From mopping floors to leading Miami’s top wellness resort

Armando CerdaMerely, being a doorman, I I... The the the thing that really pushed... Made me, stand out was, the same natural component of the human interaction. Right? Just just being flowing naturally with it. So I would come up with even silly phrases that would go a very long way. I would even tell the guests, we... We've been expecting you welcome when when we had an arrival, as an example.

the Future of HospitalityWelcome to our podcast, the future of hospitality. I'm your host, Ari Reichelabaud. And today, our guest is Armando Sevria, executive hotelier at Carillion Miami Wellness Resort in North Miami Beach.

Armando CerdaArmando, welcome to our show. Thank you, Arjen. Thank you for having me.

the Future of HospitalityYeah. Wonderful. Wonderful. I'm a big fan of Miami. Actually, it's my second hometown. Maybe we talk about that a little bit more later. It's a very vibrant city. It has developed a lot over the years, and you have a very interesting career path in Miami. I wanna hear all about that. But let us start with where you started and why and how. Absolutely. And who is Armando?

Armando CerdaThank you, Arjun. Armando is a very passionate and relentless individual, heavily... It's precisely about hospitality. It's been my passion. Initially, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer right after high school, but it just turned out not to be the case. I started working... Well, hospitality goes back way before my after high school and and and into college. It goes to the nineties where my mother and my oldest brother, they had they they had the management agreement for the bar inside of our city, Santiago De Los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic,

the Future of Hospitalitymost exclusive. Dominican Republic, because that is... You were you were born... We forgot about to talk about it. You you were born in New York, and then the family moved to the Dominican Republic. Right. I was raised in the Dominican Republic. I would visit New York in the summers, but

Armando Cerdamy entire teens up to twenties, I was in the... In Santiago in The Dominican Republic. At this point, back in the nineties, they had this management agreement for the most exclusive social club in the city, which is the El Centro Espanol. And it started there. Right? I would just be involved in that indirectly and just learning and seeing how they manage and just the people, the the aspect of loving the the human interaction that they both had. Right? Shortly after that, a few years later, place, and then my middle brother, which they're just a year apart between them, many years between them and and I'm 13 and 14.

Armando CerdaAfter that, he... My middle brother, he joined into a venture in a very exclusive nightlife property as well, a club called Francifold. After that, it just... He started growing and growing and growing. And then from one business, he jumped into four, six within the next five years. At this point, same thing. I'm shadowing indirectly. I didn't know that I was... That that was gonna be my thing. Right? Hospitality. Right after that, I I finished high school and, listen, he was the one supporting us financially. And I would ask him, hey. You know, I need a little bit of money. I wanna I wanna go out. And he said, yeah. Sure.

Armando CerdaGo do the dishes. And then we and then we can have this conversation. And I said, absolutely. No problem. So from doing dishes, then moved into bussing, and then moved into serving, and then just even moved into having an opinion on activations. What do you think we should do on Friday nights here? In one of the restaurants, of course. He never wanted me to delve into the nightlife, rightfully so. I I can see how that can take many years.

the Future of HospitalityOkay. So your brother didn't want to go... You to go into the nightlife. He wanted you to learn to wash dishes, start there. And he want... He was trying to take... To keep you out of that, what he was doing, because for obvious reasons, you say. What reasons are those? Well, it it takes a lot of years, think, of your... You know, it changes your your your

Armando Cerdaoverall train of thought. Right? You you... You're sleeping during daytime, which I saw, you know, I lived with him and also when, you know, when I clubbed myself during those years, you you sleep through the day and then you you work at night. It's not it's not for everybody. It's not for the faint of heart. No. No. And he he knew what he was into, you know. It's... The the the difficulties of nightlife, and he didn't want that for Right? He always pushed for me to be a professional. He wanted me to follow I see. Fall into law school and and and and and all of that. My grandfather was lawyer. My father, unfortunately, didn't finish college. And then my... Also, my father's wish was for me to be a lawyer, but it just...

