The third-generation hotelier is setting a new standard in luxury hospitality—seamlessly blending sustainability, personalized service, technology and local culture to create unforgettable experiences at her family-owned Grenadian resort.
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00:00Hey Essence fam, it's News and Politics Editor Melissa Noel and I'm here on the beautiful
00:12island of Grenada at Spice Island Beach Resort and today I have the honor and pleasure of
00:18sitting down with President and Managing Director of this beautiful resort, Janelle Hopkins.
00:25Today you'll have the opportunity to hear directly about her journey, a little bit more
00:28about Spice Island Beach Resort and what I love so much about being here and of course
00:34in Grenada.
00:35Janelle, it is so wonderful to finally have the opportunity to meet you, first of all,
00:43and to now be here with you, especially to chat for our Essence audience.
00:49I wanted to start off by just telling you that I have wanted to do this interview for
00:53two years.
00:54I appreciate that.
00:56Two years ago I remember sending a request but we couldn't make the timing work with
01:01the short time I had here in Grenada and of course your schedule, but I said, you know
01:05what, nothing before it's time.
01:07We finally made it work.
01:08Yes.
01:09And I'm honored.
01:10I'm absolutely honored.
01:12It's an honor to sit with you.
01:14It's an honor to be here at Spice Island Beach Resort.
01:16My first visit to Spice Island Beach Resort, so I'm happy to be here.
01:22Welcome.
01:23Welcome to the Spice family, like we like to say.
01:26And it's truly an honor to be here.
01:27I mean, we've kept in touch, but to finally meet you, yeah, absolutely fantastic.
01:34So I think the thing that I really would love to start this conversation off with is really
01:41speaking to the family legacy that exists here in the Spice family, how integral that
01:47is to everything that you do here.
01:50So talk to us a little bit about that family legacy here started by your dad.
01:54I'm a third generation hotelier.
01:56So my father grew up in a 10 bedroom hotel with his siblings, and he then went on to
02:01open his own hotel with his brothers.
02:05He walked away from that.
02:06And in 1987, he totally bought what we are at the time Spice Island Inn, and he named
02:13it Spice Island Beach Resort.
02:16And then I studied hospitality, so it's in my blood, and I studied it.
02:20I always knew I wanted to do it.
02:24And one of the things that, you know, the funny stories after graduating high school,
02:27my dad said to me, what do you want to do?
02:30And I said, I want to be like you.
02:31And he said, no, that doesn't work.
02:33That's not the answer.
02:34So he had me work at the age of 16 throughout the resort, go through all the departments
02:38and learn everything, lower level.
02:41And at the end of it, he said, so what do you want to do?
02:43And I said, I want to do this.
02:45So I did my bachelor's in hospitality in Switzerland.
02:49I did four years, graduated, and I came right back.
02:52But to speak to the legacy, he was one of the pioneers in the day, and he was knighted.
02:58He received honors for many things, tourism-wise, within the Caribbean.
03:02But his greatest achievement is Spice and what he created.
03:06At the time, when all-inclusives were known as large buffet-style concepts, he created
03:14and not personal.
03:15So he took the all-inclusive concept, and he made an ultra, at the time, modern, you
03:20know, five-star, four-star, all-inclusive hotel, which was something that was never
03:25seen before, very personalized, no buffets, one-to-one, 64 rooms, so much so that you
03:32don't pay any extras for bottled water or, you know, all-premium bar.
03:38And that's really where the legacy started with him.
03:41And then, of course, myself and my siblings joined him in the business over the years.
03:46And unfortunately, he passed away four years ago, nearly four years ago.
03:51But he planned, and I worked with him over the years, and in 2015, he named me his successor,
03:57which I thought was really key.
03:59So there was no surprise when he passed away.
04:02The trade knew, the press knew, the staff knew, the family knew that he would be, if
04:08should he not be here, I would take over the reins.
04:12So obviously, once he passed away, I became president and managing director, and I've
04:15been running the ship for the last four years.
04:19But the key to that word, legacy, and I think what's most important, and a lot of people
04:24say, what do you want to do differently?
04:26What is your intention?
04:27Obviously, we're a foundational brand, and I want to keep it that way, modernize it a
04:32bit.
04:33But I think modernize is a very loose word.
