There is a growing trend in the travel industry: Couples who own hotels and are partners in business, as well as life. With Valentine’s Day approaching, we asked several power couples how they are able to pull it off. Read on for their tips on combining love and business 101.
Photo courtesy of the Sheldon ChaletThe Sheldon Chalet, perched in Alaska’s Denali National Park.
Sheldon Chalet, Alaska
Set to open in 2018, the Sheldon Chalet is a true five-star Alaskan wilderness experience. The hotel is the longtime dream of Don and Roberta Sheldon, true Alaska pioneers who bought this land before Alaska was a state. Now, their son Robert and his wife Marne are realizing their dream with a five-bedroom property nestled on five private acres within Denali National Park. Here, Robert and Marne share their insight into why the Sheldon Chalet is the perfect place for couples to spend time in ultimate seclusion and tell how working together creating guest experiences like heli-skiing and snowshoeing tours has brought them even closer together.
Begley Bloom: Where did you meet?
Marne Sheldon: First National Bank Alaska in the summer of 1993, where we both had summer jobs. Robert first saw me in the lunchroom eating my brown bag lunch and reading the Wall Street Journal. He likes to say I caught his eye because I was “fiscally sound, smart and beautiful.” A few days later, he rallied the courage to walk into my office and ask me to lunch. Now, 21 years of marriage and three amazing sons later I am glad he did.
Begley Bloom: What made you decide to work together?
Marne: A family vision came into focus after Robert’s mom passed away. We both naturally assumed the roles we have now, each working in different capacities at the Sheldon Chalet with the same vision and determination.
Photo courtesy of the Sheldon ChaletRobert and Marne Sheldon, who are opening the Sheldon Chalet in Alaska.
Begley Bloom: What are the pros and cons of working together?
Marne: Positives are having morning coffee together, sharing ideas and making them happen together. Being together A LOT. Challenges: Learning to honor each other’s work style and processes. Trying to keep work from creeping into every part of life. Being together A LOT.
Begley Bloom: Most romantic place you’ve traveled together?
Marne: In 2016 Robert surprised me with a trip to Sedona, Arizona for our 20th wedding anniversary. That was a very romantic gesture and a perfect getaway spot.
Robert Sheldon: In April 2016, Marne and I found an unexpected opportunity of two nights alone at the original Mountain House while preparing for another big push on the base-foundation construction. Having this time to simply go sledding, relax in the beautiful and warm spring sun, and overall enjoy each other’s company without disruption was refreshing and a good reminder of why we are together. It was perfect.
Begley Bloom: What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?
Marne: We’ve been so busy that it has not been on our radar. Frankly, a nice dinner at home — that I don’t prepare — and a beautiful bottle of wine with no “work talk” would be fabulous.
Robert: Shhhh. Don’t tell Marne, but after the three years working on the chalet, I’ve planned a nice day of thank you’s for her, including sleeping in, a massage and a mani/pedi. I’ll make her a dinner of za’atar/garlic/rosemary lamb, roasted vegetables, shallots, assorted Alaskan crisp pickled items including fiddle head ferns, carrots, cauliflower and hot peppers, then finish it all off with a creme brûlée dessert topped with late fall Alaskan raspberries harvested from the family roots we’ve cultivated here since the 1930s and a side of a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies (she really likes those). Dinner will be served with a 2005 Château Larcis Ducasse, and dessert with a 2003 Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey. The Bordeaux and Sauternes are on the young side, but so is my wife of just 22 years.
Photo courtesy of Gangtey LodgeA soaking tub at Gangtey Lodge in Bhutan.
Gangtey Lodge, Bhutan
Since opening its doors in 2013, the Gangtey Lodge has offered guests a luxurious way to explore Bhutan’sGangtey Valley. Husband and wife business partners, Brett Melzer and Khin Omar Win share their thoughts on owning a hotel in the happiest country in the world and what it takes to operate both the lodge and their other venture, Eastern Safaris.
Begley Bloom: Where did you meet?
Brett Melzer: We met in Yangon, Myanmar. Omar had been there for six months and it was only my second day. I gatecrashed a dinner party with a female friend from the British embassy whom I hardly knew, but fortunately sat next to Omar. The rest is history (the other lady married one of my best friends, whom she met at our wedding!).
Begley Bloom: What made you decide to work together?
Khin Omar Win: I was working at the United Nations Development Programme and traveling a lot to remote areas with little communication. I was away for two weeks on a trip in Northern Myanmar with no communication and by the time I got back Brett had enough of worrying. He said “Let’s start a business together.” So we combined our interests of business and development, and “Balloons over Bagan” was born.
Photo courtesy of Gangtey LodgeBrett Melzer and Khin Omar Win, owners of Bhutan’s Gangtey Lodge.
