Latest / Brand Insiders / Charles McDiarmid of the Wickaninnish Inn on Storm Watching, Sustainability, and What It Really Means to Be a Relais & Chateaux Member

Transcript

Charles McDiarmid of the Wickaninnish Inn on Storm Watching, Sustainability, and What It Really Means to Be a Relais & Chateaux Member · Brand Insiders

• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of Brand Insiders.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm joined today by Charles McDerman.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: He's the Maitre de Maison at the Wiccan in a Shin in Tefino, Canada.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And he's the sustainability commissioner at Relay and Chateau.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Charles, thank you so much for joining me.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's a pleasure, Adam.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: Thrilled to be here, and uh thanks for inviting me on your uh on your show.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so to start off with here, um we have our backgrounds.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We'll get into your your CV background, but I want to talk about where you're filming right now and what's in the background there.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_02: Right here, you're uh you're looking over uh my uh right hand shoulder at the Wiccaninish Inn, with a little background beyond that of uh Chesterman Beach, uh which is about 2.7 kilometers long.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_02: And over my uh left shoulder is uh a hillside of uh the start of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and we're located here in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on the very west coast of Vancouver Island.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's amazing.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm I'm here in Toronto, Canada, and you're in Tefino, Canada, and we're in the same country, but we're pretty much six hours away by flight.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: But how would you get to Tefino from Vancouver?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Well, Adam, for you, um uh, you know, you're you'd be obviously flying into Vancouver.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and uh, and then from Vancouver, um, there are several options.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_02: Uh Harbor Air float plane.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_02: You can uh uh right from downtown Vancouver, hop on the float plane and land here at the dock in Tefino, and uh our team at the Wiccaninish Inn will be there to pick you up and bring you to the inn, which is about uh five kilometers outside of the downtown area of Tefino.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: Or uh you uh, if you're at the airport as well, you could also hop on a Pacific Coastal Air Flight from the South Terminal at Vancouver Airport, and you're about from there, you're uh you know, about 40 minutes from wheels up to wheels down.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: You land at uh Tefino Long Beach Airport, which is about 30 minutes away, and uh and you can rent a car right there and uh be uh here at the inn uh in about 30 minutes from the airport.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: So, of course, you can also drive, but that is that is, and I highly rec recommend for for anyone who hasn't been to this part of the world to drive first because you it is an incredible journey.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, you take uh um uh a ferry from Vancouver.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and uh it's depending on the ferry you take, an hour and a half to two hours.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's kind of like a mini cruise because the the ferries are great, the views are fantastic.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: You never know.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: You might see a pot of orcas, you might see dolphins, but it's a beautiful journey.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: You uh land uh in Nanaimo on the east side of Vancouver Island, and from there it's about a three-hour uh journey uh from there to Tefino.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_02: But what I always say is the last hour and a half of your journey is nothing but trees, rivers, mountains, and lakes.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: You drive up over the mountain spine of Vancouver Island and land on the west coast of the island, uh, and you actually drive through Pacific Rim National Park Reserve to get here.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: But beautiful views along the way, Cathedral Grove, uh uh uh uh a uh provincial park of old growth Douglas fir trees, spectacular uh mountain landscapes, as they say, and and and yeah, no McDonald's, no uh gas stations, just trees, rivers, mountains, and lakes for the last hour and a half of the drive.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: So it really kind of sets you up.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: And we are at the end of the road.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_02: We're we're not on the end uh on the way to anywhere else in that road.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_02: You drive in that road and you drive out that same road.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_02: So um it it is about a five-hour journey in total from Vancouver.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but uh it it is a wonderful journey, and you get to listen to uh uh maybe a podcast or two from uh from you.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, maybe uh one can only hope.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but you know I I brought that up just to give people a sense of the sense of scale for Canada and just how there's so much natural beauty uh in this country, but oftentimes uh it is we're talking about remote destinations as opposed to places that are an hour drive from a major city somewhere.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_02: It really is you you don't wind up in Tefino by accident, I'll say that.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, when you arrive at the Wiccanishan, you open the door, you look out the window, and you are looking out about thirteen thousand five hundred uh kilometers due south to New Zealand and eight thousand five hundred kilometers due west to Japan.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: So right on the edge uh of the world here.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely stunning geography.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So let's take a step back now.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And this is, of course, uh a podcast called Brand Insiders.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we have to start with the brand, but Roland Chateau isn't really a brand per se.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it works quite differently.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So could you describe what a membership means for an independent hotel?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh absolutely.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, for me, um, you know, uh starting out as a young hotelier uh many years ago, um, just achieving uh and and being welcomed into the family of Rolle and Chateau was a goal unto itself.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that that was uh that was for me uh very personal objective uh from my very early days.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_02: But, you know, it from a practical perspective, I mean, we're a group of 580 independent uh independent properties uh around the world in in over 60 countries.