04:35To be honest, he and I are much alike.
04:38And the vision that he had, essentially the vision that I have.
04:42One, it's down to the personal touches in the hotel.
04:45Two, it's the fact that at the end of the day, I believe like he believes that everyone
04:50wants an understated beach vacation.
04:52So at the end of the day, that's what I'm delivering, an understated, elegant beach
04:56vacation, and it's down to the personal touches.
04:59And that's something, along with the team and the culture that we have here, you can't
05:03get anywhere else.
05:04So when people say, how do you intend to carry on the vision?
05:07I am carrying it on.
05:08I've put a stylish twist, a modern twist.
05:12You can call it many things.
05:13But at the end of the day, I believe in exactly what he believed in, and that is why the legacy
05:18is continuing.
05:19And no matter what changes I make, just like him, Grenada is my passion.
05:25And there's something called a sense of place, which I believe so much in.
05:28And so when you walk into the doors of Spice, you know where you are.
05:33You know you're in Grenada.
05:34You feel it.
05:35You smell it.
05:36You meet Grenadians.
05:38And so no matter what changes I do, it will always be at the base of everything that we
05:44are a true Grenadian hotel.
05:47And I like to say Grenadian excellence.
05:49We provide Grenadian excellence.
05:51So that pretty much is where I, that's how I tie in legacy to what I am doing today,
05:56basically.
05:57Yeah.
05:58And you and I, thank you so much for that beautiful timeline there.
06:03To add to your point about personal touches, just seeing like a little box of like mango
06:09chutney and some honey, nutmeg, just those little things really, and then a personalized
06:16note really make a difference.
06:18And it's something he started, and I've kept on the tradition, and I will continue to sign
06:23all the arrivals and all the cards.
06:25But we also want to move it forward a bit and start to leverage technology to use that
06:31so that we can connect and find out information about our guests before they even get here.
06:35And you can use it to find out more about them, how to enhance their stays on property,
06:39on the island.
06:40So no matter what we do, and no matter what I do to use technology, I would still always
06:45go right back to the fact that for me, a personalized note or a personalized card, where you've
06:51seen someone take the time to write it, means the absolute world.
06:54And that's what this vacation, a spice vacation, starts with.
06:58Yeah, so let's talk a little bit about technology and the way that you have put your stamp.
07:06Of course, as you said, you and your father are very much so alike, so you're continuing
07:10that.
07:11But what are some of the ways you've put your stamp on things and put more technology
07:15into the spice brand?
07:17We're starting with contracting our guests before they arrive, obviously.
07:22We're starting within the departments to connect all the departments, and it's something obviously
07:27that we never had before.
07:29So when I say leveraging technology, I like to say spice is a work in progress.
07:33So we're still a work in progress.
07:35But the fact is that we have to find that happy medium where you don't lose that personalized
07:40touch.
07:41But throughout all the departments, when they get here to the resort, we have all of the
07:45information before they arrive.
07:47We sit with them when they arrive.
07:50Even though we have the iPads, and even though we have the barcodes for the menus and the
07:54barcodes in the room, so we've taken away the guest directories, and we have little
07:59barcodes where you can access all the guest information.
08:02But we've still kept the pen and pad, because people still like to write.
08:06And we've still kept some printed directories, because we are open to everyone.
08:11Our guests come from all walks of life, all ages.
08:13So it's just finding that blend and balance of using both and still finding a way where
08:19your repeat clientele, who we have on average 45% throughout the year, they're still comfortable
08:25here.
08:26And your new guests, the more modern traveler, you can still give them what they're looking
08:31for.
08:32And that really goes back to my vision, in terms of my vision moving forward for Spice,
08:39in that I don't want to just be another luxury Caribbean vacation.
08:44I want it to be an extraordinary experience.
08:47I want it to be in a unique location, which it is, and with a distinct value proposition,
08:54which is basically unique, memorable, very distinct in terms of it's shaped by local
09:03culture, which I just spoke about, shaped by Grenadian culture.
09:08So I like to term it as we are becoming that definitive 21st century Caribbean retreat.
09:16And I always end with shaped by local culture.
09:19I love that you said Caribbean retreat.
09:21Yeah.
09:22Yeah.
09:23It's a nice escape.
