H : Surprises both good and bad as you persevered to open The Ameswell ? FM : I was pleasantly surprised that many elements we were focused on pre-COVID resonated even better after : filtered air , distinct air in guestrooms , filtered water , design that allows work-from-room .
H : How and where are you finding new happiness , meaning in work today ? FM : For me the greatest pleasure in the hotel business has always been building and motivating teams across the spectrum of business functions to work collaboratively to solve problems .
H : What are you working on right now with Lew Wolff ? FM : He is a partner in our recent purchase of the Sundance Mountain Resort from Robert Redford . Lew knew Bob from his days running real estate for 20th Century Fox …
I want to help turn the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah into a deeply meaningful resort brand that lives the values that Robert Redford and his family created there : conservation , sustainability and a commitment to individual creativity through the arts ( film , music , theater , crafts ) and the natural environment that makes people better versions of themselves . Now that would be a meaningful new resort brand , huh ?
How do we package that in a way into an experience , a creative experience , that can be replicated in places like the Hudson Valley in New York , maybe where the experience and the meaning of the brand is about things that you do there that enhance creativity . It could be writing films , writing poetry , making pottery or jewelry , or any idea developed in a stimulating natural environment grounded in the idea of comfort and hospitality set in places that are genuinely inspiring … It ’ s probably better than an hour on the couch with a really great therapist . Just go make a great photograph , go write a great short story .
There ’ s skiing , hiking , mountain biking , fly fishing and all that stuff , which are fantastic because they divert the mind away from the mundane thing we normally do . But instead of doing all that stuff for the body , let ’ s do similar activities for the mind – not passive things like massage and facials , and all this wellness . Let ’ s do something where you ’ re really engaged and your mind is focused on producing something that is really ultimately very therapeutic and positive .
I ’ m really excited by the idea that Sundance is a very special place . But it is also really hard to develop this concept . So , I ’ m not making any promises , but we have a great group to improve and expand and optimize what is there in Utah . Then we will begin to export it to other places where we think it works .
H : You put a lot of emphasis on art in your hotels . Why so ? FM : I am an ‘ art guy ,’ having grown up with it , majoring in Art History in college , collecting , serving on boards of museums – so I am deeply biased . To me , a world without art just leaves us all at a lower level on Maslow ’ s hierarchy – it is humanity ’ s highest expression of creativity . But hotels have sadly mostly been left with what I call catalog art … We use art to function as the opposite – mind stimulating and , hopefully , inspiring , and bringing people together .
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