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um and it's about preserving our uh individuality um and benefiting from the strength of um, well, a a brand for sure, but a global organization that can support individual smaller properties like us and even smaller in a way that uh gives them um recognition clout and marketing uh opportunities that you can't achieve on your own.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um but it's a rec uh, you know, being welcomed into the family is recognition of things that we value at Relay and Chateau, authenticity, um, excellence, sense of place, um, culinary excellence, and and and meaningful hospitality.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um so uh you get to exchange ideas with some of the brightest minds, uh uh interesting owners and managers that all have their own unique approach to hospitality.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um and for me, I mean, I I came up, you know, through hotel school and then worked for Four Seasons hotels and so on.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but uh I some of the greatest lessons I get are from uh wonderful entrepreneurs who who maybe came from a different line of business and and they approach hospitality in a their own unique way.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: And that's a super strength of Roley and Chateau is that it's um uh everyone gets to to deliver hospitality in the way they think it should be.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: And that's each one is its own unique experience.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_02: And uh um yeah, that's that's really it.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: And and yet you have a platform that supports all of us in a in a wonderful ecosystem that way.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um so we understand this binding philosophy for all the hotels that are part of Roland Chateau.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: And now here's the fun yet hard part is coloring that with maybe some specific properties or experiences from uh the association, the members of of uh Roland Chateau.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna ask you this question.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me some of your favorites aside from the Wiccan in a shed.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's that's uh that is a hard question.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: There are so so many, um, but um you know, some of the ones that just stand out, and I I could list probably 30 or 40, but I won't go quite that far.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: But um uh well one that stands out uh because we were recently in Italy is Il San Pietro de Positano on the Amalfi coast, perched on a cliff overlooking uh the Mediterranean, uh, an improbable location, um uh with an elevator built through the rocks all the way down to the seashore, um, and a restaurant right there.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: But um yeah, a fantastic place.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: Another one is uh Domain uh Le Crayere Um in Reims in the heart of the Champagne area, and and uh on a seven hectare park, lush vegetation, um, you know, uh incredible chateau style um property.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, uh I mean and they feature 600 champagne labels.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, who um where I didn't even know there were 600 champagne labels and and and so on.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: So a traditional Relay and Chateau property, a chateau property that you might think of.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh another one in France, Beauminiere Hotel and Spa, you know, uh that has been um uh a part of Relay and Chateau for uh many, many years.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh handmade furniture, incredible cuisine, uh evocative destination, um all ingredients from their kitchen garden and so on.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then uh hopping to North America, another wonderful place that's a little different, called Single Thread Farm, which is a restaurant and inn in California.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um very small property.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, Relay and Chateau's can city destinations could be up to a hundred rooms, a hundred keys.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh there, they've got, I think, five guest rooms or so on, and the incredible restaurant, right?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and uh you're uh spending uh dining in the restaurant and spending the night upstairs with them, you know.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_02: So that's uh another place that's a little closer uh to the Wiccaninishin, at least in California and and uh so on.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: And then uh in Japan, uh Gora Kadan, a stay at a former retreat of the Imperial family.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh it is situated in the heart of uh Hakon National Park, um, and it's a traditional real can.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, just uh, you know, tradition everything, you know, uh sliding um uh walls made of rice paper, fragrant flower incense, uh um incredible cuisine again, and and uh silk uh anyway, they're they're each one is, yeah.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_02: As I say, we're over 60 countries.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: I think 65 were represented in.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh but the each one is its own unique piece of art.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, and and each one is its own unique, unique story.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: And we could just spend the rest of the podcast just lifting off all a hundred and all 580 properties and just go through each one, and each one is doing something unique.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: And and unlike uh a traditional hotel brand, we are of course an association, not a not a corporation, but we also have uh many, many freestanding restaurants as well, which is kind of unique to to what Relay and Chateau represents, and and and uh the uh uh the Michelin-starred chefs are uh uh incredible.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: You compare how many uh Michelin-starred restaurants, three, two, and one-star restaurants.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I think um, you know, there are I think uh Relay and Chateau represents uh probably 12% or something of all the three-star uh restaurants, you know, around the world.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh and and even uh maybe even more of the uh uh two-star restaurants as well.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's huge as well.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's it's uh it speaks to a couple things.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, it speaks to the integral relationship throughout history between culinary and hotels.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and it speaks to also the uh reason why we travel.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: We travel uh to dine and to have exceptional dining experiences that are grounded firmly in this in their place where the hotel is.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_02: And that's what real that is the essence of Relay and Chateau.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: Grounded in the terroir of the area, the experience is is often uh most of the properties are are ownered, uh you know, family owned, um, often uh like ours as well, family run.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, our family that uh grew up in Tefino.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up in this small town of 2,500 people that is 2,500 now, was a lot smaller even back then, but we're still a pretty small town.