09:24I like to call it a retreat.
09:25It's an escape from the world, which is what Grenada and Spice offers.
09:28And Grenada as an island still offers what a lot of islands don't anymore.
09:32The fact that it's so truly authentic, that you feel like you are actually on an island,
09:38no matter where you go.
09:39And the people make, they feel the deal.
09:41So, I mean, you know that.
09:43Definitely.
09:44That's why I'm always here.
09:48To the point where, like, when I land, sometimes they're like, you're here again?
09:52Welcome home.
09:53Hi.
09:54You need a Grenadian passport.
09:55I'm told they're working on it.
09:57So we shall see.
09:58We shall see.
09:59Yeah.
10:00So you gave me a little bit about how you're balancing tradition and innovation.
10:05And I love, you know, that while you expand with technology, you still are making sure
10:10that there are those personalized touches.
10:13Talk to me a little bit about how guests are able to experience, of course, with the
10:19staff, they experience local Grenadian hospitality and people, but just what are some of the
10:23other touches throughout the Spice family experience that we get?
10:27I mean, it starts off with, like you mentioned, the arrival gift.
10:29You have spices, yes, of course.
10:33Many of them have macaroons, but my mandate is it should be cinnamon, nutmeg, or a local
10:39flavor, Grenadian chocolate.
10:40We've now started doing muscle rub made locally.
10:44We have avocado sunscreen made locally.
10:47We have sea moth made locally.
10:48So for me, you can have macaroons or chocolates anywhere in the world, but it has to be specific
10:54to Spice.
10:55And what we're really pushing now is even to get our own scent.
10:59We've contacted someone locally.
11:01She had chosen it.
11:03She's given us the bottle.
11:05So every arrival now will also have your own scent that's made specifically for Spice,
11:11made locally and with Grenadian scents, et cetera.
11:15And to me, that's how you start it.
11:16It's a wow factor, the arrival amenity, when you get into the room.
11:20The team makes up what the resort is and the culture.
11:23They very much feel like they are a part of Spice and a part of the family.
11:28And the fact that my father passed away, there was a shift in leadership.
11:34All of my management is still here.
11:36The majority of the staff are still here if it wasn't for COVID.
11:39And they have, they're on that train with me, which makes a big difference.
11:43So you have people come in here for lunch and you see the same faces.
11:47You have repeat guests come in and you see the same faces.
11:49The menus, yes, we do fine dining menus, but you have to use your Callaloo.
11:55We don't have strawberries and blueberries on the menu.
11:57You have to taste Grenada.
12:00And I like to say, I said to the chef the other day, you need to give me oil down deconstructed.
12:05So yes, we all have oil down.
12:07We know how to have it.
12:08We go out and we enjoy it.
12:09How can I give it to my guests every day in a deconstructed or oil down 5.0, you'd like
12:15to say, so that they can experience that every day, so to taste Grenada.
12:20And in terms of activities, we do a lot of blend.
12:24We don't do cocktails anymore.
12:25I stopped doing the typical guest cocktail party.
12:29On a Thursday, we have activities.
12:31It's called Spice Fit Day.
12:32We do yoga.
12:33We do jogging.
12:35We do sunset walks or morning walks where the managers, some of the staff join the guests.
12:40So we actually start from here.
12:42We have a trainer.
12:43We have music in the car park.
12:45We work out.
12:46We warm up and then we go all the way to quarantine point.
12:49We stretch.
12:50We take pictures, Instagrammable moments.
12:52And then we come back down.
12:54There is a bus and there's water and there's a first aid kit just in case.
12:58And that, to me, is a better way, my way of interacting with your management and your
13:04guests and your staff.
13:05At Easter, we all go kite flying.
13:07We go to the golf course.
13:08We have a lot of families in house, for instance, and we invite all of the staff and their kids.
13:13So they come with their kids.
13:14Their kids meet the guests and their kids.
13:16And that way, they're getting to meet Grenadians.
13:20We involve a lot of our guests in the Storyson Hopkins Foundation, which he started a scholarship
13:26fund, and I've made it into a foundation.
13:29So we've adopted the home for the abandoned and abused kids, the Queen Elizabeth home.
13:33We've adopted the Grenad Fossey School.
