I leverage my success in different ways, but mostly I bring goodness to this world by encouraging people to recognise our shared humanity and becoming the best versions of themselves. I do this by educating others and understanding that there is a bigger picture. I believe I have inspired others through motivation, whether I’m helping employees find equality in the workplace or talking about life in general. It all centers on my core values and that critical human element. As a hospitality professional, I consider sharing my story with others who are discovering their own journey, inspiring them to reach for greatness, as using my success for good.
As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindon Lovel, General Manager at Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort.
Lindon Lovell is a luxury boutique hotelier with over 15 years experience in the industry. He holds an extensive background in elevating guest experiences, optimizing revenue growth, and improving profitability for top-rated boutique hotels in the Caribbean. Lindon joined Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort in January 2022 as General Manager, and oversees day-to-day operations, including management of the hotel’s leadership team and more than 500 hotel employees. Lindon has the innate ability to discover a resort’s untapped potential and has a strong passion for turning around underutilized assets and improving service standing across all operations.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path? Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
At the beginning of my career, I worked as a waiter for a resort that was undergoing an expansion at the time. The owner offered me a tour of the construction site to give me an idea of what the resort will look like and answer any questions I had about his career so far. It was very surreal, but it highlighted to me that everyone deserves to be listened to no matter their position.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
When I first started off in the industry, I was a busboy. One day, I was asked to make a cappuccino. I was very confident, and I thought I had made the best cappuccino ever, only to be told “What the heck is this?” I wished the ground opened that day and swallowed me.
That experience humbled me. From that day forward, I was determined to master the art of cappuccino making. One of the resort’s chefs was gracious enough to assist me. I made a cappuccino every day for him until I was told ‘job well done’. Since then, I’ve taken a humble approach to everything, especially career wise. I think having a modest and diligent attitude helps me to further advance in the hospitality sector.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Honestly, it is difficult to name one person. There are many people who have helped me to achieve success throughout my career. I can think of a few: Andrew Zephirin, Wilbert Mason, Karl Bourne and Nick Prattas. They are all people that helped sharpen and create the path for where I am today. I am grateful for their insightful guidance and heartfelt support.
One day, I was at the hostess podium and the General Manager at that time was doing his rounds checking on everyone. He passed by and asked how my evening was. He then proceeded to ask about my career plans, and I informed him that I wanted to be a General Manager one day. He commended me and said my goal was certainly achievable. He gave me such great advice that evening. He helped me realise that it all starts with noticing the details. “For instance,” he said, “Look at that flower on the table, it’s not centered, let’s fix it.” We centered the arrangement. He commended me once again and said, “trust me, you are well on your way to becoming a general manager.” From that moment, I learnt how important those seemingly minute details are, even ensuring that the flower was centered. To this day, that stuck with me.
Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?
I am a strong proponent of the development of the human resource element in our industry. People are at the core of our sector, and I am passionate about enhancing the skills of our current and future hospitality leaders. I have implemented both career and personal development initiatives that serve the purpose of creating a paradigm shift. Imagine what can be accomplished if we were not afraid of change and were given the right tools for success in our respective fields. These training initiatives are tailored to develop and refine both the natural and latent talents of our teams. A stronger, vibrant, emotionally intelligent team that isn’t afraid of the ebb and flow of change will often equate to a team that is proficient in creating a customer-centric elevated experience by virtue of their ability to adapt. After all, this is fundamentally why we are in business, to curate exceptional experiences for our guests.
Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?
In today’s business climate, with the diversity of services and the rapid growth of technology along with its effect on our economy and society, consumers today are hyper-aware and very selective with their purchases. It is becoming increasingly difficult to “close the sale” and retain your customer. For this reason, it is imperative that we as leaders keep our fingers on the pulse and provide our team members with the necessary training tools to keep them current with recent and developing service trends, standards, and best practices. Equipping them with the tools required to better engage our ever-evolving guests and manage their overall experiences will also help keep the team motivated, efficient, innovative and reduce employee turnover.
How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?