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_02: But uh, you know, we we uh we respect the environment, the the place, the the history, the culture.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: We have tremendous First Nations culture here.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, we're on the Pacific Ocean, uh amazing seafood, um, you know, and uh and uh uh incredible uh uh treats from the forest as well.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: We're not a real farming uh community, but um uh uh there are uh um yeah, incredible uh foragers out there, amazing uh fishers, and uh and we get uh great uh access to the small, beautiful farms on the east coast of Vancouver Island that aren't too far away from us, but um that's uh yeah, those uh the the farmers, the fishers, and uh the foragers are a huge part of what make this make make up our culinary experience.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um so uh you know, just jumping ahead, you mentioned about your background and how you grew up in Tefino.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then you also did, let's say, a tour of duty at four seasons.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: And also you went to Cornell uh hospitality management school.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's correct.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_02: And and the hotel experience the the the Cornell experience uh gave me uh excellent skills, but um the four seasons experience um uh really I mean uh uh this industry is is uh you know it's not rocket science, but I'd say a rocket scientist would be hard pressed to to do it.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: But it the experience in hospitality of doing it, and I would say my undergraduate degree was at uh uh the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell, and my graduate degree was at four seasons over 13 years in in a variety of different destinations, working under incredible general managers with uh a lot of um discretion in how they uh managed and r run the their hotels and and and how that's done.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_02: So that was well, that was a graduate degree, as I said.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: That's how I felt about it.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and and uh I I'd like to say it's unique in hospitality, but there are so many ex four seasoners who have gone on to do amazing things, either starting their own hotel, starting their own brands, being on the founding team, or joining some other organization that has benefited from their uh their seasoned leadership.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: You're so right, Adam.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_02: I I wouldn't be here today talking to you if it weren't for that experience with Four Seasons.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_02: You you really learn uh the nitty-gritty from the ground up, you know, doing it every day, uh interacting with guests, uh, you know, um uh dealing with uh challenges and issues and and solving uh solving uh problems and and uh creating unique experiences and and so on.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, that's uh that's where you really learn uh the the basics and it gives you a great overall perspective too, working in a number of different cities, as I said, with a variety of general managers with uh their own in in unique styles and and ways of uh managing.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and uh Four Seasons to this day is headquartered here in Toronto.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh lovely build up.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: So um you had your time at Four Seasons.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: You were raised in Tefino, grew up in Tefino, went to Cornell, and then now let's talk about the founding of the Wiccan in a chev, the Wick, and when you entered the picture.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh the um this was always a dream of our family.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_02: As my mother said, she used to operate the the uh busiest complimentary bed and breakfast on the west coast.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_02: And uh and uh my father had worked his way through medical school by being a bellhop at the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, as he said, he knew just enough about hospitality um to be dangerous.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_02: So um uh what had happened really, and and this goes back to um, you know, the early days uh when my father uh took a job here in Tefino uh back in 1954.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: He'd just graduated um uh from medical school and done his internship at uh Vancouver General and needed a job.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: And uh there was a new hospital in Tefino.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh he um uh, you know, job uh uh doctors were were not as much in demand as they are today, and medical jobs and and and so on not as prevalent.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: So he jumped at the chance, and no one else was really interested in in coming to Tefino and uh being a doctor at this hotel or at this uh hospital because um there was no road to it.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_02: It was isolated.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_02: You got here by boat or by plane, and and the planes didn't run that often, and the boats came twice a week.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_02: So um anyway, he thought he'd be here for uh maybe a year or two and then move and be a big city doctor and so on, but fell in love with this incredible destination, loved it, and and decided, well, maybe others will will love this too.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: And and my mom and dad had done a tour around uh um Europe in a Volkswagen bug uh camping and then dressing up and going to fancy restaurants, um saving their money for the dining experience.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and and he recognized that that that this was an incredible destination, incredible beaches, not maybe not as warm as the Mediterranean, but uh every bit as beautiful in its own unique way.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_02: So uh he bought property, and that's what allowed um us to to be able to consider um uh doing the Wiccan in a shin.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I um well, I was in Seattle.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: I I I worked in uh Calgary initially, Dallas, or then uh off to Washington, D.C., um Dallas, Texas, where I opened a hotel and then Southern California in uh Newport Beach for a while, and then in Seattle, I wrote the business plan for the Wiccan initial and and did all the research myself.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_02: And, you know, after the kids went to bed, sat down there longhand writing it out and getting someone to put it in presentable form.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so I wanted to know the nuts and bolts instead of going to a big eight accounting firm and um, you know, the boilerplate and everything else.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: I I did all the marketing research, all the financial research.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, all the all aspects of it.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, presented the plan to my father.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_02: And uh he said, Charles, he looked through it and said, you know, nice business plan.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, we're land rich and cash poor.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_02: I said, Oh, so now I have to get financing?