13:35Then not only do we give scholarships, the guests go to school.
13:39They do homework.
13:40They help us to paint.
13:42On Earth Day, we go down and we plant.
13:44Every two weeks, we take the guests down and we teach the kids about taking care of the
13:49earth, watering the plants.
13:51So we do various things because what I have noticed, it's about the experience.
13:55People are not just coming to lie down on the beach.
13:58And that's something that Grand Dance gives them as well.
14:01You can sit on the beach and meet the locals.
14:03You can engage.
14:05They no longer ask you, can we go to a fine dining restaurant on island?
14:08They want to eat in people's homes.
14:10They want to feel that connection to people.
14:13And for me, that starts when you arrive here.
14:16And it's a feeling.
14:18There's hotels all over the world and there's family-run hotels all over the world.
14:23But we have developed a culture.
14:24It's a feeling.
14:25It's a sense.
14:26When you leave, you miss it.
14:28You connect with it.
14:29If you look at our Facebook page, most of our guests are interacting with a lot of our
14:34staff.
14:35Sometimes a lot of our staff know that the guests are coming before us because they're
14:38Facebook friends.
14:39And it's about that connection.
14:41And I think that in itself is you're understanding and getting a feel of what Grenada is.
14:47Yeah.
14:47And thank you so much for mentioning those specific things.
14:49So that brings me like perfectly into the next question, which has to do with a lot
14:53of our readers really zero in on wellness and embracing local culture, wanting to ensure
15:02that they're not only enjoying their vacation, but also giving back to local communities.
15:07So particularly for Black travelers who are looking to not only engage in local culture,
15:13but for Black women, they have their girlfriend getaways.
15:16There might be the Historically Black Colleges and Universities that do their retreats.
15:24With this shift that we're seeing with travelers who want more of that, how can or how does
15:31a brand like Spice Island Beach Resort engage with those specific travelers?
15:36Yeah, that is definitely a trend now.
15:38And we do have a lot of Black girlfriend groups.
15:41We do have a lot of the American travelers who seek us out online.
15:47I don't avidly market to be a Black-owned property.
15:51I think once you research us, you will see that.
15:54We do have maybe about 10 to 12 percent and growing of and they've become repeat guests
15:59who they come back and they arrive and they've come here because it's Black-owned and they
16:04only want to eat at a Black-owned hotel.
16:07They only want to wear clothes made by someone who is Black-owned.
16:12I think in the Caribbean, it's obviously a little different.
16:15We didn't have to deal with as many things as those in the U.S. did.
16:20And it's a little different.
16:21But again, we had girlfriend groups come in.
16:25We send them to the spa.
16:27Even at our spa, we do, for instance, they can get their weave done or their braids done.
16:33They don't need to go to the beach to do that.
16:35So we do all that here.
16:36We send them on the foodie tours where they can connect with each other and they can meet
16:41the locals.
16:42We do yoga for them with a lot of the local yoga instructors.
16:48Of course, I'm aware that we are an independently owned hotel, five-star hotel, locally owned,
16:53Black-owned.
16:54It's not something that you see often.
16:57Yeah.
16:57So it's about getting the message out there and the right message out there, I believe.
17:02During the keynote that you recently gave at the State of the Tourism Industry Conference,
17:06you talked about people being at the heart of tourism.
17:10I want to expand upon that a little bit because you made some really amazing points about
17:14people being at the heart of that sustainability and people being at the heart of the experience.
17:19So just in the spice touch that we see in that people interaction.
17:25Yeah, I mean, the theme of the conference was the lifeblood of the Caribbean, but people
17:30are the lifeblood of hotels and the hospitality industry.
17:35And I think we already do it here, which is most of the things that have just been explained
17:39and the fact that it's a one-on-one.
17:41We greet all of our arrivals and departures.
17:44We say goodbye.
17:45If it's not myself, it's the manager, the staff, engage the guests.
17:49If you don't like what's on the dinner menu, you can pre-order.
17:53If you would like to have oil down tomorrow, you let us know.
17:57We will do it for you.
17:59At the end of the day, even with the employees, they, like I said, are a part of and feel
18:04that they are a part of.
18:05And that really is the base of what hospitality is.
18:09It's a people's business.
