Travel Trends with Dan Christian
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Travel Trends with Dan Christian
Special Hospitality Series: The First FTG Five-Star Hotel in the Seychelles
Imagine stepping off a small turboprop plane onto a pristine island less than a mile long, where coconut trees sway in gentle breezes and sea turtles nest undisturbed along protected shores. Welcome to the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island, where luxury meets untouched nature in perfect harmony.
Join us for the latest episode of our Special Hospitality Series in collaboration with Forbes Travel Guide, where we shine a light on one of the "Leaders Behind the Stars"—Mark Basaloga, Resort Manager at Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island.
Mark takes us behind the scenes of this extraordinary property that earned Forbes Travel Guide's first Five-Star rating in the Seychelles just one year after opening.
Experience the extraordinary magic of Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island for yourself – where luxury meets conservation, disconnection leads to deeper connection, and authentic experiences create memories that last a lifetime.
We will be releasing new episodes every Thursday—don’t miss this exceptional 10-part series featuring hospitality leaders from Beverly Hills to the Seychelles.
Season 5 Launched Jan 15th. New Episodes Every Weds! Check out our first 4 Seasons.
https://www.traveltrendspodcast.com/
It's really great to have an event like this Summit, as you said, indeed, it's the peak, it's the top of the mountain, top of the hill which finally gives us luxury hoteliers an opportunity or platform to connect and not to be in the competitive sets, but rather to be allies, to be partners and really think together and get actually inspiration. What else can we do collectively, together, in order to bring our industry to the next heights?
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome back to our special hospitality series in partnership with our friends at Forbes Travel Guide. This is your host, dan Christian, and we're continuing our conversation highlighting the leaders behind the stars. All of these interviews were recorded live at the summit in Monaco this year. We have been highlighting a number of hotel GMs from around the world. In our last few conversations we went from the south of France to Italy, to Tuscany on last week's episode, and today we're headed to the Seychelles. We're going to be speaking to Mark Basalaga, who is the director of operations at an absolutely extraordinary resort, the Waldorf Astoria, seychelles, platte Island. They are a new Forbes travel guide five star hotel and the very first in the Seychelles, so I'm so excited to bring you this conversation with Mark.
Speaker 2:Don't forget we are posting clips and highlights on our social channels, at Forbes Travel Guide as well as at Travel Trends, so be sure to check those out on LinkedIn, instagram and YouTube. And then we also send out a monthly newsletter to round up the series for the month. So make sure that you register for that at TravelTrendsPodcastcom. Series for the month. So make sure that you register for that at TravelTrendsPodcastcom. Now we are going into episodes eight, nine and 10 after this, as this is a 10 part series, and so I definitely want to encourage you guys to subscribe to be updated on the new episodes, because their next three episodes are going to feature a number of individuals from across the Forbes Travel Guide community. But today we have the distinct pleasure of welcoming one more hotel GM and a true leaders behind the stars to the Special Hospitality Series, and I just want to welcome Mark. So great to have you here. I've not been to the Seychelles I can't wait to go but it's terrific to sit down and have the opportunity to speak to you here.
Speaker 1:Thank you very much, Dan. Really pleasure to have you here with me and being part of your show Fantastic.
Speaker 2:Well, I was always keen to know where people are from, and you had highlighted to me, just as we sat down, that you're originally from Estonia, which is also a place in the world that I'm very keen to go, as I mentioned to you. So you've got this really unique background and now you're in the Seychelles. So tell us a little bit, first and foremost, about how you got into the world of hospitality.
Speaker 1:It was actually a very interesting journey. Since I was a kid I always dreamt of being a pilot and I was actually accepted for the Aviation Academy and was about to start my pilot studies. And last minute my parents influenced me a bit and said why don't you try to go and work in the hotels to see how you like it? Because you're very, you're very people oriented, you're very outgoing and friendly and and obviously sitting in the cockpit might have not been the same feeling or the same, the same sensation. So I give it a try.
Speaker 1:I worked over school holidays in back in the days in the one of the best hotels back in estonia, in talin, in old town heritage hotel, hotel telegraph that is now part of autograph collection of by marriott um, you know, wanted to shadow the gm because it's okay, if I'm not going to be a pilot, I'll be gm right away. Um didn't work out the same way, so instead I was dropped in the laundry and housekeeping and then being a porter, which was very eye-opening and I think that was the first connection really with the guests, and since then the journey hit off. So I went to study hospitality in Switzerland worked about nine years now, yeah, and since hospitality in different parts of the world. Did my studies in Switzerland, worked in Austria, switzerland went over to Rosalkema UAE. Have done also Waldorf Astoria in Rome, waldorf Astoria in Amsterdam, a couple of openings here and there, and then ended up being in Seychelles.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. So you've obviously been with Waldorf Astoria, so they recognized your value and contribution and wanted to bring you out to the Seychelles where you've been now for two years, Correct?