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_02: He says, Oh, you catch on quick.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_02: So I ended up leaving four seasons, moving to Vancouver because I needed financing, and and cross-border financing wasn't for a small, um, you know, uh relatively small business like this was um not in the cards.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_02: So I took a job as the director of sales at the Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau and shopped the business plan on Howe Street uh in my uh off time, found uh put some uh eventually found uh put together an investor group, and we had subdivided out eight acres from uh about 100 acres of property that uh uh surrounded us that we still have as a family, and subdivided out eight acres, had it appraised, got our investor group to raise the equivalent value in cash to the value of the property.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: We were fifty became 50-50 partners.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: We went to the Business Development Bank of Canada, which back then was known as the FBDB, um uh today the BDC, and borrowed the money we needed.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I represented our family and my little league baseball coach, who was one of our investors, represented the investor group and from Tefino.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: And we were general contractors, hired a construction manager and started construction and opened the Wiccaninish Inn on August 9, 1996, soon to be 30 years ago, um, in the next few days.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's Cole's notes.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_02: That that's that's kind of how it came together.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I will say that um uh five years after we opened in 2001, our investors were in it for uh an investment.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_02: We ended up uh buying them out.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_02: They basically got a 20% return a year over the five years.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um doubled their money in five years, and and uh uh with the help of the um Royal Bank of Canada, we bought out our partners, and then it's strictly been uh family-owned and family-run uh property uh since then.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, here we were supposed to talk about food and sustainability, and now you're getting into internal rate or returns and the financing side, you know.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, there's plenty of room for food and wine.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: But uh but that that's the business thing.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_02: That that's that's how it came together, and um and it's been a wonderful journey.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, some ups and downs over the over the many years, but but pretty uh way more ups than downs.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's been uh it it's wonderful.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_02: We yeah, yeah, incredible team of people, incredible guests, great history, and uh lots of fun.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, well, uh the ups and downs, hospitality, these are living and breathing places, and they change over time, so they evolve, they grow, and you have to grow with them as well.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but it's great that you do mention how the project came together because you know, at the ultimate at the end of the day, um nothing happens in hospitality till a deal deal gets done.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: However, it gets done, nothing happens.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um but speaking of another deal, um, within one year of opening, the property joined Relais and Chateau.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: So how did that help the hotel?
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then how has that relationship evolved over the past three decades?
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_02: Great question, Adam.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um well, being welcomed into the family of Relais and Chateau was uh uh for me the ultimate uh um pinnacle of achievement in the hospitality industry.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um I never wanted to be a general manager of a 3,000-room hotel in Las Vegas.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I I just wanted a small hotel where we could take care of people individually and and uh represent and and and give them the best of our region, of our area.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_02: And and uh I knew that that that was pretty spectacular in and of itself.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um but um joining Relay and Chateau brought the world to our doors, in in short.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, we had we had um we had developed a good name recognition already uh in leading up to the opening of the inn.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um but um uh being welcomed into the family of Rolle and Chateau was um basically the good housekeeping seal of approval, you know, for someone from Europe had maybe having heard about the Wiccaninish Inn and thinking, yeah, but what if the food is terrible when we get there?
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_02: And then going, oh, it's a Roland Chateau, everything will be okay.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that was that would that was what it was.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: It it um it really, as I said, uh opened our doors and and we were welcoming the world from there, you know.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh um uh Europeans, uh, you know, um Americans, of course, um, well-established brand in the U.S.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um at the time.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and uh it had great name recognition and an incredible uh following, you know, through, as uh French would say, the guide, the guidebook.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_02: It was the the guidebook back then.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we didn't really have much of an internet presence, um, but it was all about the guidebook.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_02: And and we have so many loyal guests that just follow Relay and Chateau and and uh you know they're interested in new and different offerings, and we were on the menu, and and um yeah, that's that's what Relay and and as I said, it we get a chance to interact with uh so many uh incredible um hoteliers and people with uh their own vision for hospitality that you learn something just chatting with each and every person uh that you meet within the Relay and Chateau network.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so on top of being the maître de maison for the WIC, you were handpicked by Relay and Chateau's president, Laurent Gardenier, to be one of seven sustainability commissioners.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: So tell us about that role, how it evolved, uh how it came about, and what it what involves today.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I have to give uh full credit to Laurent for for uh establishing uh the Sustainability Commission and and uh and and our the overall Relay and Chateau uh commitment to sustainability.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um so many of our properties and and really Relay and Chateau grew up, you know, in remote desk, I wouldn't say remote, always remote destinations, maybe not quite as remote as we are, um, but places in the country, right?