Armando CerdaI wanted it and I have a skill for it, I'd say, if I really put my heart into it. But the reality is that my passion was always, after going through all these years, was was the human connection, the human interaction. Right? I've I've always arranged parties for my friends, my siblings, since it came natural. Right? It was... I didn't Yeah. I didn't force a... Just, oh, oh, I think we should do this. So what part of of that human interaction is... What do you think that

the Future of Hospitalitymakes you... Okay. This is this is what I like about it. This is why it feels so natural to me. Can you can you elaborate a bit on that? Absolutely. So it's so it's

Armando Cerdaselflessly selfish in the sense of I loved when I saw people having a great time, my friends, my loved ones. It was just awesome to see them just having a great time and being able to provide the platform for them to do show. It was it was very... It felt... I felt I felt in my waters. I felt like that was my my my call, my my passion. You know, it was... I didn't have to force. I didn't have to force this this interaction. It it just felt amazing, you know? My... His his his clients, his guests, they they they love me, you know. They see me just buzzing, they're like, good job. You know?

the Future of HospitalityHe had a lot of reach. He still has... You're a natural. That is that is what you feel and that's what all other people saw as well. Correct.

Armando CerdaSo this is in my teen years after that and jumping into college. I did, I believe, two semesters of law school, which are just the initial stages, obviously. Nothing Mhmm. Really delving into what actually the the the law structure is. And then I just said, he always pushed for me to move to America as a whole. Right? New York, ideally. Right. And my aunt continued to... My my aunt is like a mother to me. She she really pushed for me to try it out. Hey. You were born in America. Why not just give it a try? And I'm like, no, I'm not sure until the day that I said, you know what? Let me take the leap of faith. My father and my siblings, everybody pushed me, and I did. So I Okay. Landed in Miami in Hollywood Beach.

Armando CerdaWe... My auntie has an apartment in... On Ocean Drive, so I lived there for a bit.

the Future of HospitalityAnd How old were you then? 20 years old. Oh, you were 20 years old. 20 from years the Dominican Republic, age 20 after doing two semesters of law school. Correct? Correct. Okay. So then you moved to Miami, Hollywood. I know Hollywood very well. Hallandale, Hollywood, that area. Correct.

Armando CerdaYeah. Then I got my first job. Where did where did you where did you start? Where did you start? What what what was your first job? Dunkin' Donuts. So it was the Dunkin' Donuts on, Hallandale Beach Boulevard and US 1, which was in the... It's it's it's an in between area. You have nice and then you have not so nice. But I know. Nevertheless, was an amazing experience. My first job in America. First time I ever picked a mop, I'll say that probably I picked up, but it was natural. Hey. I gotta do what I gotta do. Right? So, excuse me. Shortly after, just a few months in, I'm just trying to get all these hours, getting paid in dollars. Right? I...

Armando CerdaA tennis player, Orlando, I'll never forget. He approached me and he said, what are you doing here? So he was a frequent. He was a a frequent client, and and I was just so good at memorizing all of the frequent's orders. So which is the attention to detail that really, I think, perseveres in hospitality as a whole. But we'll go into that in a second. Orlando approached me and he said, what are you doing here? And I said, I'm just I'm just starting out. I just I just got here pretty much. Right? He said, no. You you you you have to be somewhere else. You have to be in Miami Beach. And I said, really?

Armando CerdaYeah. Let me make a few calls. So long story short, he introduced me to a friend of his, Ray Linus, which we're still in in touch nowadays. He he wanted to bring me in as a ballet attendant, but he couldn't because my license wasn't two years. At that time, I'm not sure what the regulations are right now, but you need to have a license without points, suspensions, or tickets for Right. For over two years. And, unfortunately, it didn't work out, so I ended up... Ray called somebody else, and then I ended up at the Eden Rock as a doorman.

the Future of HospitalityAt the Eden Rock? Correct. That's one that's one iconic

Armando Cerdaproperty. Very iconic properties. It dates back to the fifties, if I'm not mistaken. And it was just amazing. 600 and plus keys, very high end. It was a direct competitor, still is a direct competitor to the Fountain Blue right next to each other. It was just amazing. You start seeing... Imagine me coming from a third world country, which... Where we do have a lot of things. Don't don't don't...

the Future of HospitalityIt's a difference. I mean, I remember seeing that part of Miami Beach for the first time. My first time was 1988 in Eden Roc. That was something compared to what you knew in Europe that was like, oh my god. Wow.

