Redefining Luxury: Wellness, Leadership, and Lasting Impact

"Armando Cerda (00:01) Hello everyone. Thank you for joining the Future of Hospitality podcast with us today, your host from the East Coast, Armando Cerda. And today we have a very, very special guest. Someone who has a spanning career of over 25 years of luxury in the hospitality industry and somebody who is a cornerstone in the leadership of anything that means hospitality when you speak of Miami Beach. Mr. Patrick Fernandez, the CEO of Alchemy Wellness Resorts and the Executive Managing Director of the Carelon Miami Wellness Resort. Patrick, welcome. Thank you for joining us. Patrick Fernandes (00:40) Thank you, Armando. It's a pleasure to be your host, your guest today. Armando Cerda (00:45) That's awesome. I'm super excited because I'll share briefly Patrick and I, had the great honor of sharing an office with Patrick for a little bit of time and it was great. I have to say this is somebody I also look up to and I respect a lot. So I had the opportunity of also consulting for him and learning a lot from him and our tenure. So thank you again for that. And here we are. Patrick, again, it's an amazing pleasure to have you here with us. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, who Patrick is, and ⁓ what an amazing career thus far. Patrick Fernandes (01:23) 25 years seems like a long time, right? ⁓ Let me go back to the beginning. ⁓ I was going to college in the Chicago area and working at a grocery store, putting myself through college. And one of the tasks in the grocery store was to stock the milk shells. And Every day I would stock the milk shells. If the milk wasn't there, I would wait on the receiving dock for the truck to arrive. And as I waited on the receiving dock, I could see the employees of the hotel that was located behind the grocery store come in for their shift. And they were so well dressed in their suits and their ties. And I said, I want to do that someday. But of course, like so many other things as a young man, as a teenager, I think at that time, I didn't action it. Till one day when I was stocking the milk shells, I spilled the milk on myself. Now imagine this is a walk-in cooler, it's near freezing temperatures and I have cold milk all over my shirt. And that's when I took the action. I said, all right, I'm gonna hang up this apron and I'm going to go to that hotel right behind the receiving dock and I'm going to apply for a job so I can wear a suit to it. I don't want to put milk up on the shelves anymore. And since then, it's been an amazing journey. This was in the late 90s ⁓ in the Chicago area. I started my hospitality career with Hilton Hotels. And from there, transitioned to Intercontinental Hotels, had a wonderful opportunity with two very large global organizations. And the start could not have been better. I grew too quickly. I became a general manager of a hotel by the age of 25. And that's when I realized that leadership is an enormous responsibility. And at 25, I was not ready for it. So as some people do, I took some time off from mainstream hospitality and I said, let me explore the world. And I got very, very fortunate with a consulting opportunity with a company called F &G Hospitality based out of Tampa. And I was able to see the world through a global cultural lens with different brands and different properties in different cities and locations all around the world, which was such an incredible opportunity. And that's when I realized, OK, now I have a much more broader sense of hospitality after seeing the world truly. ⁓ I did that for about five years. And I said, it's time for me to stop traveling by plane to get to a hotel every day. I had a family, ⁓ a young family at that time. And I said, I want to do what most people do, drive to work. And I found an incredible opportunity I got again. The streak of luck continued, right? I found this opportunity at the Satay in Miami Beach as the director of quality and training. And the Satay was one of my clients when I was at my previous firm. And the Satay hired me. And shortly after I was hired, they said, we have a task for you. We're going after mobile. And mobile at that time became Forbes. And we want your help in getting the five-star accolade at the Satay. And we got it. ⁓ It was. An incredible team that we had at the satay. We got the five star accolade and we maintained the five star accolade ever since we got it. Another opportunity came knocking at my door. I had a chance to open the fine a hotel in Miami Beach. ⁓ Same thing continued there that streak of luck continued an amazing team put together at the fine enough for the opening. We achieved the five stars after first full year of operation. Armando Cerda (05:24) remark. Patrick Fernandes (05:39) And after being at Fiena for about five years, I decided to take a slightly different approach to hospitality with modern luxury and now wellness. And today I am the executive managing director at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort. And we are the pioneers of modern luxury with wellness incorporated into every aspect of the guest experience. So very proud to say we also formed Alchemy Wellness Resorts. Armando Cerda (05:39) Record. Patrick Fernandes (06:09) I serve as the CEO of Alchemy Wellness Resorts. And through Alchemy, we are able to lend our expertise for those that are looking to incorporate wellness into the guest experience using technology or curating incredible experiences that are memorable and that result in long lasting healing. Armando Cerda (06:30) That's great. I must say as being ⁓ having the opportunity to ⁓ be at the Carillon for that