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Miraval’s Santiago leads with love, light

The recently opened Miraval Berkshires Resort & Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts, has a raptor program that allows guests to interact with rescued red tail hawks that are no longer able to fend for themselves in the wild. Miraval Resorts Americas Senior Vice President Susan Santiago said the hawks must decide whether they want to survive in their new habitat, or not.

It serves as an important lesson in resiliency – for the hawks and the guests who interact with them – at a moment in time when this particular personal attribute is more important than ever.

“That is really what we’re all doing right now, if you think about it,” said Santiago, who oversees all aspects of this Hyatt Hotels Corp. luxury brand, including structure, development, strategy and operations. “We’re all deciding how we’re going to adapt and what level of resilience is needed for what the new normal is going to be. So, this connectivity with hawks has been really emotional and very powerful.”

“Guests want to experience our industry. We’ve always been a caring industry overall. It’s the journey we’ve always been on.” – Susan Santiago
“Guests want to experience our industry. We’ve always been a caring industry overall. It’s the journey we’ve always been on.” – Susan Santiago

Connecting with hawks is the type of unique programming Miraval has been known for since its founding in Tucson, Arizona, in 1995. It opened a second property last year in Austin, Texas, and now all three properties have reopened after shutting down due to COVID-19. More properties are under development, but Santiago had nothing tangible about deals to share with HOTELS during last week’s interview.

The brand’s “life in balance through alignment of the body, mind and spirit” seems perfectly positioned for the moment, and since coming back online the three properties have been performing very well, according to Santiago.

“Guests are looking for areas where they can connect with nature and focus on emotional and spiritual healing,” she said. “So, we have had very strong demand in all three of our hotels as we’ve reopened them… We have leaned more into outdoor classes. Guests are definitely showing stronger interest in our ropes course (‘walking’ through trees 35 feet above ground wearing a full body harness and helmet) and our astrology classes. While they’re still focused on the physical well-being, they’re definitely much more interested in programming that helps them emotionally.”

Focus on self-care, joy

Managing through emotions is definitely a strong suit of Santiago’s, a 27-year veteran of Hyatt who has been working in quarantine from her Chicago apartment since mid-March. She likes to talk about practicing self-care to manage through the crisis and grow as a leader and individual.

“There’s no doubt that this pandemic has created just unprecedented demands, emotional heartache and challenges on the business and its people,” she said. “And for me, that’s been no different as a leader. There’s been a lot of worry and uncertainty. But I always live by the importance of keeping balance, hope and gratitude in mind. And I always look for the positive side of things. That’s really what keeps me focused and motivated as a leader. I usually reflect on the lessons that I’ve learned on taking time to prioritize my self-care and just connecting with the people that inspire me.”

Santiago is also leaning even more into her compassionate leadership style. “I’ve always spent time with my teams, but through this there’s been much more of a genuine connection, and really just wanting to understand how they’re feeling. That questioning so much more now has really been how I keep a positive environment for the team.”

She is doing weekly check-ins with the management team to talk about what they’ve learned in the past week and to expand their awareness about what has brought them joy. “Focusing on joy really helps bring ourselves to the present and focus on what is important, whether it’s big or small, and makes you feel grateful. I’ve found that that’s really helping us from a wellbeing perspective.”

Guest cottage at Miraval Berkshires
Guest cottage at Miraval Berkshires

Santiago runs every morning along the Chicago lakefront, no music in her ears to better clear the mind. “That’s my form of meditation – just really leaning into my breathing.”

She also finds a way each day to disconnect digitally. “I put the cellphone down, I close the laptop and I take my me time. It’s just so important to have that balance and be clear.”

When asked what other life hacks she is employing to get the most out of her business life, Santiago talks about practicing empathy.

“That’s so important right now,” she said. “Business relationships are like any other relationship, and if they’re going to be meaningful, you must take time and dedicate yourself to truly listening… It takes a great deal of time to truly listen to people, and we lose sight of that. A lot of times we just say we don’t have time. So, I just think it’s important, at least for me… It’s a connectivity that I think is important and makes it a relationship that works for both.”

Santiago also likes to lead a life led by “the spirituality that is in the universe. This is what most people will say is the ‘woo-woo’ of Miraval – being able to truly understand that we’re all on a journey of self-discovery… To be a part of a lifestyle/brand that delivers that every single day, and that’s all our colleagues wake up to do, for me is like, ‘oh my gosh, I’m home.’”

While all of this might sound like a New Age sermon on spirituality, Santiago believes people need to hear more about keeping hope and gratitude in mind. “It will make us better leaders. It’ll make us more compassionate, and as a result we will get through it together.”

Those who can prioritize self-care will be able to stay hopeful and grounded in positivity, she said, “and that’s hard to do right now.”

Santiago also points to guests coming back with more gratefulness. “Guests want to experience our industry. We’ve always been a caring industry overall. It’s the journey we’ve always been on… Someone asked me to describe my emotions the last four months through a song or a movie, and I used the song ‘Rollercoaster.’”

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