998 he partnered with the owners of a small Casino in Northern Nevada. Utilizing his hospitality industry background, he built a Best Western Inn, which upgraded the facility to a full service resort. While directing the development of the Inn as an equity participant, he managed the Casino, doubled the number of slot machines, installed live table games, and added a franchised Race and Sport Book. The Best Western Inn at Topaz Lake opened on June 22, 2000.

After selling the project in 2002, O’Rourke returned to Southern California and his favorite industry challenges...General management, Hotel rebranding and repositioning, and Hotel & Resort real estate brokering.