time, it's also very, ⁓ it draws the team members into it naturally. It's not forced upon you. just wanna learn, get more into wellness and all of these different aspects of what a normal hotel doesn't bring, right? Including. high-end properties that we've all visited. it's very ⁓ amazing what you've all achieved there. ⁓ Going over the 25 years, and I completely relate to the wearing suit part. I love always putting on the suit. But getting a little bit more granular on the 25 years of experience, especially with such high-end brands, as you mentioned, we're talking about very key properties in the area of Miami. right? Very unique properties around the world that ⁓ needless to say. What were like the key faces in your career ⁓ that drew you outside of that into continuing pursuing this career and not just pursuing it, but you were constantly evolving, right? What were these key faces? Well, I know we jumped over. ⁓ We went over this. But what what were the moments where you Said to yourself. Yes. I'm definitely This is it for me Patrick Fernandes (08:03) You know, I think when I was a child and I was playing any make-believe game with myself or with my siblings, I always thought of myself as, right, how can I be the leader? And leadership was something that was always a talent I wanted to have. In my childhood years, as I said, I would practice this, but I didn't know what I was doing. But I knew one day I wanted to aspire to become a leader. And then that thought or belief of becoming a leader evolved over time. And evolution taught me that you have to evolve. By evolving, I learned that I had to stay current with the times. ⁓ In my early years, I learned that titles don't make leaders, it's character that makes leaders. character is so important that it sets the roadwork for the legacy that you leave in your career. ⁓ I learned that leadership is not just about alignment, it's about, it is about alignment rather, it is about getting your team to be inspired and motivated by what you do. because it's not easy. You can't just walk into a room and tell a group of individuals, okay, you're part of my team, here's what I expect you to do. That's not what leadership is about, right? Leadership is about inspiring your team so that they can perform their best when you're not around. And when you are around, they try their best to never ever disappoint you. And that was such an incredible feeling when you first get it right. then you feel like you owe it to your team to constantly evolve because they are expecting that from you and you don't want to let your team down. It's a two-way street at the end. Armando Cerda (10:07) Absolutely, I can relate very much. It's very rewarding when you feel that it's not fear they have towards you, but it's respect. And they will ensure to go the mile above to make sure that you are satisfied because it's selfish, They want to satisfied themselves. But I can completely relate to this. say, for example, Carillon as an executive managing director, You emphasize on Walden's holistic experience, even sleep ⁓ tourism, right? Which is a new one. I learned that while at Carillon. What does Walden mean for you in the context of a luxury resort? Patrick Fernandes (10:55) So in the context of a luxury resort, wellness is not a department. It's a philosophy. It's a mindset. shapes at Carillon, it shapes everything we do as part of the experience. And when I say part of the experience, I mean it for our residents at Carillon, for our guests at Carillon, for our members at Carillon, and of course for our team here at Carillon as well. And we often say wellness is not service, it is a state of being. So at Carillon Luxury meets the art of well-being. We are very fortunate to have an oceanfront setting. ⁓ It reminds us every day that balance, renewal, and purpose are just not luxuries. They're essentials. We need those in our lives every day. So we've created a space where luxury is not defined by extravagance, but about how deeply a guest feels cared for physically. emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and that's Wellness at Carol. Armando Cerda (12:02) That's, you can feel it the moment you walk in through the lobby. That's amazing. Thank you, Patrick. Can you give us one example of an initiative to transform the standard hotel stay into a true luxury experience under your leadership? Since the moment that you took on the Carillon as the executive manager and director. Patrick Fernandes (12:23) You know, I have to say that through the pandemic, we learned a lot. ⁓ When we were coming back from the pandemic, we were not sure as a wellness resort what the guest's sentiment would be to a traditional massage or a facial or any spa service for that matter. We were wearing masks. We had UV lights. We had so many other devices and we were afraid. So we did not know if A guest would come back on the massage table willingly, want massage, how they would feel. So one of the most impactful initiatives that we've launched here at Carillon has been touchless wellness. And that touchless wellness has also evolved. ⁓ We now have touchless wellness circuits. These are curated journeys that offer restorative high tech therapies that are designed to optimize restoration. recovery and relaxation. ⁓ Our guests began to realize that wellness wasn't just confined to the treatment rooms. It could be woven to every single aspect of their stay. So we've had guests that have come here and said, I'm tired, but I'm leaving whole. And that's when you know you've moved beyond hospitality and you've entered into a transformation when your guests are giving you that feedback. Armando Cerda (13:49) That's amazing. Segwayne, into a little bit of your career continuing on the Walnuss, you are absolutely a creative thinker. in and in the strategist and the luxury hospitality. How do you stay ahead of trends in hospitality, especially in luxury and wellness? Patrick Fernandes (14:19) Well, I have to say I'm supported by an incredible team, right? And the team brings a lot of input into what we do as well. But as an executive managing director of a resort like Carillon, I have to observe and listen to what my team says. I have to take into account some of the ideas and none of all of these ideas are not mine, right? I can't take credit for everything at Carillon. team does so much more and I am incredibly grateful for what the team has done here at Carillon. It's not about me. But for myself, to answer your question, I listen, I observe, I travel, I read. And innovation, it doesn't come from chasing the trends. It comes from understanding a human need. And if you understand a human need, that's when you can truly be outstanding. So with Carillon and with Alchemy Wellness Resorts, we look closely at the science and the hospitality. And as you said, from sleep optimization to neurofeedback for the brain. So we designed mindful experiences for longevity, for wellness, and so many genres and aspects within what we have to offer you at Carillon. And what keeps ahead... keeps us ahead is not just a technology, but it's that spirit of curiosity, which I just described. It's the willingness for us to ask those questions. What will truly help our guests and our residents and our members and our team members live better? And that curiosity has kept us at the cutting edge. Armando Cerda (16:05) That's great. Yes, and going back to COVID, ⁓ I think the last five years, especially right after we opened all the properties, Miami Beach opened itself back for business. think ⁓ times have been very, rather fast. And especially when you speak of technology, when you speak of sustainability, wellness, personalized service, right, it's struck our industry in a good aspect. Right now we have, we all have to keep up. up to speed. But in your personal experience, ⁓ the way that Master Patrick ⁓ sees it, where do you see luxury hospitality in the next five years? Patrick Fernandes (16:52) All right, I'm going to look into this crystal ball over here. Well, I unfortunately don't have a crystal ball, but I can give you my ⁓ viewpoint of the future, which may be different from many others, right? And I think given that I am in the wellness arena and in hospitality, Armando Cerda (16:55) Hahaha ⁓ Absolutely. Patrick Fernandes (17:18) It may be different for somebody else who does not have wellness attached to hospitality. ⁓ But for me, the future of luxury will be deeply personalized wellness. And travelers today are becoming more intentional. They're not just asking, where can I go? But they're asking, how will it make me feel? Right. And that's what they're looking for in their travel. So maybe five years from now, luxury will be defined not by the possessions, it'll be defined by the presence. how connected or how centered and how inspired a guest feel. The ultimate luxury is going to be the clarity of mind that we can offer to our guest and the peace that they have in their heart. And that will be the ultimate luxury. Armando Cerda (18:04) Yeah, I love that. That's a great... Patrick Fernandes (18:07) It's very different from what we mostly think about when it comes to luxury hospitality. And I think my thoughts are more steered along wellness, which is perhaps different from the traditional thinking of luxury within the hospitality space. Armando Cerda (18:28) Absolutely. I mean, look, when you when you started looking at all these different brands, I've learned recently that Six Senses, ⁓ most properties don't have a TV inside the room, which is alright. Thirty seven hundred dollar ADR and no TVs. That's and guess what? You know, people are are doing anything they can to get a hold of those rooms. So that's ⁓ very ⁓ spectacular if you. go back 20 years and look at the future and say, yeah, we won't have TBs and we'll be able to charge that much. That's actually a massive accomplishment. Speaking of operationally, ⁓ going back to the team a little bit, do you have any challenge or obstacle, cultural obstacle or challenges when you try to implement the wellness-centric practices? ⁓ across larger team and the property. Patrick Fernandes (19:31) Yeah, culture is a challenge, right? I mean, we sometimes think of the face value, the immediate challenge. It's when the space bar on the keyboard doesn't work. That's a technology challenge. There may be a cost associated with that. And those challenges are everywhere. But culture can be an enormous challenge. like many other places, this is something that we have to keep up with. ⁓ You can build the most beautiful facilities, the most beautiful wellness resorts. And you can have wellness programming. Sometimes you don't get it right. But if your team doesn't embody wellness in how they live and how they serve, it won't feel authentic. And at Carillon, we invest heavily in our team on well-being. Our team's well-being is important to us. We teach not just what to do, but we help them understand why So they understand it with purpose. And because the team then feels valued with the information that they receive from being a team member at Carillon, which this information is not available anywhere else. It's only available to them. And with the resources that we have available and that they are able to utilize as well, that's when the team feels valued. They feel