Know your market
Stewart believes that there is no ceiling to a blossoming company’s growth potential, unless you are going in the wrong direction.
“Our limitations really are to the extent that we can replicate this
culture and keep our people excited and have guests satisfied with
our performance,” says Stewart. “If you find that you’re falling
down, then it’s time to haul back and take a pulse.”
That means you have to keep track of your core priorities when it
comes time to grow. Stewart is very clear on the fact that Sandals is
a luxury brand thriving in a niche market. To grow, he knows that he
can’t get too far from the path that made him successful.
“There are a lot of people building hotels right now. And we have
no intention of getting into the big 1,000-room hotels,” he says.
“That’s not where we are going. We are going with a unique and
diversified product. We are focused on our own independent standards and enormous luxury; we’re better at paying attention to
details like the matter in which a room is furnished.”
Keeping the market in mind, you can still take risks, but they
have to come in the proper context of what your company can do.
Sandals, the original brand, is a resort experience meant only for
couples. But Stewart realized that while the couples experience
was popular, there was a whole segment of the market that was
being shut out. That’s when Beaches was created for families, singles and couples. The attention to detail was not lost on the new
brand, but the focus of that attention shifted. Instead of focusing
on something like a romantic waterfall view for a room, Beaches
concentrated on the family element and built resorts with video-game areas for kids.
The move was a risk, but Stewart balanced it with knowledge
about his customer base. Sandals already had a solid return rate
for its guests, and there was feedback from happy customers that
there was room for more. The results of that effort have checked
in with success: Sandals and Beaches currently boast a customer
return rate of 40 percent.
“It started off in a manner where I have so much return in guests,
and a lot of them said to me, ‘Butch, I’ve been here 11 times. I have
a mother that is single, I’d like to be able to come back, but I’d like
to be able to bring her or bring the kids,”’ Stewart says.
That doesn’t mean that Beaches came into existence without taking some lumps, of course. But by keeping on a similar track and
incorporating feedback, Stewart grew out Beaches ahead of the
competition and with the same mentality he shared with that big
hotel chain, he wanted all the little details to be right every step of
the way — without compromise.
“We have our ups and downs trying to stretch out,” Stewart says.
“But what’s important is that you are willing to react to what people are telling you and admit when you make mistakes.”
HOW TO REACH: Sandals Resorts, (888) 726-3257 or www.sandals.com; Beaches Resorts, (888) 232-2437 or www.beaches.com