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_02: Where where um you know you're interacting with uh small towns and so on, and and uh local farmers and and and uh and so on.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_02: And um and just sustainability is often for many of us part of what we're already committed to.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and so but it was a way of of bringing us all together, so many diverse uh properties and so many different countries, but but focusing on how we could be better.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_02: And and it's a journey, of course.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you don't turn on the light switch and all of a sudden you're a hundred percent sustainable.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a journey, and we're all on this journey together, and learning from each other and and uh establishing commitments to to move forward in a sustainable manner, and and all of us getting a chance to learn from each other about what we do and what others do and how we can all um uh move forward on that on that journey.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_02: So um uh, you know, it's uh yeah, uh it's about local cuisine, um, it's about it's it's also about um, you know, often sustainable items, sustainable practices uh often save you money as well.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_02: So it's a win-win, you know, if uh if you don't use as much electricity because you're converted everything to LEDs, um, you know, uh everybody wins.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh you save money on the bottom line as a hotelier and you help protect the environment.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_02: You um shop or or or uh get your supplies and and and so on from local farms and or local fishermen in our case as well.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, you're not in uh you're not having long uh supply chains to to um so that reduces just the uh uh the impact as well, the environmental impact, um buying locally, and it supports local businesses and uh um local fishers and farmers and so on, and it's uh circular economy in a way like that.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_02: It's regenerative tourism, and um uh we're all committed to this.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this journey, of course, it's um uh some areas uh in the globe are a little bit more difficult to do certain things, but you know, we can adjust for that.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: We'd like we adjust for a variety of different properties in their own unique vision to hospitality.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh as I say it now, as trite as this is, you can't have sense of place if there's no place.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_02: You're so right, absolutely.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_02: And uh and we're all committed to that.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh yeah, um we have uh very, you know, we have a ri always we have new members coming through.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um we we are we shop internally, you know, checking as sustainability is is part of the internal shopping evaluation that is done within Rillay and Chateau properties.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and uh being part of the um uh sustainability commission was was uh setting that up and and make and and trying to fashion it in a way that it works for um all the properties in in in one way, shape, or form, right?
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh and and we're we're serious about it, we're committed to it, and and and so many of us have, you know, for uh for us at the Wiccanina, sustainability was part of uh from the very beginning, um, before we even became a Roland Chateau, um sustainable lumber.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_02: We today we even keep uh uh a warehouse of of recycled wood because you just don't go to Home Depot and want a recycled old growth two by four um Douglas fir uh you know, whatever.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um so uh you know that that's been part of our but but you know opening it up and realizing how many how how many other ways we can all uh you know uh further our journey down that path has been great because we all learn from each other.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and to talk about continuing that journey, uh let's focus a little bit more on the WIC and to really show how that brings to light the best in the world for hospitality as well as what's possible under the aegis of Relay and Chateau.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: So uh before we hopped on the call, uh the I guess the point of irony that brought us together, the first touch point is you knew my father, Larry, and he'd interviewed you 14 years ago.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: And now here I am interviewing you, and the reason why he interviewed you was because the WIC invented an experience.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to say invented, discovered and embraced an experience, which is storm watching.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: This whole idea of you have magnificent weather in Dafino, and people in summer know it as a surf mecca.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: But now you've created this whole experience to basically say, well, there's a reason to visit any time of year you want to come here, and we have some of the best storm watching in December, in March, whenever.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: So can you talk to us about that experience just to unpack how it creates this unique sense of place?
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_02: Well, absolutely.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I mean, and and that whole idea that seemed pretty wacky 30 years ago, people thought, you know, those McDermotts are, you know, a little crazy, um, especially the locals.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but um, you know, thanks to Mother Nature, she creates these wonderful storms.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_02: And and um, and so um we as a family sitting here in our family cabin as I am now, we would um uh the version 1.0 was totally off grid.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, you had to hike through a long uh forest trail to get here.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh we would gather for Christmases and New Year's and birthdays and anniversaries and summer vacations and so on.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_02: And and uh, but some of the most wonderful times were in the winter, the Christmases, the New Year's, when it's storm season, and uh we'd sit in the cabin and have a roaring fire, and you know, uh looking out uh looking out at the um uh Pacific Ocean, um, you know, up to 10 meter waves coming in, you know, 30-foot waves uh crashing on the rocks in front, and uh the wind sometimes getting up to hurricane force, and of course, uh um, you know, buckets of rain coming down and uh just all being snug in the in the cabin with the wind howling and so on.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um we we just thought it was an amazing experience.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_02: We looked forward to it.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_02: We always hoped there would be a big storm when we got here.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: And we just thought when we built, we envisioned the inn from the very beginning that that others might enjoy that in some way, shape, or form.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_02: And uh so it was part of the the design of the inn from the very beginning, where every room has a view out to the ocean, every room has a fireplace.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_02: We do have a generator to uh fire up in the you know if the power when the power goes out, whereas it used to go out a lot.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um and um and so uh um we weren't sure how it would go.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_02: We we have uh you know rain gear in every room, and you get uh uh you know rain boot sized to fit, and and we encourage everyone to go for a walk on the beach and get a complimentary facial and uh with some lashing rain, perhaps, and uh, you know, listen to the storm and uh and the waves, and then come back and be snug in your room with the fireplace and and come down and still have a great dinner, even if the power is out.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um so for us that was an experience we thought others might enjoy.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, it it it um I would say it uh it it took a while for it to catch on, but uh you know, as people came and experienced it and and realized excuse me for a second, I'm gonna just take a quick uh sip of water.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um so as uh people came and experienced storm watching on their own, they realized that um this is a wonderful time.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's Tafina was not as busy as it is in the summer.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_02: And uh it's romantic, it's not busy, you can walk on the beach and you know, you might see one or two people and that's it.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_02: And uh you really can connect um uh with your partner, um, with your family, and and uh really um uh relax and enjoy the natural environment.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_02: And maybe you will see a big storm.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_02: And what's the worst that can happen?