18:11And I think in many instances, people are, how do I say, running hotels or anyone could
18:17run a hotel, but not everyone can be a hotelier.
18:20And there's a big difference.
18:22And the whole notion of hospitality, I feel like it's been lost in a lot of areas.
18:26And it goes right back down to coming into a resort on an island and knowing the island
18:33that you're on and feeling that sense of place.
18:36It all comes back to people and how you connect with them.
18:39And I think as much as we use technology and we want to integrate technology, I will always
18:44be adamant that we have to still incorporate people into it.
18:50We're a people-to-people industry.
18:52Yeah, absolutely.
18:53Absolutely.
18:54And those little touches and thinking about those things definitely makes a huge difference.
19:00And it's so noticeable immediately.
19:02It makes a big difference.
19:04I always speak about the day, the period when my father passed.
19:08And it was a tough time for them, the staff.
19:11And everyone said, how did you survive?
19:13It was the month of February.
19:13It was the busiest time of year.
19:16And they all got up, came to work, served the coffee, served the breakfast.
19:21And it's something that I think was instilled in all of us from him, that the show must
19:25go on.
19:26People are here for an experience and a vacation.
19:29And we have to deliver that.
19:31So no matter what happens, and I say that to the team all the time, no matter what happens,
19:35you've got to come in and boots on the ground, and the show has to go on.
19:39And that's how they got through that period.
19:41And that was instilled, I think, in all of us.
19:45At the end of the day, it's the blood.
19:47It's the blood.
19:48It's an interesting word to use, but made sense.
19:51Yeah.
19:51And I totally make sense.
19:54So now shifting to you a little bit now, being in this demanding role in the tourism industry,
20:03it's not easy.
20:06It requires a lot of your time, a lot of travel.
20:09How do you create balance for yourself?
20:12What are the ways that you unwind and have your sacred space of time?
20:17I will be very honest and say I am still trying to find the balance.
20:21But that is on me, totally on me.
20:23I absolutely love everything about what I do.
20:27When I travel, I'm engaging with people.
20:31It's a people to people.
20:32I'm not sitting at a desk or a conference all the time.
20:35I absolutely love it.
20:37The hardest part, and I don't want to say the hardest part, would be to balance being a mother
20:42and working the amount of hours that I do or traveling.
20:47And that's because it's the type of mother that I want to be because I have help.
20:50I have a village that is there for me.
20:53But I honestly, you just get up and do it.
20:56You just get up and get it done because I love it.
20:59And most days, most weekends, I say I'm going to stay home.
21:02Sundays, I'm going to stay home.
21:04My car drives here.
21:06I am here.
21:08I may be in my shorts.
21:09I may be scheduled not to be here, but I'm around because where else would I be?
21:16I grew up here.
21:17My heart is here.
21:18I say to people, I have one son and 220 kids, which is the team at Spice.
21:25And I tell them that all the time.
21:26Every time someone says, are you going to have more kids?
21:29And I say, no, I have 220, and I have a six-year-old.
21:33So that is enough.
21:34But with any business and business owner, that's how I see myself.
21:39It's challenging.
21:40And the challenge comes from running a business in a hotel in this day and age,
21:44after COVID, after the pandemic.
21:47One of the hardest things for me, this is the Eid period.
21:50The hardest period was the fact that my father passed away four weeks before the world shut down.
21:56So I took over the reins, and he passed away on the 22nd of February,
22:01and we shut down on the 23rd of March.
22:04So that year was a tough one for me, mentally, emotionally, physically.
22:10But I put two feet on the ground, and I had to stand up and be there for the team.
22:14We were all going through it together.
22:16So this is the easy part.
22:17Running the hotel, so to speak, is the easy part.
22:21I survived that year and a half.
22:22And I say to people, anything.
22:24I can take anything right now.
22:26But I think you have to really love this business to be in it.
22:31And I had every opportunity to walk away.
22:37Obviously, I knew I would take over.
22:38But I didn't think I would take over at the age of 35 when I did, with a one and a half year old.
22:43And there wasn't a question in my mind.
22:44So get in the car, we're going up.
22:46And I'm thankful to have the village that I have here to help with that.
22:51I have our general manager.
22:53He's been with us for 24 years.
22:55Most of the team at that level have been with us for 20.