Armando CerdaYeah. I know what you mean. So that that that must have been very impressive. Super. The... That middle lobby bar, the circular... The the chandeliers room was just very... Very very royal, very regal.

the Future of HospitalityAnd... But you started off as a as a valet? No. Actually, as I was a doorman. A doorman. Okay. So... Can you tell tell us something about that? Do you have an experience? So Maybe you want to merely being a doorman, I I... The

Armando Cerdathing that really pushed... Made me stand out was the same natural component of the human interaction. Right? Just just being flowing naturally with it. So I would come up with even silly phrases that will go a very long way. I would even tell the guests, we've we've been expecting you welcome when when we had an arrival, as an example. And some guests will be like, what? How how do you know I'm coming or whatever the case is. And some others were like super wow, like, oh, wow. This is this is luxury hospitality to an extent. Right? Yeah. So I would just always go above and beyond, you know, and to the point that one day I remember this, must have been within my first two weeks, I received the...

Armando CerdaI remember mister Carroll, he was just staying, I remember his last name. He was staying there. I welcome him every time, you know, I I brought him to his car as well, and he would... At the end of the day, he gave me my first ever $100 bill tip. I'm like, woah. This is, I think to myself, 20 years old, I'm thinking, I'm gonna be a billionaire. I'm gonna have an hour The tip. That was that was the tip that he gave me, a $100,100 bucks. Sorry. So Okay. So at this point, I thought to myself You were spoiled right away at 20. Yeah. Yeah. I skipped the twenties into 100. That was Yes. That was very...

Armando CerdaNot even fifties, you know? Was it was it was very special to me. And I thought to myself, Audi RAA, the apartment on the beach, you know, it was... Think about it, 20 years old. Right? So shortly after that... Sorry. Shortly after that, I... A friend of mine convinced me convinced me into jumping into his marketing agency. Amazing dreams sold. And and I'm always... I like to see it for myself. It sounded very convincing, so I gave it a try. Didn't work out. At this point, I moved a little more up north at Tamarac, and I wanted to go back to hotels. So I said, but not as a bummer now. I'll I'll... Or a doorman. I'll be a front desk agent. So then I can bump into my career back into hotels inside.

Armando CerdaAnd additionally, I have a solid start, which was a... It was a Ramada, the... In US one and commercial. Same, just a very heavy business district. And I'm doing front desk agent. I'm learning the basics. It was awesome. But the same thing happened to me as Orlando and Dunkin' Donuts. A guest came to me five months in and he says, what are you doing here? And I said, you're starting out again, you know. And shortly after, I had the great opportunity to start interviewing for the short club, was Ian Schrager Hotel, Morgan's Hotel Group. Very famous as well, The Short Club. Amazing property, just unique. I I mean, I remember even at this point, going a little bit forward, the lines to get into Nobu and The Red Room, which were the signature restaurant and bar, will go, if you remember vividly, the back entrance is right in front of the residential entrance for the satay.

Armando CerdaAnd the lines will go right across the street on 20th. So it was... It it was an extremely happening place. At some point, we'd even see Pierce Brosnan, James Bond walking down the lobby. I'd I'd be starstruck. James Bond. Oh, you're all in the middle of it. Exactly. I was I was born. You know, I was raised watching James Bond. Precisely, Rosslyn. That was that was the stage where I was at, and it was just to me, very young guy. Just look... Being in the midst of all this stardom and and so many happening, moving parts. Right? So it was amazing. But going a little bit back, it was a very extensive interviewing process what they had. It was amazing, you know, even for a front desk agent, we had to do five different interviews.

Armando CerdaFive different interviews. So they were very peculiar about the way they hired. You know? They wanted Okay. Skill... I'm sorry. Not skill. They want they want a character over skill. Skills can be thought. I think this is something. So were those interviews with different people Different people. For that particular property? Okay. Different people. Oh, they didn't play bingo, did they? They did not. It was... Initial was HR, second, the hiring manager. On top of that, director of operations, then hotel manager, and then general manager. So it was a very... It it was long. At some point, I thought, maybe I'll I'll just keep on applying to some of the places. And then I got the call, hey. You're in. And it was just a very, very, very special place and company as a whole.