Speaker 1:Yeah, hopefully they see the value still.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, clearly you've got the four or five star rating, so you're doing something right. Let's talk a little bit about the Seychelles itself and how Waldo for Astoria came to have this property. So when we say two years, is that two years since the property was introduced and you launched the property there.
Speaker 1:So the project actually kicked off about roughly five years ago. So yeah, right before the pandemic, the construction started. We are a fairly remote island, yet still quite close to the main island, about 20 minutes by plane. Nothing around us, just serenity, ocean and turtles and the whole wildlife. So yeah, but I joined the team in summer 2023, while we were still doing the pre-opening construction, and we opened up 31st of January last year. So just a year since the opening. That's exciting. Already five stars.
Speaker 2:And for those people who are listening to this that are wrapping their head around and looking at the map of Seychelles, would you mind actually just orienting everybody about the Seychelles and please, when you do that, I would also appreciate, because I'm sure that many people who are already familiar know about the results of climate change and water level changes, about the results of climate change and water level changes, and I think that's one of the things that you guys have been ahead of the curve of advocating for, because you guys are so close to the waterline, which is actually what makes it beautiful and extraordinary, but also more conscientious about conservation efforts. But, yeah, tell everyone exactly where in the world the Seychelles are. Sure, look we are.
Speaker 1:If you look at the map, we are on the right side from African continent, let's say so. Everybody knows where Madagascar is, everybody knows where Mauritius is, so we are just right above them, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, being a small island nation and, as you mentioned as well, in terms of the wildlife, let's say, the conservation itself. Indeed, us on the island over there, I think we are the foremen, really advocating for sustainability and not only talking about it but actually doing it. Not only the typical sustainability, but really going into the marine biology side and ensuring that this beauty that we have been given from the nature, we really preserve it in the natural way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, the reason I wanted to call that out is because there's such a strong connection between luxury hotels and sustainability, and oftentimes it is because of where they're based that it's a sensitive local habitat and environment, and when you have luxury guests coming to stay there, we have to be that much more conscientious of the impact that it has on locals but also the environment, and so I know that's a big focus for organizations like yourself as you open up those properties to factor in conservation and sustainability right from the beginning. But now tell us about the Waldorf Astoria, seychelles on Platte Island you mentioned. Obviously, platte Island is about a 20-minute flight off of the main island, but tell us a little bit about the resort itself, because I'm sure there has to be many unique features with that five years of development that have been built into this epic location. So walk us through, if you wouldn't mind, what the experience is for a guest to come and stay with you.
Speaker 1:Look, yeah, where should we start? Let's start from the, from the beautiful journey that you hop on a nice turbo propeller plane. It's not a seaplane. We actually have a proper runway that is dividing the island in the middle, um, so guests land on the island, which is less than a mile in length, so it's really, really tiny island, and you land over there and you immediately get immersed into this untouched nature all around you. So the island actually used to be a coconut plantation back in the days, with over 10,000 coconut trees, and we still have a lot of them on the island, but these days it has been built to be an ultra luxurious resort. So we have 50 villas, all with their own pool, private gardens, obviously, again considering the aspect of island conservation and the wildlife conservation, all the villas actually set back from the shoreline at least 35 meters, or a good 100 feet, just to ensure that whenever the turtles are actually coming out and nesting with us and they do it all year round they do not get any light pollution and they can actually fully, let's say, enjoy their islands, because it is us who have had this privilege to come into the natural habitat and not vice versa.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, 50 villas. We have six restaurants and bars. We have stunning, stunning and really really unique spa when we talk about the wellness later on as well where we focus, and not only about the treatment and the therapies, but really combining together the wellness programs for our guests where guests can do full detox and I literally mean it, because we also have no mobile connection on the island. Oh, how about that? Totally disconnected, correct? So you disconnect to connect with yourself. That that's how we sell ourselves Love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to be present. There's no excuse, correct? Yeah, you got to deal with yourself. Exactly.