balanced. And then the energy naturally comes and transfers into the guest experience. So culture is... one of those big challenges and we have to work hard at it every single day. But these are just some of the things that we're doing here at Carillon. Armando Cerda (21:05) That's awesome. That's great. And what 25 years later, what continues to excite you? you know, it feels like you've never skipped a beat, right? So what continues to excite you after 25 years in the industry? Patrick Fernandes (21:27) to say it what excites me most is the human connection without a doubt ⁓ I don't think in any industry or any other industry for that matter, you're able to meet people from across the world. You're able to meet people from across different walks of life. ⁓ There's so many stories to share and travel, right? And that's what we bring into hospitality. ⁓ You can make such an impact in a single moment in hospitality and in travel. Very few industries offer you that capability to make such a big impact in a single moment. And sometimes it's the simple things like a smile that can shift someone's day. Right? And I think we understand that. And what has driven me in my entire career has been the people. I am inspired by our team. And as I said earlier, it's my team that drives me because it's a two-way street. If I feel that the team doesn't want to let me down, it's not fair if I let them down. And what drives me to constantly evolve and to push myself to become that evolving leader is my team. ⁓ Because I don't want to give them the same message every single day because that's when they will turn off. But if I continue to reshape my message and evolve and keep current with the times, the team is going to be more engaged. So I am I've always been inspired by the human connection, both with the guest and with the team. But my inspiration in my career. has been drawn with my team. So in hospitality, we have that ability to change lives. And as leaders, you also have that ability to change lives. And you can do it quietly, you can do it gracefully, and you can do it every single day. And when you're making an impact, that's when it really matters. Armando Cerda (23:44) That's very, very true and exemplary. And as a leader on the same note, ⁓ how do you foster passion and ownership among your team, especially in this industry where we all know it's no secret to Miami Beach that turnover and burnout can be real issues. Patrick Fernandes (24:06) Yeah, I mean, you know, as a leader, can do everything. As the executive managing director, I'm not a one man show. Every single time a guest says they've had a great experience. I have to understand where that is coming from and how we were able to do that. So we can keep that experience consistent with every single guest, every single time. So with that, I've learned to lead with trust. I have a team and the team is there for a reason. They've been in assigned a task or a role and I have to trust that they're going to do that. When they do it, I have to recognize it. And most importantly, they have to understand the purpose and the why is it that they are doing what they are doing. ⁓ So trust, recognition and purpose, that I believe in giving our teams the tools, the freedoms in their own role so they can flourish. And whether they clean a room or they lead a department, they should have all of that. And as a team, we should celebrate the wins. We should also face the challenges every single day. Armando Cerda (25:24) Absolutely. ⁓ That's a great way of putting it. And again, as I go back, you can definitely sense that in the air, in your property. ⁓ For, say, young professionals just entering the luxury hospitality, ⁓ what would you say are key skills and mindsets that are non-negotiable? Patrick Fernandes (25:52) We've applied curiosity to our success at Carillon, right? It's our curiosity among so many other things that has bought us this far. We were curious about what the guest sentiment would be. We asked those questions and those questions stemmed from curiosity. The same can be applied for... a young professional in their career. Always look and ask questions. Don't just look and keep it to yourself and be quiet about it. If you are curious, you will want answers and you will seek more. And if you seek more, you will grow because you've learned more. But if you're not curious, you're not gonna seek, you're not gonna learn and you're not gonna grow. ⁓ So. Things that come to mind as advice perhaps for young professionals is curiosity. Always have humility. Don't have that sense of entitlement. And be resilient because not every day is going to be a great day. And you have to be resilient and learn how to keep up with that when you have a not so great day. How do you bounce back and lift yourself back up? So three things that will come to mind, curiosity. Humility, resilience. So be curious to learn, be humble to listen, and resilient enough to grow through those challenges. Armando Cerda (27:20) Great, great advice. ⁓ saying in the luxury, what are common misconceptions about the luxury hospitality and wellness that you encounter ⁓ and how do you correct them? Patrick Fernandes (27:22) Thank you. So when people think about luxury, right? They think about luxury as extravagant or excess or glamorous and all these kinds of things come to mind when you think about luxury. And when they think about wellness, they'll think about exclusivity. They'll think about these kinds of things. But in reality, at least this is what I see, the truth is that both are about care and intention. And if you have care and intention, We have the formula for luxury. Luxury is the