Armando CerdaShortly after, I'm I'm loving it. I'm just really enjoying the the ride, very high end profiles, amazing team. We've built beautiful relationships to where... To this date, like, we'll... I have really close friends from from from that time. Shortly after that, my leadership started coming back just pushing itself into me. I didn't... I wasn't necessarily looking into it. And I'll share briefly the story that catapulted me into just being in the focal eye and being given different other opportunities given given my sportsmanship. Mhmm. One night, we were... The alarms just started going off two in the morning. Sold out hotel. It must have been a Friday or a Saturday.

Armando CerdaAnd, again, sold out short club ADR back then was in the 5 hundreds 2,002 thousand 12. Alarms going off. Guests start calling. More calls. We had a few guests show up downstairs, but it was more so calls. It was a false alarm. So we were Okay. Telling the guests, no no issues. Everything's fine. We're deeply apologetic.

the Future of HospitalityBut still, everybody woke up. Absolutely.

Armando CerdaSorry. Yeah. What can they do for you? Go ahead. So that became the second instance, which was at about 03:45 in the morning. Same thing. More guests come down. Some guests are coming back from the party. All but same repeat, taking numbers down, just making sure they're taken care of. They feel like they were hurt. Sometimes that's really all what what what what they need. Right? They're not looking for something. They just wanna be hurt. They wanna express frustration. And that's what we're there for. That's what we're here for in hospitality. You know? We're we're we're here to make sure we we we smoothen that out. We we ease it up.

Armando CerdaAt the third time, it was just five in the morning. The alarms just stayed on. They didn't just ring once. It just stayed on. So at this point, fifteen, twenty minutes in, I have the entire hotel. Probably 80% of the room's downstairs in the lobby. At that point, we have a greener night manager, a very nice guy, but you you could tell it was a lot. And it... If you think about it, it's really he's the face. So Mhmm. Mhmm. Situations like that can... It's... They're not for the... They're not for everyone. They're looking at us like, you know, they wanna eat us alive. What are you guys?

Armando CerdaWhat's happening? What's going on? Was very interesting. But I I have this skill where I I just... During the chaos, I... I'm like the duck. Right? Just calm on the surface and just paddling on the the water. So so at this point, I I see that they're not paying attention to him. He's trying to speak with him, but he's sweating bullets. So I I feel the need to do something. So I got very loud and I... Respectfully, of course, Guess... And I said, guess something in the likes of, guess, we are... We... We're deeply apologetic. Please know this is a false alarm. There's no fire whatsoever.

Armando CerdaIf you make two lines for me, I'll ensure that you are taken care of. So he looked at me for a second, like, who is this guy? What is it? It felt like that for a second. But then I felt like a border collie hurting the cheap, and they made two lines. They followed

the Future of Hospitalityalong, and I was like, woah. Okay. This worked. Let's take care of them. So they listened to you. They did. So you stood up. They did. You raised your voice. They did.

Armando CerdaTwo lines. One here, one there, and here, listen. One there. That's it. See how easy it is to be a good leader? It just... I was I was surprised. I was like, woah. Woah. Yeah. Okay. Let's let's let's let's do this. So I... I'm sorry. What's your room number? Yeah. At 01:05PM, they check up. You got it. We're not even gonna go back and forth. This deserves it. Instead of you asking me for I food night, I'll I'll give like it. I'll give you the late check out. I can always have somebody take care of that room for you. Right? So that really pushed me. My brand new hotel manager at the time was actually staying on on-site, so he witnessed the whole thing. I didn't even see him because I was focused on on my... On on the guests, obviously.

Armando CerdaAnd to the point, like, later this became such a big thing. I came out on the... I appeared on the global newsletters we had given the the scenario. It was awesome. It was a great heroic, not looking for heroic act that I did. Right? And they they gave me a very nice bottle, I remember this, of Perrier Jouet, And I wasn't drinking. I was very heavy into working out. I was... And I've never been a... I'm a... I was very much into tequila or or or just scotch because of the workout regimen. Right? Just neat. And I said, guys, thank you very much. I truly appreciate this. But this... If the... Is there any chance that I can exchange this for two of the pillows you have upstairs? Because they were amazing goose feather pillows. We we had the opportunity to experience the property. And they were just laughing.

Armando CerdaThey were just laughing it off and they said, absolutely. And then in addition to champagne, they gave me the two pillows, which I probably kept for like three or four years after that. And shortly after, an opportunity opened at Mondrian South Beach, which was also Also

the Future of Hospitalitya big name. Oh, come on. You you you went to all the places. Amazing places. Right?