22:58And so you have that support.
23:02And they are supporting me because they realize that this is everything to me.
23:08It's ingrained in me.
23:09And I need to see this through.
23:10It's my legacy.
23:11It's my son's legacy.
23:13So the only challenge is just running a business with everyone else.
23:17A lot of persons ask me, is it more challenging being a woman?
23:22I haven't had to face any issues with that.
23:24I haven't felt like I've been treated differently or something was a little easier or harder.
23:29Because it's just the day-to-day challenges of running a hotel and a business.
23:37Well, last couple of questions here.
23:39Absolutely.
23:39Almost through.
23:40But every time I see your photos or videos, I see the amazing outfits.
23:46And so I wanted to ask you a question about how would you describe your personal style?
23:54Wow, never been asked that one before.
23:59You know, it's changed and it's evolved.
24:03I've become a lot more relaxed and effortless in my style and my sense of style in the last year.
24:10I think initially, I wanted, I tried to, or I conformed to what should be.
24:18You know, you go to a conference and you go to specific things.
24:22And you have to wear a jacket or a blazer.
24:26In the last two years, I think I've developed my own.
24:29I wear a lot of linen.
24:30It's very effortless.
24:32But the one thing that I do know is that you have to dress for success.
24:36That is, no matter what you do, as much as people say that it's not really about
24:42what you wear and how you look, it is how you carry yourself.
24:45And you have to dress for success.
24:48So I don't have an answer to that one.
24:50It sounds, you definitely answered it.
24:53You definitely answered it.
24:54You told me how your style has evolved and how you've come into your own.
24:59And it reminds me a lot about, it reminded me of myself a bit.
25:04Because for so long in the news business, I always was like, okay, well,
25:08must have the hair like bone straight, must wear the dress, the blazer.
25:13And if I'm not doing that, that's fine.
25:15And now I'm just like, well, I want to bring a little bit of Caribbean essence into things.
25:19I want to be colorful and that kind of thing.
25:21I think you have to dress, not to your mood, but depending on where I'm going.
25:27I wear what I feel suits the occasion.
25:30It may not suit everyone else, but you have to be happy with how you look.
25:35And that brings on confidence as well.
25:38And that transcends down to people that are around you as well.
25:41Absolutely.
25:42And as you said, dressing for success, no matter where you go, because you are your
25:47calling card.
25:49I would always speak about my father, but the first time I moved to Grenada and I went,
25:54he was taking me to the bank, maybe to get a loan, to get a car,
25:58because he never bought me my first car.
26:00Clearly I haven't gotten over it.
26:02And I walked out the house in gym sneakers and sweatpants at the age of 20 at the time.
26:09And he was like, absolutely not.
26:10You don't go to the bank dressed like that.
26:12You dress for success.
26:14You go into the bank.
26:15It's a serious, you know.
26:17I always remember that.
26:18I always remember that.
26:20My grandmother was a dressmaker and she used to make me press my skirt and my shirt.
26:29And she's like, you have to look a certain way.
26:31There is the same thing.
26:32I'm like, okay, great.
26:35That kind of experience that we have gotten, it's hard to get that anymore.
26:40Yeah, this is true.
26:43So there are many women that may look to you and see the role that you play here,
26:50not only at Spice Island Beach Resort,
26:52but just in the tourism industry and as a woman in leadership.
26:55I want to know how can they follow in your footsteps
27:00or how can they achieve even a quarter of what you have?
27:03What would your advice be for someone, whether it's in the hospitality industry or any industry,
27:09to other women who are maybe not necessarily struggling, but just trying to find their path?
27:16Yeah, well, first of all, you need to find that path and you need to ensure that it's for you.
27:21Like I said, I couldn't do this if I didn't absolutely love it.
27:24And you have to be dedicated.
27:27Nothing, success doesn't come overnight.
27:29And like I rightly said, I had a choice.
27:32I could have said, nah, I could have been on the beach all day.
27:37I could have just wandered around.
27:39But you have to really be dedicated.
27:40And I always say, even as a business owner or in any role that you take,
27:44you've got to be in your business.
27:46So you've got to be 100% in the role that you're in.
27:50If you want to open a restaurant, a beach bar, a rum shop, you've got to be there.