ability to slow things down and wellness is the ability to tune in. And when we practice these with sincerity, we bring people back to themselves, to who they really are and not about glamour and excess. Armando Cerda (28:28) Right. Yeah, I love that. ⁓ And going back a little bit to maybe not professionals just starting, but also current professionals in the industry. ⁓ If you could summarize your philosophy in one sentence for anyone who wants to see to create an unforgettable hospitality experience grounded in wellness and luxury, what would that be? Patrick Fernandes (28:54) So for this one, I am grateful, Armando, that you gave me the questions ahead of time. Because if you would have asked me this question on the spot, it's one of those questions where people ask me, what's your favorite movie? Or what's your favorite dish? What I get most often, which one is your favorite hotel? And when I'm asked these questions, I can never think about a favorite hotel or a favorite movie or a favorite dish. ⁓ Armando Cerda (29:06) Ha ha. It happens to me too. I can relate to that. Patrick Fernandes (29:20) So I fully appreciate that you sent me the questions in advance. ⁓ But if I were to sum it down and give it to you in one sentence, right? When service comes from purpose, that's when it's transform. That's when it's transformative. So service has to have purpose because without purpose, it goes nowhere. And without purpose, it's not transformative. Armando Cerda (29:53) Absolutely, I love that. ⁓ We're getting ready to wrap up. Before that, just for fun, give me your most impactful guest experience in the last spending 25 years. Patrick Fernandes (30:10) You know, there's two things in this one. There's fun and there's impactful. And I've chosen impactful. I would love to tell you a story about something about the glamour and the excess, which is something that's pretty common in luxury hospitality, which both you and I have seen over the course of our careers. Armando Cerda (30:35) expectation, right? Patrick Fernandes (30:38) But sometimes the most impactful ones are the simplest ones. And it all goes back to listening to your guests, because sometimes we tune ourselves to listen for those big glamour feedbacks. We had a big wedding. Let's see what the bride said, because everybody had fun at the event. And they spent a gazillion dollars at the event. Armando Cerda (30:39) Thank Patrick Fernandes (31:06) We look, we tune ourselves to look for that type of feedbacks, but sometimes the most impactful feedback comes in the simplest forms and we can miss it if we are not in tuned to looking for it. ⁓ One thing that stays with me at Carillon is a guest that came to me once and said, you know, I came here exhausted, but I'm leaving with energy I didn't even know I had. And that just sent chills down my spine. Right? It was such a simple statement. They said, I came here exhausted. Think about that for a second. In wellness, what does that mean? They came exhausted, but they're leaving with energy that they didn't even know they had. Some transformative thing happened here. And as I said earlier, you know, if service comes with purpose, then it is transformative. And with this guest, we hit the mark. The feedback was so simple. That memory that I have with This guest was so simple because they were struggling with every single day. They were exhausted because they were not getting sleep. And at Carillon, we have some incredible sleep programs from the mattresses in our room to the sleep circuits that we offer. We can use technology to help you understand yourself better. And then this guest said to me, I came exhausted. but I'm leaving with energy that I never thought I had or didn't know I had. That reminded me that hospitality in its highest form is about healing. And in a wellness resort, we definitely did something right when a guest said something like this, that they were healed. And that's the legacy I want to leave. It's about creating spaces where people really discover the balance. and the meaning for themselves. Armando Cerda (33:17) That's awesome. I'll tell you what, I can relate to that guess. can definitely relate after the circuits. ⁓ My favorite one will always be the relaunch. It was just amazing to just experience all that and to understand this whole different facts of hospitality, especially with such an impressive spot. guys have to correct me if on the second one on the Eastern Seaboard, ⁓ if I'm not mistaken. Well, ⁓ this has been awesome, Patrick. Thank you very much. Anything you would like to draw up prior before we ⁓ were out? Patrick Fernandes (34:04) Well, I'm always happy to talk to people, right? So I'm happy to have your listeners connect with me on LinkedIn. ⁓ That's where I'm most active. I love to talk about wellness. I love to talk about hospitality. I love to talk about luxury and share my perspective of it. ⁓ So please reach out to me on LinkedIn, Patrick Fernandez. Would love to hear your thoughts because one of the key things that I... define with my success is listening as well. So if you have listeners that would like to share their thoughts, I would love to hear it. It only helps me grow and we can grow together. Armando Cerda (34:45) That's great. Well, Patrick, thank you very much. This has been great. Thank you for your insights. I'm sure it's definitely it's going to have a huge impact with our up and coming industry leaders now as we are experience a brand new wave of hoteliers joining the industry now. So thank you very much. I wish you well. And we are happy to have you here. Patrick Fernandes (35:13) Wonderful. It's been a pleasure. Thank you, Armando. "