Armando CerdaPart of the I like that. It was part of the portfolio, and a manager and duty role came up and I I went for it and I and I and I got it. And amazing. This is a different component because now you have condo, hotel Mhmm. Key... A... I'm sorry, condo hotel property. Amazing different new mindset, learning difference, different aspects now on the resident side, which we didn't have a short club. It was solely hotel. And after... Shortly after, again, my skills, I was just flowing through issues and just how to make things better, reinventing wheels on many broken procedures. And that put me again on the focal eye where short club open now in another position. Right?

Armando CerdaAnd they were... I was helping them out at some point. I was... I had probably forty five days, no no days off, but I was great. I enjoyed it. I I I didn't need it. I I didn't need the time off. I was on my on my... The the peak of my youth, if you will. And I was helping them out for a few days a week working at Monjen and Shortbluff forty five days straight, and they just asked me, we want you to come back. And I said, well, this comes... Yeah. It comes with a... Are you offering me a different role? Absolutely. So that happened. And throughout, I did a total of six years with Morgans.

Armando CerdaThen Sheriff Coleman knocked on my door. That would have been... That was my first department head role as the front office manager. I took the leap. At that point, I had a housekeeping company at the same time I was running with some partners. And Mhmm. I was working as a a phone. I had to surf comer. At the very end of my stint, I had an... I had to make a choice. I couldn't do both at the same time. No. That is a lot. It was a lot. And it wasn't like I was a a silent partner. I was very much active. So at this point, I had to make a decision. I decided to go with the housekeeping company, which was actually doing very well. The name was... It is Pro Housekeepers.

Armando CerdaThey... It started on Tampa, and they brought it here along these partners. And I put the... I came up with this idea. I put the hot pink Miami right beneath the Pro Housekeepers. So it was it was an amazing logo. We still have the shirts and everything. And I I... It did well until a point where it wasn't doing well enough. So I'm okay. I gotta go back and let's cut our losses and then, you know, go back into the workforce. Shelbourne came up, and then Shelbourne was just... History was probably the biggest learning curve. This is a much more back end, fixed issues, kind of in the black ops type of sense, take care of issues to make sure that they don't transpire and they affect the operations or the guest.

Armando CerdaMany, many role... Different roles. I started as an assistant office manager and build my way up with until hotel manager under the watch of Steven Heibloom. He was... I gotta say he's... He was also a Morgan's original, that's how we called him, and and a trailblazer. He... We never worked together at Morgan's, but we learned of each other right after him. He went to sixty afterwards and then he came to Shelbourne. And it was just we built that relationship,

the Future of Hospitalitythat bond where he knew he could rely on me and he pushed me. And I will always be grateful to him for that because he truly gave me that chance to really shine and and know... Develop yourself. That's... Correct. Because because because what I'm hearing is I want to make a little roundup cause I wanna go to the next point and that is your your outlook for your future. Because in a very short time, what I'm hearing is that you develop yourself from an aspiring lawyer at first, then you quit your education, moved to Miami, started washing dishes, and worked at all these iconic places in Miami Beach, and I know every single one of them, become a hotel manager.

the Future of HospitalityAnd I just wanna know, I wanna hear from you, what did you feel and in in that growth process, were there moments you went like, I wanna be this or I think I'm gonna can become that or what what were what were your goals and what is it now?

Armando CerdaSo really, when I started... And you... I'm sure you you can identify with this. In my... During my younger years, I was always thinking, well, what what is the end goal? What is the end goal? What is it for me? Mhmm. What's the end goal? And I'll share more detail later, but I'll give you in a in a nutshell now, owning my own property, right, being a managing partner. Ah. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm sure it's every... It's it's it's it's a lot of hoteliers dream, and and I'll share that because it's really it's really... It's it's a really special dream when you know you can do it yourself. You you you could do it differently. Right? You you know you can do it different than than everybody else.

Armando CerdaYeah. And make it very distinguishable. I think of if if... I'm I'm not sure if you are very into sports, but for example, I I listen a lot to Dana White, which is a very rough on the edges character, but he... The way that he handles his operation, as a quick example, I didn't know this, but around the octagon, the first five rows, he's the one that plays dumb... Chess with it. He knows where to put people individually. He he handles that himself, if you will. He makes... He extends the invitations. He follows through on them, which is very... How can you do that at that level? You know, you're running a multi billion dollar company and you have to talk.

