The Bugalows are a private resort behind a second set of gates , with its own concierge team and separate amenities . It is intended for longer-term stays . when one of his properties missed the fifth star because someone was seconds late greeting a guest and received a score of 91.8 on a 92 scale . “ We lost the star over 2 / 10th of a point !” Hostettler exclaimed . They did win the star back — handily — the next year .)
The great unifier at The Boca Raton is an unabashedly ambitious goal set by Hostettler : to earn 25 Forbes stars ( 5 times 5 ) by 2025 . Thus , “ 25 by 25 ” ( 25 stars by 2025 ) has become the rallying cry that his troops live and breathe every day .
“ For us , being an independent property that in many ways we ’ re building from scratch , the goal of five Five-Star ratings is both a lofty goal and very concrete ,” he said . The Forbes Travel Guide rating system has 600 service standards , and at The Boca Raton , this allows employees to focus on the standards one by one and management to drill down on how they ’ re doing at hitting these
standards every day . “ None of our component pieces are going to get five stars if everything isn ’ t at that level across the board , for every guest in every one of our rooms , regardless of the individual branding and positioning of where they ’ re staying ,” Hostettler said .
“ It ' s one team , one dream ,” Hostettler concludes . And the dream would seem , already , to coming closer to realization , as The Boca Raton has , right out of the gate , already been awarded two Five Star awards simultaneously ( for The Boca Raton Beach Club and the property ' s Spa Palmera ) and “ only ” has three more to go . And just north of two and a half years to win them .
Micah Solomon is a customer service and guest service consultant , trainer , keynote speaker and author , having written five books around hospitality . He can be reached at micah @ micahsolomon . com and www . micahsolomon . com .
The outdoor lounge at the Beach Club , which has 212 rooms on its own private beach .
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