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_02: You get a beautiful sunny day in the middle of the winter, you know, that could be in in Fahrenheit uh 60 degrees or maybe warmer um and uh and so on.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_02: And that that could be the worst.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_02: But and people say, well, geez, we came for storms, we got sunshine.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_02: He said, Well, wait a little longer, stay another day or two, you'll probably get a storm.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_02: But uh, that's how it all came about.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um it was uh uh family vision.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um it was an experience we loved as a family, and we just thought others might enjoy it too.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_02: And today, you know, our winter is is busy, still not as busy as the summer, of course, but it is busy, and as a business, we're able to stay open.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um we well, we stay open 11 months of the year.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_02: We close for January to do uh long-term maintenance and repairs and and projects and so on, but otherwise, we're we're open year round.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: And uh people have these incredible experiences during the day, then they all gather together for an incredible meal at the point.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_02: And in a way, it's just an expanded version of the cabin experience, right?
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it it you're you're snug and cozy in your room and in the restaurant, and you've got incredible views looking out to the Pacific Ocean and the waves coming in.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_02: We have a microphone that kind of pipes the sound of the of the waves outside real time into the restaurant.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_02: So uh you get the uh the the full experience.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh well, not quite.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_02: You you you stay dry.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, yeah.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you'll get a little bit too much uh water down in your food.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, none of that.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_02: No, no, we want to uh we want to keep that part of it uh separate until you put on the rain gear and go for a walk on it out in the on the on the beach.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_02: Well in rainforest, too, because we're surrounded by this old growth wonderful trails through this old growth uh um temperate rainforest.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's never been touched by a power saw.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: So well, tell us about the point and specifically describe describe it in terms of the binding philosophy for Roland Chateau and how you really bring to light the best of Vancouver Island at the point uh through through the culinary presentation.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um well um uh the Point Restaurant from the very beginning.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the vision was we wanted to create an exceptional dining experience uh for our guests and visitors to the area um who might not be staying with us but but uh are looking for um uh an incredible dining experience.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um but the vision was to use from the very beginning was to use all the local resources we can, chanterelles from the forest and and uh, as I said, the foragers uh um that are incredible.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and to put the west coast of Vancouver Island on the plate.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_02: Well, we kind of expanded that and include our wonderful cheeseries on the east coast and our farmers on the east coast of the island as well.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_02: But incredible seafood, incredible, um uh just incredible dining experience, but all from uh the West Coast, utilizing local berries, mushrooms, as I mentioned, just and and of course all kinds of seafood and uh wonderful farms and and uh uh and uh meat suppliers as well from from Vancouver Island.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we're we're we have an abundance uh of that, uh of um great resources.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um and our our opening chef, Rod Butters, was um absolutely committed to that from the very beginning, um, part of the vision from day one back in 1996.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh and it's still our our focus today, and and maybe even more so because there are newer suppliers and new products.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um seaweed has become big over the years.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but all the staples, uh you know, the the halibut, the ling cod, uh dungeoness crab, all those items are are still just as popular as ever.
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_02: And we make sure we're using and and and fishing and using products that are sustainable um um uh at all times.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: So now to to talk more broadly about your role as a sustainability commissioner.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: And how Roland Chateau is an innovator within hospitality.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: So Roland Chateau presented a vision uh at UNESCO in 2014.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: And now uh twelve years later, uh this vision with UNESCO and the WIC sitting uh in an in a UNESCO site, where does this vision stand today?