Armando CerdaYeah. That's that's in the in the in the likes of what I really wanna do. It doesn't matter that you're the managing partner, managing director, it doesn't matter. You still have that line of communication because that's still... That that's that's what that's where the passion started, and it should never skip a bit in my eyes. So that's where, it is a property in Miami Beach. I'll share details of her eventually. It's not for sale right now.

the Future of HospitalityOkay. Very, That's... Oh, guys. So that's that's a huge ambition. You wanna stay in Miami Beach. Yeah. What is it that attracts you to my... I understand it, but I wanna I wanna hear that from you because I get it. It's... That it's my second hometown.

Armando CerdaMiami Beach is... It's it's really a mythical place. And look, it has its ups and downs like everywhere else in the world. I believe trends started going up in Brickell, rightfully so. You have brand new key inventory. Most of the hotels on Beach, 80% of the properties are historical preservation, a part of historical preservation board. So there's so much you can do. Right? Yeah. But even then, when you start seeing a lot of these guests emancipating flip... Sorry. Going over to Brickwell in the downtown area. Even then, what I see... What I start seeing and the... What I could see in the future is that Miami Beach will come back.

Armando CerdaI mean, had a great run-in the early two... The nineties were... Like, end of the nineties were the start up, right, for Miami Beach. Mhmm. Then the early two thousands were great, and then comes the recession and went down. And then 2012, have Pierce Brosnan and then the rest of these guys just walking down the street. And right now, it's still undergoing a a strange phase where it's it's it's coming back up after COVID and and and and else. But when you look at the numbers, historically, 2,022, we had 20... Sorry, '23. I apologize. It is '22. We had 26,500,000 of visitors, then '23 went up to 27 0.2, and '24 clocked at 28. So it's it's still coming.

Armando CerdaRight? It's it's it's Those are big numbers. Correct. And and it's it's just undergoing that transition period. But now, say, Miami Beach in 2027,

the Future of Hospitalitymid twenty seven always busy. I've seen... I mean, I've seen it develop ever since the eighties. Been... I'm a frequent guest ever since the eighties, and I've seen it develop. I can't... Honestly, my my honest... My my my opinion is that it's getting a little too busy at times. But hey, that's an opportunity for for a lot of hoteliers to indeed start something to stand out. I wanna go to the current position that you're in because you have the ambition to have... To own your own property or to run your own property on my... In Miami Beach on the beach, and I can only imagine seeing you doing that, and I will visit it. But now you're Absolutely. The general manager or the hotel executive. What is your No. So I am I am a consultant

Armando Cerdaright now. I'm taking special projects on the property, helping it reshape, revamp revamp itself into a higher potential. That's my current role. I'm touching many different different areas of opportunity. What is it what is it that

the Future of Hospitalitymade you decide to start working for a wellness resort? Because that is something totally different. Well,

Armando Cerdais a very special property in Miami. Also, dates nineteen fifties. And Yep. It has built, two additional towers residences over the years. Carillon is one of the only hotels in Miami. There's only three of them. They are part of the leading hotels of the world. Leading hotels of the world's portfolio only carries 400 plus independent properties all over the world. So this is a very big, huge thing if you ask me and very respectable. So that always was an attraction for me to join this property. But more so, the wellness aspect of this resort is is very... It's so natural. It's not forced upon you. And then and then... And when I say you, I mean the team members even, not just guest focus. As an example, it focuses heavy as well on its team members because at the end of the day, you can have the Bugatti of the properties.

Armando CerdaBut if you don't have the right people, you have nothing. You cannot have a Bugatti running with a Corollas engine, if that makes sense. So really pours a lot into their team members, into the employees, into all of us. We do walking Wednesdays, yoga classes. We pay for the employees.

the Future of HospitalityWhere does the guests... Where where do your guests come from? Because, again, Miami is super busy, and and you have to stand out to attract your audience. So how do you focus on your targeted audience? Who are they? And how do you do that?

