GOSTELOW REPORT—“What we are doing is not the industry norm — in the USA, particularly, making money is part of the culture, but my ideal is a business model that centers on doing good and then, if that works, the money comes,” says Ken Cruse, CEO and co-founder of Soul Community Planet Hotels (SCP), based in San Juan Capistrano, California.
Cruse is an outdoors kind of guy who played rugby while he was earning both his Colorado State University bachelor’s, majoring in natural resources, and his full-time Georgetown MBA in finance. Tapping naturally, therefore, into his own beliefs as well as a growing consumer movement toward lifestyle, wellness and sustainability, SCP’s pillars are personal wellness (soul), social good and connectivity (community), and sustainability (planet).
Bursting into the hospitality space in 2018, this fiercely independent company so far has three hotels, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and, in Oregon, in Depoe Bay and Redmond. There are a total 239 keys. All the hotels are wholly owned, by another Cruse company, real estate investment vehicle Alpha Wave Investors.
SCP’s stay market is nearly entirely domestic, made up mainly of so-called secondary wellness travelers who are drawn to fitness centers and spas, and wellness-aware food. Cruse and SCP co-founders, his wife and company CMO Pam Cruse, and COO Bill Tremper, made sure from the start that properties have SCP Fit workout centers, with Pelotons — now, for reasons of social distancing, in private rooms — and yoga.
For every reservation, SCP plants a tree via One Tree Planted. Overall interior design includes reclaimed wood and living walls. Some bedrooms are labeled Peaceful, devoid of televisions but with such added amenities as meditation pillows and sound machines. Provisions Markets stress healthy, local and vegan foods. If you want to work, there is plenty of space in SCP Commons, a co-working space for local monthly-fee members.
“Both Pam and I came from hospitality. This is a wonderful sector but the industry was previously lacking something that embraced the value of social good. I have always believed that if you have a concept with a market that is being missed out by others, you have a good chance of success,” Cruse recalled.
Six Senses was already out there, he felt, and Barry Sternlicht was devising 1 Hotels. Both those brands have been, and are, good references, he admits. But with Six Senses now owned by the mighty IHG, and 1 Hotels an integral part of Sternlicht’s SH Hotel Group, he knew SCP had to stand on its own two feet from the start.
“As soon as we opened we started getting good reviews and people going out of their way to say good things,” he said. Some newcomers are initially attracted by SCP’s Fair Trade Pricing initiative. Book via the group’s own website at roughly the same rate as the OTAs offer, and, when you check out, if you are not happy with the cost, please say.
“Honestly, giving power to guests like this is not abused. On departure, we probably adjust only about 1% of all stays.” This offer attracts first-time guests, and undoubtedly innately helps create loyalty.
Fair Trade Pricing also probably helps attract, and retain, talent. Usually — before the coronavirus crisis — the three hotels employ a total of 62 associates, and annual associate turnover is unusually low.
“I am extremely pleased with the quality of people who want to work with us. They do not join for the money, they want to be associated with the culture,” Cruse stated.
“The current environment is underscoring our core beliefs. Other hotels are now re-open, but SCP Depoe Bay is still currently closed due to local COVID-19 restrictions. I do believe, overall, that the virus will only have strengthened the need for our DNA,” said the idealist.