Speaker 1:I mean, it can be sometimes scary in the beginning, you know, and it happens quite often Guests first panic and then, on the following days, they actually start to realize what a privilege and what a great advantage it is. Days they actually start to realize what a privilege and what a what a great advantage it is and by the end of their journey, they actually realize that they've rediscovered themselves and they have new passion and desires and they want to conquer the world, which is, which is a great again, plus one service that we offer for sure is that the first thing that jumps out to me there, mark, is whether or not there is a way, at least if there was an emergency, that someone can get a hold of you or at least get a hold of the front desk to relay a message to you.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, of course. No, no, don't get me wrong. I mean, we still have good wifi connection provided by the satellite. We have satellite phones, uh, but first and foremost, we have all our team, our family, over there who is really taking care of every single guest.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just always the concern of being disconnected. It's like it forms a new kind of anxiety. Right, you need to get over until you actually can be present and in the moment. But that's really cool, mark. I guess the other thing I'm keen to ask you, given the journey you've been on with opening up this new property, which sounds extraordinary is the journey you've been on with Forbes Travel Guide to achieve your five-star status. So take us a bit through that journey, how long it's been underway and ultimately, how you were successful in realizing that designation.
Speaker 1:From a personal point of view, my journey with Forbes started a bit over six years ago when I first made introduction to forbes travel guide into our brand, world of historia, when I was working in rome with world of historia and then since there, you know, you just get accustomed and forbes travel guide and they're not really the standards, but it's more about the key highlights become part of your day-to-day routine and ethos, and when we were building up our beautiful resort on Platte Island, I would say the key has been always to ensure that the team drives it.
Speaker 1:It's not you coming in and saying you know, we need to achieve five stars and you need to follow these rules, because we are not in the school and we are not, you know, in the colleges anymore, but instead it has to be really driven by the passion and the desire of the team to accomplish something great, achieve that plus one service, deliver it and to ensure that every single guest who stays with us is not just having a stay, is having the stay that is memorable, remarkable and, first and foremost, flawless.
Speaker 2:Nice, yeah, there you go. I mean, that's where you have to have that commitment to extraordinary customer service and excellence, because obviously, when the mystery reviewer shows up from Forbes Travel Guide to make sure that you're meeting or exceeding all these standards, I guess it's going to be a little bit harder. They have to fly in but they still have to be undercover. But I guess you can't know, despite the fact that you are a remote location, when that Forbes Travel Guide reviewer is going to turn up to see the results of all those efforts, to make sure that you are ready for that day and that moment.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, absolutely. I mean, think this is, this is also the mentality that the way we run with our platte island family, our resort, is um, you don't, you know you don't work for that day. Uh, you actually deliver and you keep up that promise for every single guest, no matter who it is, because in the end of the day, it's not making a big point. You know, if you just do well one day, or let's say, two days out of 365 days, because not about uh, it's not going to deliver you consistency, it's not going to deliver you a great guest experience and uh, you know that's really the key now.
Speaker 2:That's very cool. And then this you've obviously got a long-standing relationship with forbes travel guide, um. This obviously is the first time we're in monaco for this event, but you've been to previous summits before.
Speaker 1:I have not had the chance yet, but I'm looking forward for the next years. Yes, exactly.
Speaker 2:No, this is a great place to pick it up and start here in Monaco.
Speaker 2:I mean, my first was last year in Las Vegas and it was extraordinary, and this year even exceed, and that truly was kind of a next level conference. I understand why they call it the summit, because it very much is the peak in terms of the people that come together for this event, and this is the global leaders of luxury hospitality, and it's not only the amazing hoteliers like yourself, but it's the luxury partners. See the group of people that come together for this, and I guess that's why I'm also keen to ask you what your take is then, from your very first the summit, and you're also you know your experience here in Monaco. So what brought you here this year, aside from the fact, obviously, you've got your five star rating? That's that's reason enough alone, and maybe there might be some awards in store for you in the near future. I know we're having the gala dinner tonight, but, yeah, tell us a little bit more. What brought you here and what some of the, I guess, the insights you've had from being at the Summit in Monaco?
Speaker 1:I would say, first and foremost, it's really great to have an event like this, the Summit, as you said. Indeed it's the peak, it's the top of the mountain, top of the hill, which finally gives us luxury hoteliers an opportunity or a platform to connect and not to be in the competitive set, but rather to be allies, to be partners and really think together and get actually inspiration. What else can we do collectively, together, in order to bring our industry to the next heights? For me personally, the biggest, some of the most impactful moments have been actually have been actually our symposium sessions, particularly the music one and really understanding and discovering how important music is in our day-to-day life and how can we play along with the music to achieve a great guest experience.
