Christina Jelski
In the world of high-end hospitality, it's not uncommon for things to become a family affair.
Just ask Leading Hotels of the World, whose luxury hospitality network stretches across 80 countries and more than 400 member properties. Around 85% of the group's properties, which undergo an extensive vetting process prior to being granted membership, are family owned.
"The majority of our member hotels are family-led, many for generations," said Lauren Alba, vice president of global marketing and communications at Leading Hotels of the World, adding that the group focuses largely on "empowering our community of independent hoteliers to stay independent."
I got a chance to connect with a pair of these familial-minded independent hoteliers during a recent hosted trip to Turks and Caicos, including Crescenzo Gargano, who is a member of the family that has owned the 67-room Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi, Italy, for four generations.
Gargano had not initially planned to join the family business, first choosing to study economics in his youth, then decamping to the U.S. with the intent of pursuing an MBA. He ended up pivoting, moving to New York to start a career as an artist instead. Fate, however, had different plans for him.
At age 25, he got a call from his family's lawyer, alerting him to financial turmoil brewing at home. He returned to his family and the Hotel Santa Caterina, where he was charged with helping to steady the helm.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Gargano has more than helped steady things. During his tenure, the Leading Hotels member property has been transformed.
"It was a grande dame, but really a four-star hotel when I got there," Gargano said. "But year by year, we changed the standards, we did renovations, we acquired property nearby. And now, it's very beautiful, and [we operate at] quite a high, high standard. We're proud of what we've achieved."
His journey contrasts markedly with that of Nikheel Advani, co-founder, COO and principal at Grace Bay Resorts, which operates Rock House, a Leading Hotels member resort in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. Although Grace Bay Resorts is run by a larger executive team and has a handful of other Turks and Caicos resorts under its purview, the company is firmly family-oriented, with Advani paving the way for his son and daughter, ages 8 and 9, respectively, to eventually follow in his footsteps.
For Advani, however, entering the hospitality business marked a departure from his own family's expectations. Initially aiming for an engineering degree, Advani's parents were surprised when he suddenly shifted gears to pursue hospitality and study hotel, restaurant and travel administration. Eventually, they warmed to the idea, with Advani's father, in particular, excited about the industry's myriad entrepreneurial opportunities.
In sharp contrast, Advani's children have been immersed in the hospitality world since birth. But that's not to say that they'll have a hospitality career handed to them on a silver platter. Advani plans to get his kids started with some back-of-house training this year, with the pair set to take on dishwashing and housekeeping duties alongside Grace Bay Resorts staff members. Additional training, across all facets of the hotel business, will follow.
Eventually, said Advani, the plan is for the children to be tasked with running their own boutique property, a 60-room, yet-to-be-announced project in Turks and Caicos. It's an ambitious plan, but one that ensures they'll have the chance to earn their stripes, just like their father did before them.
And as Gargano and Advani have undoubtedly learned, in the luxury hotel space, few narratives in the luxury hotel space are as compelling to guests as those centered on family legacy.