27:54You've got to put your stamp on it.
27:56And I think people tend to want to find that so-called balance.
28:01So a lot of people have a new job or they've taken on more responsibility,
28:06but they still want their weekends off.
28:07Or they still want a lot of the other things that they term to be balance.
28:13The balance can come after.
28:14You have to find the new balance for what you've taken on,
28:17which is what I did in the first few years.
28:19And now things are more settled.
28:21I travel a lot more.
28:22I get out.
28:23You find your peace, but then you come back.
28:25And I just love boots on the ground.
28:27You put your boots on the ground and you keep going.
28:30But if you don't have the dedication and the commitment, then...
28:34It won't happen.
28:35It won't happen.
28:36It won't happen.
28:37And you have to enjoy what you do.
28:39And that's why people say to me, will you encourage your son?
28:42You know, you're building his legacy.
28:45I would never because I don't want it to be a case where
28:49the expectation is that he comes into the hospitality industry and then he doesn't love it.
28:53He doesn't like football, but he's great at it.
28:55His dad is a great footballer.
28:57So from the age of two, I've had him on the field pushing, pushing.
29:00And after a year, I just stopped because he's great and he kicks the ball,
29:04but he does it without any spice, without any happiness.
29:08And I think that is the concept that we need to use, you know, dedication.
29:12Dedication, for sure.
29:13And you have to love it.
29:15What is a memory that you have here or a recent one with a,
29:21whether it's with an interaction with the guests or something with your staff
29:24that sticks out in your mind?
29:26We actually had the first ever staff award gala.
29:30We usually do it here on property.
29:32So this last April, we had our first off property gala.
29:37Massive.
29:38It's edged in my memory because usually we just do something in the conference room.
29:42And I said, you know what?
29:44They need to get dressed up.
29:45They need to shake a leg.
29:46So we did it when the hotel wasn't that busy.
29:49And it went from 7 a.m.
29:507 p.m.
29:51So we had a gala dinner dance.
29:53And for those who had to work because the hotel was open,
29:56we did an oil dong and a fish waters part at 11 p.m.
30:00So they came after.
30:01And the DJ, I think, played until 4 a.m.
30:04But sitting there in that room with them and connecting with them
30:07and seeing the smiles on their faces, getting up on that stage.
30:12And they went all out, like men and women.
30:15I mean, they made me proud.
30:16They went to town on their outfits.
30:19And they were so proud.
30:20They were so happy to be working with us and at a place like that.
30:24And to sit in that room with my family and close friends and all of them.
30:27And that, to me, sticks out in my mind.
30:30Mind you, they're all asking for it every year.
30:32But that sticks out to me.
30:34The period during COVID where you had to send people home.
30:40But then you had about 10, including the GM, who just showed up
30:44the day after the hotel was shut and the country was shut,
30:47who messaged and said, we're going to come in.
30:50We can still come in.
30:51There was no discussion about salary.
30:53The hotel was closed.
30:55But they showed up.
30:56And because this is their love.
30:58And there are instances in that period that I remember.
31:02And with the guests, just before I went to Cayman, there's a family.
31:07My son befriended the little girl.
31:09And they're from New York.
31:11Maybe they came twice last year.
31:13And they're about to do their fourth trip this year.
31:16And they wanted a play date.
31:17I said, OK, I'll bring him up to the pool.
31:19And I ended up going home, changing out of my work clothes.
31:22And I was in the pool with them.
31:24Cocktails, drinking, playing.
31:26And it's etched in my mind.
31:27Because to me, that is very much who I am and who Spice is.
31:30The fact that it doesn't have to be a cocktail party.
31:33I would go to the beach on a Sunday with Royston.
31:36And I would see them, other families and couples.
31:39And I would engage them.
31:40But just relaxing by the pool with people I now call my friends.
31:46In my swimsuit, drinking cocktails.
31:48And the kids are playing.
31:50And that, to me, is everything that I am.
31:53And it's everything that Spice is.
31:55And the fact that I can do that.
31:57I love the fact that I have the ability and the leeway to do it.
32:00Yeah, those are experiences that money can't buy.
32:03I bet it is.
32:04Yeah, we have a lot of fun.
32:06We have a lot of fun with the team.
32:08When I travel, I miss them.