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh that vision has has evolved um uh and into uh uh twelve um uh uh specific uh commitments, but it they're really represented by um uh uh three specific commitments.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_02: Preserve the world's hospitality and culinary traditions, contribute uh to the protection and development of biodiversity, and and take daily action for a you a more humane world.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's been distilled down uh to those kind of three elements.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_02: There are broader uh uh steps as well, but that's the easiest one to just, those are the three that we kind of wrap our head around, I guess, um uh the most.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_02: And and and some of the examples of of um, you know, the culinary traditions for us, for example, we do as a family, we used to uh and still do do crab cookouts on the beach.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so we wanted to share that concept with our guests.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_02: Now, our family tradition was a little more rustic, just over an open fire.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but we developed uh um a wonderful spot um uh just above the beach where you're, you know, dining al fresco.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_02: Um yes, you get a table, you do get chairs, um, but we have a crab shack, and our team is there cooking up the crab and and serving it to you right there on the beach, looking out at the ocean.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_02: And we do that in the summertime.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_02: And that was always a kind of a tradition with our family that we wanted to share with guests and Dungeoness Crab.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_02: Well, um, Adam, if you haven't had Dungeoness Crab, I I swear it is the sweetest, the best, most incredible item you can uh you can eat from the sea, I think.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh there's so many great items from uh in seafood, but uh Dungeoness Crab is one of uh well my personal favorites, I guess.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_02: And um, and it's right here from the ocean, right behind me.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_02: Um is uh it all comes right from here.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_02: And it's very sustainable because they only keep the, well, first you they have to be a certain size of crab uh to keep.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_02: And you don't, you can't keep any of the female crabs.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh there it's a very um uh sustainable fishery and uh has been for many, many years.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um so that's you know one of the culinary traditions that we have adopted here, um uh contribute uh contributing to the protection and development of biodiversity for us.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_02: Um we're in a UNESCO biosphere.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_02: We support uh the biosphere.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um we have uh financially they're trying to build uh a physical center as well.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh we're um uh supporting that effort and uh um and uh and and making sure that we're not uh we're not taking species of um of of uh seafood that are under pressure at all.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um and using sometimes uh uh species that are quite so well known or or popular there, or you know, and and um but in you know through the talents of our culinary team creating incredible dishes um that uh um that are amazing.
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um so um uh that's one area.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_02: And then uh well, daily action for a humane world.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_02: One of the things that we you know we did as a team, we worked with some of our other local hoteliers and created um uh the West Coast Sustainable Tourism Association, where we uh we add a 1% sustainability fee to our guest room rate.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_02: And we collectively take that money and we give uh we give that out to uh to um a number of sustainable projects because we're a town that gets 600 to 700,000 visitors a year.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_02: So um we uh support uh a lot of youth uh organizations, food programs at the local school that often support uh maybe uh well, a wide variety of uh children.
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_02: We have uh uh a large First Nations population as well, and we have uh dedicated funds to support um a lot of First Nations initiatives for youth, especially.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh and uh just you know um a roof over the Legion, which is a popular gathering spot for locals.
• 49:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they needed money to finish a local theater, and so we helped do that.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_02: And anyway, um a lot of organizations uh need projects done, and and we're we're, you know, I think last year we raised 300,000, this year it's about 400,000.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_02: So not huge numbers, but for a small community of 2,500, there's a fair amount you can do with that.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um well there's a ton and and a ton to unpack from what you said uh in terms of the mission for Relay and Chateau.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I'm wondering, um every hotel in some way, shape, or form wants to do sustainability.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: They understand it's important, they understand that that philosophy that there could be no sense of place without place.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I'm wondering how does Relay and Chateau, with its global reach and global wisdom, really help their hotels to support their s each hotel's surrounding community via their sustainability programs and guidance.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um well, I uh I mean uh I I think there's uh an uh a number of initiatives.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_02: I I I think just as I talked about uh encouraging um uh you know uh for restaurants, for example, to source local products from local fishers, local farmers, um uh local foragers.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh that's that's all part of it.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um that's part of being true to the terroir of our area just as a Rolaine chateau, um, but but um uh uh supporting uh uh properties to do that, um providing guidance and support to to um uh towards a goal of becoming carbon neutral, being able to measure our our impact um and uh on the environment.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh and uh um yeah, uh I would say uh if you need help from someone in sustainability, you just have to ask um properties that are are doing uh you know are a little bit more advanced.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_02: I learned so much from some of our uh many colleagues out there who are who are more advanced than we are in many cases, who have, you know, solar is not a huge thing in Tefino, but there, you know, so many countries just, you know, you you have solar arrays in a in uh sunnier climates that are contribute uh you know almost all the energy they need, in some cases all the energy they need, which is is fantastic.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_02: And and we're fortunate in this part of the world where our electricity, we have um uh five run-of-river hydro pro mini hydro projects between Tefino and the next closest uh kind of city, um, which is an hour and a half away.
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_02: And that provides an uh pretty much 90% of sustainable electricity for us um here uh on the West Coast.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um so um we all have uh different ways, but and Relay and Chateau is supportive by by providing a framework, by providing commitments, by providing guidance where needed, and uh and and and support online and and and individually between different properties.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one Relay and Chateau initiative that's relatively new is this thing called the Food Futures Lab.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_00: Could you unpack what that is?