I envision this might disrupt the status quo because change and the prospect of having to learn new standards frequently can be daunting for some. However, I am of the view that when you can help people recognise the advantages of buying into change and how this benefits them, that is when the true magic happens.
As you know, COVID19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share examples of how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?
1. Covid-19 has taught us that health is our true wealth. Travel & Hospitality companies will need to continue emphasising health, safety and wellness offerings. For example, digital tools will continue to enable and expand existing contactless options. Hotels will also need to accelerate their investments in contactless technologies, such as biometrics, gesture controls, and automation, and personalise digital interactions. Companies will also need to continuously create new and appealing travel experiences focusing not just on safety, but on the entire wellbeing of people learning to manage stressors resulting from the pandemic.
2. The evolution of our travelers’ needs has accelerated major pre-Covid-19 industry trends. We have seen a major shift towards digital and mobile platforms, increased environmental impact awareness, and a shift in our food and beverage norms. Travel and Hospitality companies will have to continue to not just make travel safer, but better, faster, and more seamless. We will have to continue to redesign our travel experiences, remembering that the pre-covid pain points have not fully gone away. Airports, for example, will have to continue to rethink their customer experiences, adopting a more holistic contactless operation. Housekeeping services within a hotel will need to be continuously adjusted for safety and environmental impact concerns; for example: less frequent laundering of sheets during each guest stay can reduce cost and give guests more flexibility by giving them more control over their housekeeping schedule. Food and Beverage will need to ensure full compliance for all heath, safe and HACCP practice.
You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?
That’s easy! I absolutely love to travel. My perfect vacation experience would be on a Pacific Island lounging in an overwater bungalow enjoying breathtaking views of turquoise waters, magical sunsets, whilst the cool breeze rustles through the palm trees. I am a huge foodie and I love adventure. I just cannot imagine my perfect vacation without sampling exceptional cuisine and fully immersing myself in the destination’s culture and lifestyles of the native people. Whether that means enjoying a meal at a fine dining restaurant or at a local restaurant, riding jet skis across the open waves or snorkeling with sharks and stingrays. The ultimate vacation experience would provide me the opportunity to unwind, re-energise and realign balance to my mind, body and soul.
Travel is not always about escaping, but about connecting. Have you made efforts to cultivate a more wellness driven experience? We’d love to hear about it.
Most definitely. We have created new wellness packages and experiences: detox, immunity, weight loss and full moon ritual. These all include spa treatments as well as personalised nutrition plans. We have also expanded our yoga offerings to now include hummingbird yoga and we are currently working on a line of detox juices to roll out in the upcoming months. There’s so much more to come…
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things one should know in order to create a travel experience that keeps bringing people back for more? Please share a story or an example for each.
Travel is all about memories created by the soft values. When we create bespoke experiences through people, our greatest asset, visitors remember our locations and businesses fondly and this drives their desire to return.
The five things I would suggest one should focus on:
- Provide genuinely warm, consistent service, while also keeping the product consistent.
- Exceed a visitor’s expectations wherever feasible; resolve their issues speedily.
- Create unique soft touches or experiences within the travel business.
- Be observant of visitor needs, pay attention to small details, and treat these as critical to their overall experience.
- Always work to bring out the best from team members, boosting their happiness, while creating effective teamwork and accountability.
I think remaining consistent in all of the above areas is the key to retaining our existing guests as well as encouraging new ones, which would result in increased referrals.
Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I leverage my success in different ways, but mostly I bring goodness to this world by encouraging people to recognise our shared humanity and becoming the best versions of themselves. I do this by educating others and understanding that there is a bigger picture. I believe I have inspired others through motivation, whether I’m helping employees find equality in the workplace or talking about life in general. It all centers on my core values and that critical human element. As a hospitality professional, I consider sharing my story with others who are discovering their own journey, inspiring them to reach for greatness, as using my success for good.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
If I could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, it would be to create a charity to inspire and empower the youth across the Caribbean.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Linkedin — LindonLovell
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!