“I talked to a lot of people before moving from the Caribbean and almost everyone confirmed I would benefit from working in Asia,” said Iain McCormack, general manager of the 113-villa Vakkaru Maldives, on Baa Atoll in The Maldives.
For 15 years, McCormack had been in the Caribbean, variously on Anguilla, Jamaica, Mustique and St Martin. He felt it was time to move on from what had become a comfort zone. He relocated to The Maldives, sight hitherto unseen, in September 2010.
“My fascination for understanding people and desire to explore helped prepare for the move, but I was in no way anticipating the Maldivian mindset and work ethic,” McCormack said. “In the Caribbean it takes time and effort to be part of a community – you must immerse yourself in the locale to be trusted. In the Maldives, you live and work together, on one small island, so connections are built immediately and there is a strong sense of kinship.”
Senior management and new trainees live in the same close-knit village, and McCormack oversees two groups, a resort for 280 guests and a village of 350 staff. “It is my responsibility to show a real level of care and respect, helping everyone to function and develop to full potential,” he added.
With experience of other Maldives resorts, he moved to Vakkaru in 2020. He flew in to Malé on July 15, 2020, on the first plane after lockdown. “The resort was still closed and we needed to come together to clean up our beach in the aftermath of terrible storms,” McCormack. “Carting debris from the sand while dressed in t-shirt and shorts provided a very good way of bonding with my new team, who called me Iain or GM from the start.”
When all was clean and tidy, McCormack began to work on improving efficiency in a changing environment. In 2019, the resort had been operating on 345 staff with 40% occupancy, average stay 5.5 nights. Now, staff count was 320 and occupancy was around 90%, average stay 11 nights – guests arrive and, it seems, want to extend their stay (Russia, as before, is top market).
Vakkaru Maldives, owned personally by Travco’s Chiaty family, is neither branded nor part of a consortium. “As an independent property, we feel all aspects of marketing and PR, including social media, are so vital to generating awareness and strengthening our reputation,” McCormack explained. “My DSM is an expert on luxury resorts and The Maldives. John O’Ceallaigh, a highly-respected Irish travel writer who now heads LUTE consultancy agency, helps with branding strategies.”
A combined creativity has resulted, for instance, in Vakkare, a concept initially conceived for Covid-related protocols but expanded to a set of brand values centered around proactive care. Its four guiding pillars are ‘We Kare, Self Kare, Let’s Kare and After Kare.’
“On an island like this, a GM needs to be a jack of all trades,” McCormack continued. “For example, we produce all our own power, and make drinking water through reverse osmosis.
“I must make quick decisions and be creative. Over a recent holiday weekend, our water plant was only running at 65% capacity, which meant we were not producing enough to sustain the usual level of consumption. We would run out of water within two days. So, I authorized a slight lowering of the water pressure throughout the resort and staff village.”
Everyone had water, no one noticed, or if they did no one complained. “But whatever happens behind the scenes, I consider myself a perennial host and I’m always by the seaplane to meet and bid farewell to guests,” this jovial Irishman said.