Speaker 2:Very cool. And then the sessions I've attended have been quite insightful and valuable and I think this is where you know there's obviously great networking opportunities here. But has there been some things that really I guess you found quite profound about, even like Wellness Studio or some of the things that are happening in our space that you're going to take home and either action or I could be more aware of, because you're clearly seeing what some of your colleagues and partners are doing or what some of the the innovations that are happening in the space?
Speaker 1:well, yes, look, definitely, I think. Yes, on one side you I had a good opportunity to connect with quite a lot of different suppliers that bring a lot of innovation to the table. Wellness is one of the key focal points for us within the resort. So definitely, we. We already work many, many years with Garini. We have their whole range of beds, but it's really about that connection that we made during this visit to ensure to offer a holistic approach to that whole wellness journey. And, as I mentioned earlier, on Platte Island, we do some of the unique wellness programs for our guests. So you arrive to the resort, you get your full body analyzes and it's not your medical one, but it's really more about understanding your sleep, your serotonin, your melatonin and everything else and how your body actually ticks. And I think now this is where Gavrili steps into the game to ensure that we create that whole journey together and lift it up to the next level.
Speaker 2:That's really cool. And then, one of the things I'm also keen to get your take on, given that you have a unique perspective, both with the organization you work with Waldorf Astoria and where you're located in the world and, for example, you know, obviously just highlighting some of those incredible wellness trends that we're seeing. What are some of the other trends that you're paying attention to? So, even outside of the conversations we've been having here or some of the sessions, as we look at the luxury traveler in 2025, and you know that they're clearly more discerning than ever they have lots of choices out there. What are some of the trends that you're paying attention to that you want? Are you making sure that your business remains relevant, competitive and thrives in 2025 and beyond?
Speaker 1:I would go back to the point of the symposium and when there was the panel discussion, when they really highlighted the aspect of being authentic and being yourself, and you can notice it very much in the previous years. Especially hospitality industry always try to be perfect, you know. Ensure the perfection, whether it was your social media posts that are really looking amazing, but at the in the end of the day, from the end customer point of view, actually realize that everything is staged all right. And I think for us it is crucial, especially on Platt Island, to ensure that whatever we see, all these wonders of the nature or the service service, wonders that we deliver, which may seem to us usual things or the standard things, are actually so unique and authentic for our, uh, for our guests. You know, from different generations, from different social or economic backgrounds.
Speaker 1:But really, how can we stay on track and remind ourselves every day that everything that we see, everything that we experience, is so unique and so authentic and we should be sharing it out to the entire world? And whether it is, you know, just throughout the last year we had 340 turtle nests alone on our island and for us it became a, you know, a natural occurrence. You know you have five, six turtles coming up every day laying their eggs. But for our guests, this is lifetime experience. They've never, ever seen it before. So we need to make sure that we remind them and really show them how authentic and how unique this resort and this Mother Nature is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a really good point you're bringing up there and I think it is a good segue to what I wanted to ask you about your personal journey in terms of being authentic and rising up in the industry. I mean, we obviously have highlighted your background and where you are now One of the core audiences for us with the Travel Trends podcast, and also our partnership with Forbes Travel Guide, with this hospitality series, is providing advice and recommendations to all those people out there that don't have the privilege to be here at an event like ours. So hence some of my questions about some of the takeaways and insights. But one of the things I wanted to ask you, given that we have the privilege to sit down together, mark and you are a young, successful guy, and I mean that in the most positive way, because many of the colleagues that I have, many of your colleagues that I've spoken with you, know there have been 25 years or they've been GMs at various, and I know you're the resort manager. But clearly you know you've been on an incredibly successful journey and, given that you are a young, successful resort manager at a very exotic location, I would love for you to be able to share some of your secrets to success.
Speaker 2:You know you highlighted, you know my son actually wants to be a pilot, so we'll see if he continues on that journey. But you know you made that pivot and then you clearly have gone from strength to strength. So your parents obviously advised you. Well, it would appear, because you are definitely a people person and you've got to love what you do. So you've worked your way up quite a bit already in your career. So what would be some of the tips, suggestions, advice you would have for other people listening to this that would love to emulate your journey? Thank you very much, dan.