Armando CerdaVery heavy New York. We have... Very heavy New York. Okay. But New Yorkers go to Miami anyway. I mean, that's... Was what... Back in the days, it was all New York, New York around Canadians and New Yorkers. That's what I remember from back in the eighties. But you would think, like, because Caroline is it's it's a little more separated, you know, up north from Miami Beach. You you think every year, a pretty different crop. You think more South America. You think Argentina, Chile, and and whatnot. But this is very heavily New York. Even through the summer. Okay. Which is... It's it's usually not the case. Right? In the summer, what you have is is is a heavy influx in that. In South America, you also have a heavy influx from France. You also have Italy and and... Yeah. Europeans go on vacation in June, July, August. Exactly. Exactly. So even to this day, so heavy in in New York.

Armando CerdaBut it's too hot. It is. But they're... I think moving from the team members and the employees wellness aspect, it also has an amazing reach on these guests. The property... Look. We have the second largest spa on the Eastern Seaboard, 70,000 square foot. So it's... Oh, okay. Right. So we have between 75 and a 100 different treatments. Besides massages, it's also... We have touchless, we we have red light bed, we have red light beds, we have sensorial deprivation tank, which I tried for the first time the other day after hearing Anthony Kitties speak about it from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And I just always wanted to try and I did. It was awesome experience. So we have... We offer so much. Right? Then we have rock climbing classes.

Armando CerdaThen we have a huge gym. It's just a lot of different aspects. We also have the... One of the only restaurants in Miami that has earned a Michelin star three years in a row, and we are reopening now soon. It's it's called the time... Oh, wow. Okay. That is that is that is that is really, really... I'm again... I'm impressed.

the Future of HospitalityI didn't even know there was such a restaurant North Miami Beach, so I learned something new here. Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome. Okay. Because we don't have too much time, I want to know from you. You mentioned that... First of all, I want to do a little roundup. You do not go to hotel school or anything like that. You learned everything with your food in the soil, in the mud, as I used to say, and you worked yourself up from the ground up, washing dishes, all kinds of hotels. Not the not the smallest, not not not not the not the cheapest, and you want to own your own property. What kind of property would that be?

the Future of HospitalityI know now it's gonna be in Miami, Miami Beach, where in Miami Beach, And how are you going to stand out? Draw us a picture of Armando's hotel in the future in Miami Beach. Go ahead.

Armando Cerda40 to 70 keys.

the Future of Hospitality40 to 70 keys. Okay. Underwater.

Armando CerdaOf course, on the water. Lot of lush green in the common areas, including lobby. Lot of heavily focused on nature, but not necessarily a super... Not not not thinking of one hotel, if you will. Something more garden ish. Armando will be... Given the amount of rooms, the the first and last point of contact, taking... Making sure that all the guests, you know, no no guests is escaped. Right? That's the that's the whole idea. And then you make sure that you lead by example, and then this mindset is transmitted to everybody else as as as it's been throughout the years in my career. Right?

the Future of HospitalityMhmm.

Armando CerdaSo we're very... You you... It's done differently. It's done... It's more heartfelt. It's taking from all these years that I've learned, for example, going back to Schrager's, Morgan's Hotel Group learning, you know, why so many interviews? Because we wanna make sure that we hire the right... We bring in the right candidate. Right? Somebody that's going to make sure that they mirror that passion that's... That starts from the top. And as far as the core, I have a very clear idea, but I'll I'll share with that with you

the Future of Hospitalityas as the dream gets closer. Right? Wonderful. Well, I think it's a it's a great dream and you have many years ahead of you and you're gonna... You you will... You you're gonna make it. I'm I'm I'm 100% confident. I will. So Armando, thank you so much for sharing your story and your insight and your your plans for the future with us here on the future of hospitality. Is there one last thing that you may want to share for people who want to start a career in hospitality?

Armando CerdaAbsolutely. Going back to the beginning, be passionate. If if if you're passionate and you are relentless, even when there are times where it feels like it's taking too long or it's just not going your way, trust me, it will go your way if you're passionate and relentless enough. Just don't settle. Go for what you want and just make sure you love every step of the process, even the ugly ones, because it will all pay off. And even to me where I feel I am nowhere near, like you said, the... Even the halfway of my career. There there... There's so much to to achieve yet, but that's really what's been a very good mindset and engine to where I'm at today and where I'm going Mhmm. In the future.

the Future of HospitalityWonderful. Armando, thank you for being in on our show. Thank you so much, Art. You're stellar.