Begley Bloom: What are the pros and cons of working together?
Melzer: We are lucky in that we have complementary skills and personalities. Some positives are doing everything together, sharing adventures, creating new experiences, and supporting each other through the highs and lows.
Win: Some challenges are being mindful to switch off from work, ensuring that we have our own identity and independence in addition to our identity as a couple and achieving a work/life balance. Brett once had a business meeting at the Singapore Zoo with our kids in tow.
Begley Bloom: Most romantic place you’ve traveled together?
Win: Putao, Northern Myanmar. It was pristine. We rented a village hut as our headquarters for $2 a month and bathed in the river for three years during the construction of our first hotel, Malikha Lodge. We also bought two elephants that we used to take for a walk every morning to train them to take guests. It was the most romantic time of our lives.
Begley Bloom: What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?
Melzer: Our schedules will lend us to be in different places, but if we were together we would have a romantic date night and try not to talk about work.
Photo courtesy of the Sonnenalp HotelThe Sonnenalp Hotel in Vail.
Sonnenalp Hotel, Vail, Colorado
Vail’s family-owned Sonnenalp Hotel has been passed down through five generations. The current owners, Rosana and Johannes Faessler, share their thoughts on what life has been like since they met in 1984.
Laura Begley Bloom: Where did you meet?
Rosana Faessler: We met at the original Sonnenalp Hotel, which is today known as the Austrian House. I was a guest that came skiing during Thanksgiving in 1984. I checked in with my brother Pedro and never checked out. Johannes and I got married in February 1985.
What made you decide to work together?
Johannes Faessler: Since our hotel has been a family-owned and family-managed business for five generations, I asked Rosana to work with us at the hotel.
Photo courtesy of the Sonnenalp HotelJohannes and Rosana Faessler, owners of the Sonnelap Hotel in Vail and their family.
Begley Bloom: What are the pros and cons of working together?
Rosana: It has taken time to adjust to our very different personalities. I am Brazilian and he is Bavarian. It is fun because we see things from a very different perspective, but we do know how hard we can press each other’s buttons.
Begley Bloom: Most romantic place you’ve traveled together?
Johannes: The most romantic place for me is the Islands of Tobago Cays. It is a national park that belongs to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with no hotels, shops or restaurants. You leave Mustique island on your boat with a picnic and stay for the day exploring the small islands. If you are lucky, you will be the only person there and often are.
Begley Bloom: What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?
Rosana: This Valentine’s Day we will be having dinner at our Ludwig’s restaurant, where chef Florian Schwarz and his team prepare a special dinner menu and there will be live music.
Photo courtesy of Martinhal Family Hotels and ResortsA beachfront view at Martinhal Sagres .
Martinhal Family Hotels and Resorts, Portugal
Conceived with families in mind, Martinhal Family Hotels and Resorts offer a luxury vacation experience with family-friendly facilities in some of the most popular areas in Portugal, from Lisbon to Sintra. Owners and spouses, Roman and Chitra Stern share their thoughts on life with four children and four hotels.
Begley Bloom: Where did you meet?
Roman Stern: We met on a consulting project with Price Waterhouse in Münich in the summer of 1998 where we were both working with the London office.
Begley Bloom: What made you decide to work together?
Chitra Stern: After Price Waterhouse, I went to the London Business School to do my full-time MBA for two years and Roman left to take on a real-estate project in Zürich and another project for his family. We did a lot of work together on these projects but also on potential dot com projects that came out of my MBA in the years 1998-2000. We shared common values and we felt we had complementary skills that would benefit a startup team. After traveling with our children in Portugal we saw a gap in the market for luxury hotels that offered family friendly amenities and activities. We decided to create Martinhal Sagres and have now expanded the Martinhal name across three other properties in Portugal.
Photo courtesy of Martinhal Family Hotels and ResortsRoman and Chitra Stern, owners of Portugal’s Martinhal Family Hotel & Resorts, and their family.
Begley Bloom: What are the pros and cons of working together?
Roman: Positives: Apart from the obvious male-female mix, we have really complementary skill sets and moods so we’re able to balance each other very well.
Chitra: Challenges: we are talking business all the time. It’s hard to relax when we’re living and breathing our business together. We have had to learn to really step away and spend time with our four children to gain perspective and to take a breather sometimes — easier said than done.
Begley Bloom: Most romantic place you’ve traveled together?
Roman: Ubud, Bali, for our honeymoon. A beautiful area of the island back then with a lovely culture and a truly romantic place for a couple.
Begley Bloom: What are you doing for Valentine’s Day?
Chitra: With four kids and a growing business, we will likely pounce on last-minute opportunities (i.e. we haven’t planned anything for this Valentine’s Day yet).