Speaker 1:Really humbled, really, really kind words. What else can I say? I think my advice to anyone listening, anyone wanting to work within the hospitality industry or just being passionate about traveling, is to stay yourself, to stay humble and treat any opportunity that comes towards you with a yes attitude, not having prejudgments, not feeling, not feeling torn towards, let's say, say more of the negativity, but rather focus always on what is the best outcome in one or another travel trip situation for myself personally, and this would definitely drive you to the success.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great and that's perfect and that's a good piece of advice. Certainly, I know many of our listeners will be keen to follow up with you, but also to learn more about the Waldorf Astoria, seychelles. I'm going to certainly look up Platte Island and learn a bit more myself, but I guess there's obviously your website and likely you're on LinkedIn as well. But, yeah, tell us how any of our listeners can follow up to learn more about the Waldorf Astoria, Seychelles or to connect with you directly, definitely.
Speaker 1:I think the easiest one is always reach out to me on any of the platforms, whether it is LinkedIn. These days also, instagram really becomes your working tool, let's say your business card. But other than that, um obviously, yes, beyond the official, you know world of astoria websites or the hiltoncom websites, um, actually really um search platte island. Search platte island and you will discover um a lot of unexpected um content and it really looks like you are looking up something from national geographicographic or you know your Animals Planet channels.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's funny you mentioned that about ways of connecting, because I've actually received a number of business cards here at the conference and I look at the card and I say where's your email address? They're like, oh, instagram, or they use WhatsApp. It seems to be like you know, give me your phone number, cause like we'll use WhatsApp and uh, for me I'm still very much email. I'm trying to send an appointment calendar.
Speaker 1:I'm like how do I send it to an?
Speaker 2:Instagram or a WhatsApp, but, um, yeah, it was interesting that people are not even including their emails on business cards anymore in certain instances. So you're right that this next generation and many people are shifting towards social channels and LinkedIn obviously being a big one, but in terms of our websites, that's the one thing that still stays true, that you know you got to go check out the website to learn more information. So what is the website?
Speaker 1:So it would be worldofhistoriacom, and over there you can find World of Historia's head shells. Yeah and well, yeah. And other than that, you can also go to Hiltoncom, because we are part of the Hilton family, and over there as well, just look us up as World of Astoria, seychelles.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. We'll definitely do that, mark. I'm sure you'll have many reach outs after this and I just wanted to say thank you again for making the time. It was great to meet you here. I know we're all set for an amazing gala tonight, so I'm glad we had a chance to meet each other and obviously, yeah, we'll certainly keep in touch, but I wish you and the team at Waldorf Astoria, seychelles, who will be listening to this, because it's all about the team right that has enabled you to be here in many ways. But, yeah, I just wanted to say congratulations on achieving your Forbes Travel Guide five-star status. Look forward to you maintaining that and seeing you again in the future.
Speaker 1:Thank you, dan. Pleasure was all mine and obviously a really big shout out from both of us to our platon and family, because we are not a team, we are really a family. As you know, they were really, really thrilled to get this recognition. We don't see it as an award. This is really recognition for their hard work, dedication, and obviously it's not that we are staying now on the peak of the summit, what we've had over here, but now we actually continue climbing up and up and up, because now step one is done. We reached the five stars. Now the main goal is to ensure that we maintain it and, you never know, maybe win a couple of more five stars, whether it is for the spas or the restaurants.
Speaker 2:Exactly, I look forward to you becoming a three-star general at one point. That's an elite club of about 15 properties, but it sounds like, yeah, you're well on your journey. Definitely on the bucket list. That's awesome. Well, congrats again, mark, and I look forward to staying in touch and all the best for the rest of the year. Perfect, thank you much, dan. Pleasure is mine.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much for joining us on this latest episode of our special hospitality series, season two, in partnership with our friends at Forbes Travel Guide. I hope you've been enjoying our leaders behind the stars theme in today's conversation with Mark Basalaga from the Waldorf Astoria, seychelles, a new five-star property and the first in the Seychelles. It's absolutely an extraordinary property that I can't wait to get to. So thanks again, mark, for joining us and sharing your insights.
Speaker 2:On next episode, we're actually going to speak to a couple of team members from Forbes Travel Guide that are running Atelier CX and the Bond Lab and Co. And then we're going to be speaking to Scott and Jeff. Scott runs Hammock Beach in beautiful St Augustine and Jeff runs Meadowood, napa Valley. He was formerly with Forbes Travel Guide and has gone back into the hospitality side and then we're going to have an amazing conversation to finish off this series on episode 10. So more details on that one to follow, as we bring a collection of extraordinary people together, but otherwise, make sure that you are subscribed to the social channels and stay in touch on the streaming platform of your choice. And until next week, safe travels.