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yes, okay.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um yes.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh let me just yes, okay.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, this is um this is uh part of um uh connecting um uh uh the uh agricultural students from Paul Smith's College and the Champlain Adirondack Biosphere Network.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_02: The initiative um that is head headquartered, head headed up by 11 Madison Park is uh uh get uh the initiative transforms, say, a world the world-class uh restaurant, of course, which 11 Madison Park is, into a learning uh platform where sustainable agriculture, um, biodiversity, and high-end gastronomy all intersect.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_02: So um uh, you know, uh uh Daniel Haum and his team are incredible.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um the model embeds uh conservation um into culinary training and knowledge exchange, um, and just through collaboration with local uh stakeholders.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so uh that's a great way to bring young people into um uh uh the the the vision of sustainability and how to go about it from a practical perspective.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_02: And um uh Daniel and his team are are uh incredibly talented, of course, and hugely committed um to sustainability um and and and are uh a beacon for all of us and that we can learn from.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, I think uh part of sustainability is the idea of legacy and really bringing communities forward and thinking about the next generation and how we can how we can mentor them in a lot of ways.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_02: And give them a head start so they can be better than we are, you know.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_02: Give them the knowledge and and skills and expertise that we have and get them started with that, and then let them grow it from there and continue that journey that we're all on for sure.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um and uh, you know, often it's it's just uh for many and for us as well, it's uh these are not always big steps.
• 55:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, sometimes it's just uh uh a series of small continuous steps towards improvement.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it could be a motion detector in storage rooms where the light doesn't, you don't have to actually hit the light switch.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_02: You it could be a diffuser on the end of your faucet, so you're using just a little less water.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, even small steps like that can over time they make a significant difference.
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I love that.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, because if you think in these big terms only, it becomes too daunting and nothing gets done.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_00: But breaking it down into what you can do tomorrow, uh the motion cleaner lights in the basement is something you can do tomorrow.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_00: The the swapping out of incandescence to LEDs is something you could do tomorrow.
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you string enough of those together, and before you know it, you're getting better and better and better and better and better.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and and and your team, you know, that this is a wonderful thing.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_02: So our, you know, our uh um our green team at the at the inn, you know, they they're young people, they have new ideas, and you know, composting and getting re you know, recycling for years.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_02: We didn't really have a great recycling program in our small town, but now we do, and and now we have composting.
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, and now initially we could only compost vegetables because they wouldn't take uh proteins because we live in a UNESCO biosphere.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_02: We have black bears roaming around everywhere, and and uh so now we we we have an electric fence around our compost.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um we can uh compost our proteins.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, for seafood, we can put our oyster shells and crab shells and and salmon bones back into the ocean.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but uh uh some uh some proteins and so on, you know, you want to compost.
• 57:32
  SPEAKER_02: And and now that we we've um that they will take it and we have built uh um electric fences around the space, there's they're 100% 100% secure.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_02: One bear puts his nose on an electric fence, never comes back, no matter how enticing the smell might be behind the behind the fence.
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh that's beautiful.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_00: So to close out the hour uh that we've had, looking ahead to the future of hospitality, and there's so many things to look forward to, but uh to ask one question um of the uh Relay and Chateau side, what's one big thing you're excited about?
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I'm excited about um uh our journey towards sustainability.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um that for me is a driving force.
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um that combined with uh the young people that we welcome into our industry, uh, give them a chance to learn um and develop.
• 58:46
  SPEAKER_02: Um those would be the two.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry you said one, but sustainability would be number one, but also training the next generation of hoteliers, um, maybe giving them uh the benefit of our experience and uh and uh uh treating them in a way that they will embrace hospitality as a career.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um in Europe, of course, hospitality is is uh um an honorable profession and has been for many, many years.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_02: In North America, it doesn't have that long a history.
• 59:21
  SPEAKER_02: And um and it is a wonderful profession.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_02: It is um, you know, it takes skills and the skills you learn, even if, you know, I say to many of the young people that we have on board, even if your future does not include a hospitality career in the long run, the things you learn um day to day working in our industry are skills that you will take with you for the rest of your life.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_02: You know, treating people well, um, you know, uh being uh interested and listening, um, uh being creative and solving solutions and and uh um thinking about how to create magical experiences for each and every uh guest you encounter.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, those those are our our lifetime skills, making sure you wake up when your alarm goes off and show up to work on time every day.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_02: Um you know, simple things like that.
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_02: But um but uh but overall um that that's would be a second thing that um I'm excited about.
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, um it's a beautiful way to close out.
• 1:00:37
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, we everything we do here in hospitality, it has to have sustainability, but sustainability has so many different layers to it.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_00: It has the just the back of house energy and food food composting, uh, but then it has the community and what you could pay forward through some sort of funding mechanism.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_00: It has the stewardship for bringing forth the best in the culinary uh for your region, it has the legacy of what you leave behind, it has the mentorship for the next generation.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it's all beautifully articulated through what you're doing at Relay and Chateau, as well as um your three decades plus uh with the Wiccan in a channel.
• 1:01:23
  SPEAKER_00: So Charles, thank you so much for the full hour from one end of Canada to the other.
• 1:01:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's been a fantastic uh conversation.
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_00: Charles.
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Adam.